Sophie Villeneuve | Beyond Birthing | Dec 15, 2021

S2E2

Join Yukon Entrepreneur Sophie Villeneuve of Beyond Birthing. Sophie is a physiotherapist who helps moms prepare for and recover from birth. During the pandemic, Sophie saw the opportunity to build her client base by building a YouTube channel and online courses which help moms prepare for birth.

 

(1:54) Sophie shares that more recently they have expanded to clients who are located outside of Whitehorse with their goal being to reach women all over the world. They explain how transitioning to an online format due to the pandemic has allowed them to start growing this part of their business in exciting ways.

 

(6:47) Sophie recalls their first memory of the pandemic. When they first heard about it, it didn’t seem like it would be the global pandemic it has turned out to be, but when they were travelling to Dawson City for the Thaw-Di-Graw festival, stopping to get gas in Carmacks, they received word the festival got canceled.  This, along with the cancellation of the Arctic Winter Games made them realize it was a bigger issue, however it was not until they came back from a weeklong skiing trip in to find out that businesses were being told to shut down and not reopen that it truly became a reality.

 

(9:57) Sophie discusses the most impactful public health measures to their business being having to cancel in person classes, especially with postpartum groups with babies being an incredibly vulnerable sector, especially when they were lacking specific instruction from the government on how to proceed safely. As a solution, they started streaming their classes on Zoom to support those who could not come in person for whatever reason.  When there was a spike in active cases, they were able to switch from in person to strictly virtual to finish out the classes.  Navigating this required a lot of flexibility as there were many instances where Sophie had to change plans due to new information.

 

(15:22) Sophie describes the adaptation they are most proud of being the move to online programming. They had to quickly learn how to properly film their classes, how to build and grow their online presence, and how to market their business.  Recognizing the value of the program, how to create profitable content and how to reach potential clients have all been an important part of their transformation.

 

(21:52) Looking at their business model differently, Sophie sees a huge opportunity in not being tied to a location and being able to work anywhere due to being online.  They also found that their whole approach to business has changed by learning to let go of some things to focus on what brings them joy which includes how they connect with their potential customers and who they choose to work with.

 

(29:14) Thinking about leadership, Sophie has learned more about themselves and how they want to be a leader who would impact more than just their community in the Yukon.  They discovered this through receiving feedback on YouTube from other countries which helped them realize their ambition to grow and be a worldwide leader in their field.

 

(31:11) As the Yukon economy rebuilds, Sophie is hopeful that the pandemic has taught business owners to upgrade their methodology to provide better service along with the development of programs that could suggest resources outside of the Yukon as currently they can be hard to find.

 

(33:57) Sophie’s advice for emerging entrepreneurs? Get a mentor.  Having an experienced person who can provide a fresh perspective can help tremendously, along with someone who can celebrate your successes and cheer you on when you are feeling low can make a big difference.

 

(36:59) What wellness practices keep Sophie grounded? Working out regularly and getting outside with their dogs.  Sophie goes skiing in the winter and mountain biking in the summer.

 

(37:30) Sophie shares their final thoughts about how they hope that more people will share their experience as entrepreneurs which could result in better programming and resource support for business owners in the future.

 

Thank you for watching!

 

To learn more about Sophie, visit their website at: https://beyond-birthing.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beyondbirthingpt/