Celebrating being ceo: lESSONS LEARNED IN A PANDEMIC

EPISODE 28

In this episode we celebrate small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the people behind these businesses, the mom and pops, the CEOs, the people who are keeping our economy running during these incomprehensible times. Today’s guest is CEO Heidi Reimer Epp of Botanical Paperworks. Heidi and I originally sat down to record this episode about 10 months ago, in the early days of the pandemic. But, it couldn’t be timelier to release this episode today – when 10 months later we look back on all we have collectively gone through and reflect on the lessons learned. We need to pause and celebrate the CEO – the toughest job in an SME, the burdens we carry and the decisions we need to make to survive: as a company, as individuals and as families. The topics Heidi and I discuss and the wisdom that she shares are relevant today as we navigate this pandemic, still under lock-down in many areas, including mine. I hope that you may find some inspiration here.

Namaste,
Andrea
 
BIO: HEIDI REIMER-EPP, CEO, BOTANICAL PAPERWORKS
Heidi Reimer-Epp turned her passion for sustainability into Botanical PaperWorks, an award-winning business guided by environmental sustainability and practices. The company manufactures and markets eco-friendly seed paper that grows into flowers, herbs and vegetables when planted in soil.  As CEO and co-founder, Heidi has overseen company growth from the ground up (pun intended) as Botanical PaperWorks went from start-up to international success story. The company produces promotional products, wedding and memorial products and sustainable packaging for more than 40 countries around the world. Heidi is the co-author of three books and serves on several boards, both corporate and volunteer. As an early innovator in the green products arena, Heidi has been profiled in many publications including Fast Company, The Huffington Post, the Wall Street Journal and the National Post.
 
LINKS:

• “CEO of the Year: All Canadian small business owners”
• Botanical Paperworks Website
• @reimerepp
• @botanicalpaperworks
• www.fempower.ca
• Books: 300 Papermaking Recipes; The Encyclopedia of Papermaking and Bookbinding; Papermaking: a beginners guide, all by Heidi and her mother 
• Book Recommendation: The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron