Business Ventures, The Operating Impact of COVID-19, and Community: A Conversation with Ed Malcolm
/Ed Malcolm, Entrepreneur, Adventurer and Founder of Tuja Wellness
For our YWiB Community members that are not familiar with you or your ventures, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your professional/entrepreneurship career?
I’m a native Calgarian who worked in the oil patch for 40 years. The last 27 years were in the petroleum trading business where we moved 20 different petroleum products around North America and Mexico. During the final 13 years as President of Elbow River Marketing, I enjoyed building a team of highly skilled people that had fun working together to continually grow the business.
Many of our community members are also passionate about starting or being involved with start-ups and side hustles, especially given the current COVID-19 related circumstances. With that in mind, can you walk us through the step by step process that you went through to get to where you are today?
This is a tough answer as I’ve been involved in over 20 different entrepreneurial ventures over the past 30 or so years, mostly as an investor. It’s very challenging to build a business from the ground up even with what you think is the best idea imaginable. Every startup takes more time, more money, and more effort than you ever envision at the start. I have a ton of respect for anyone that builds a successful business knowing how hard it is to do this. The key is to keep in mind the three things I just mentioned, have a solid plan in place but be willing to pivot on a moments notice and have mentors that can be there to support you along the way.
What was the first thing you did once leaving the oil and gas business?
Well, I always slept a solid 7 hours a night when I was working full-time, but the first month after I entered what I call Life 3.0, I was sleeping 9-10 hours a night, so my body had some catching up to do. I didn’t have one single thing that I did as I balanced my life with numerous sporting activities, various business ventures, and increased travel as I’ve now been to 44 countries.
It’s tough to know how Covid -19 is going to change the way we look at business as I have very strong views on some of the political and bureaucratic damage that is being done to our society, so I hope we are able to overcome these things and come out the other side stronger than we went into it. I’m concerned that people will give up their dreams of side hustle/small business ventures as to me that is the fabric of our society and I do my best to support these types of people at every opportunity.
What was your approach in exploring numerous business ventures, and start-ups and in what ways has your professional background impacted your process for doing so?
I was fortunate to be involved with a small business where I was able to be intimately involved in all aspects of it as well as numerous other start-ups. If I could turn the clock back I would have taken every opportunity at a young age to work for or receive mentoring from people who have build businesses for what I refer to as an ‘on the job’ MBA versus the more formal MBA process. I believe that getting some form of post-secondary education provides a solid foundation for people, but this needs to be married with practical business experience, which is why I’m a big fan of educational institutions that offer Coop programs.
How has the environment that you and your business(s) operate in evolved relative to the onset of COVID-19? Are there any changes that you made that you wish you made earlier?
It’s been challenging as it’s gone on longer than I think anyone would have predicted with no imminent end in sight. We have been trying to build programs in my various ventures that will provide some better health education and fun things to do in order to take people’s minds off of the barrage of negative news.
As an organization that operates on a national scale, we have chapters and members that are working their way through university and post-secondary programs. Are there any key pieces of advice that you would give an individual in this position ready to graduate and enter the “real world”?
These are certainly challenging times, but I think the key is to find an area that you are passionate about and can have fun because it’s a long career ahead of you. As well, test the waters on various ventures and don’t feel compelled to figure out the exact career path even in the first few years upon graduation. This is especially true in the current environment as we aren’t sure how things are going to look over the next few years.
What made you interested in supporting organizations like YWiB Vancouver?
I’ve always appreciated the people that provided mentorship and guidance along my career path in addition to having three daughters who are in the early stages of their careers. As well I’m working on a Career Guidance project to try to help kids as young as 15 through to 30ish years old figure out their career path which might dovetail nicely into what YWiB is doing.
Learn more and connect with Ed Malcolm - Website - LinkedIn
Ed Malcolm is the proud founder of Tuja Wellness, which is a platform that Ed developed initially to support his friends and family by providing a one-stop-shop for health and wellness resources. Now Tuja Wellness is a space in which assists wellness-seekers with informative articles, videos, podcasts and connects them with wellness related businesses across Canada!
Click here to visit Tuja Wellness and explore countless health and wellness resources!