"You don't have to speak louder, you just have to speak truer."
(Yes, truer is a legit word)
Hello amazing humans,
That caption came to me this morning while thinking about what to do with this newsletter, the podcast, as well as other projects. I’ve been frustrated about the lack of commitment to DEI in my own community but also about my own failure.
For many days + weeks I’ve been trying to put my finger on why I’ve resisted continuing with this newsletter but also not shutting it down and calling it a day.
I’m not going to waste a bunch of time, I’m just going to lay it all out on the table.
I started this (at first podcast only) project, focusing on woman-identifying, non-binary and queer entrepreneurs in rural Canada because I worked at a federally funded organization (during the pandemic), charged with sharing the stories of rural entrepreneurs, and these groups in particular were simply, I felt a box-check.
I got a $20,000 sponsorship for the first season from Xplore Business.
I quit my full time job and enrolled in the Google News Initiative StartUp Bootcamp to learn how to make the podcast sustainable.
Xplore Business signed on for season two at the same amount, although I switched to more ‘urgent’ issues on the podcast (and Xplore knew that) for the second season.
Despite my best efforts, and feeling like a failure almost all of the time since the start of season two (we’re now in season 3), it has not been financially sustainable.
Xplore Business did not renew for season 3 and I have been drowning trying to sustain the various expenses. My partner has been sustaining/supporting us both.
I have failed miserably on that front. I have made some not-so-wise choices and have been hanging my head.
I’ve also been mourning the transition of a few important personal relationships and transforming my attitudes about family, community and the use of technology.
I haven’t given up, but I did get pretty low.
There are 850 of you, from all across Canada and a bunch from the US (and a few from other countries) and I’m grateful to each one of you for sticking it out with me.
What exactly have I been trying to do with the podcast and newsletter?
Inspire folks to act (including myself), use your voice, use your privilege, use your position, use your influence to spark change in your own rural and remote communities.
Name and confront problematic systems that oppress so many and lift up others. That includes patriarchy, colonialism, capitalism and the big daddy, white supremacy.
Share what’s happening in other rural and remote communities across Canada.
Be financially sustainable but also free.
I made a list of the topics I consider most important, in relation to this project.
Rural and remote Canadian people/entrepreneurs, organizations and municipalities in these buckets:
Reconciliation in action - not just lip service but doing something
Using new models under the sustainable social enterprise umbrella
Prioritizing social justice, representation and living and breathing DEI
Sustainable collaborations that focus on the humans and not on the bottom line
New ways of regeneration - such as Repair Cafes
Programs that focus on at-risk youth - creating training - and opportunities
Multigenerational programs, including innovative housing solutions
Food and housing security
Evolving local community-based storytelling (journalism)
I think the next step, for this newsletter/podcast will be a simple survey. Very short, a few questions and options.
Look for that next.
I have a few stories to share (I attended the Ontario Small Urban Municipalities [OSUM] Conference last week and I toured the FUSION Youth Activity and Technology Centre in Ingersoll, Ontario today) so there will be at least one more newsletter and I promise to deliver it in less than 7 days.