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Unlock the secrets to business success and gain valuable insights from local industry leaders. Join us as we delve into the strategies, triumphs, and lessons learned of thriving companies, empowering entrepreneurs to elevate their businesses to new heights.
Sharon 00:00
Thank you, everyone, for joining us today on the It's Time for Success: The Business Insights Podcast. Today, we welcome one of the leaders from the Onion Lake, Cree Nation, Kyle Dillon. He's the CEO out there. We'll be diving into indigenous entrepreneurship, leadership and what it takes to build businesses in the community. So thank you, Kyle, for joining us today. And on a personal note, I want to just quickly add before we jump into the thing, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. I'm very grateful and honoured to be working with you, Sharon, and I know you've passed on numerous referrals through your connections for It’s Time Promotions, so thank you for that. Can you explain, Kyle, what your role looks like, and just talk about yourself a little bit to our listeners?
Kyle 00:55
So basically, I'm Chief Executive Officer for Onion Lake Cree Nation. I'm basically the lead person in our operations overall. I report directly to the Chief and Council. Chief and Council rely on me to carry out our day-to-day operations throughout our organization. So I myself have a supporting staff of a C-suite. I got a CIO, Chief Information Technology Officer, CHRO, Chief Human Resource Officer. CFO, Chief Financial Officer. And I have four chief operating officers who are split up into four divisions. The first division is governance and administration. Second is economic services. Third is community services, and last is infrastructure services.
Sharon 01:44
And all those revolve around Onion Lake. All those things are in Onion Lake. How many… What's your population out there?
Kyle 01:51
Our population right now on reserve is approximately 4500 to 4800, and that fluctuates almost month by month. But overall, for Onion Lake Band members, there are about 7400 in total. So that means approximately 3000 live in our urban setting, Edmonton, Saskatoon, and Lloydminster.
Sharon 02:14
I guess we do… like we have customers that live here in Lloyd, that is, Onion Lake. Okay, gotcha, that makes sense to me. So you have those four divisions that report to you. Do you live in meetings all day long? Or how do you function? Sounds a lot.
Kyle 02:29
Oh, you know what? I actually rely on my team a lot to carry out a lot of our work plans, and they sit down with the directors daily, so there are about five departments within each division, and then each department kind of has its own directors, and they have their supervisors and their frontline staff and mid-level staff. So there's a long chain that goes right down to the frontline workers, and we rely heavily on everybody that kind of has oversight.
Sharon 02:57
Wow, that sounds like a lot. Okay, so this CEO role for you, it was relatively new. How long have you been CEO? Because I'd seen that advertised, or you mentioned it.
Kyle 03:10
So what happened was we used to run on just like a director of operations. We used to have one person at the helm that kind of oversaw all these departments, what we implemented this year, what I, what I presented to Chief and Council, was that C suite, and then dividing each division, and then having that centralization for our IT finance and our HR, and we had it approved and passed as of February this year. So just going back to that, that division was… the concept behind it was just to have that high level team that support and flow information directly up to the Chief and Council. I think what happened in the past was either miscommunication or just not information being handed up to leadership in a timely manner. Also just to have that oversight to kind of see where we can fill our gaps and come as a team more collaboratively, interdepartmental initiatives and stuff like that, because a lot of things that we face in the community are social problems. We have overcrowding and housing issues. We deal with drugs and gangs, so we try to collaborate on how we can fix these issues within our community.
Sharon 04:27
Gotcha. So that was one of my next questions—What was the main focal point of why you implemented this C suite? So can you elaborate a bit more on that?
Kyle 04:37
So, yeah, so basically, when we think about governance and administration. We have our treaty law governance under that wing. We definitely want to keep our mandate treaty-based. We want to, you know, be strong in that treaty side of things. Make sure that the relationship is still there with the crown, not the government of Canada. Also under that, we have just our main administration that handles our insurance policies, our policy analysts, that kind of overview of all the policies that need reading and amendments, and then below that, we have our public relations. That one was just introduced this year, and that is Fraser’ and… program. So Fraser, we just talked about Fraser and Jaron collaborating with It’s Time. So, yeah, no, that's basically where that is. And then economic services is our Onion Lake Group of Companies. We have about nine Onion Lake-based companies that are owned by Onion Lake. And then below that, we have our CDC. Our CDC is our Community Development Center. That's our entrepreneur program, where we help and encourage and kick-start entrepreneurs within Onion Lake. And then we have a community, oh, no, sorry, development and career center. So that one is where we get into the trade school or the class A kind of stuff. And then below that, we have our Onion Lake Energy, which is our Energy Division, where we do all the oil and gas stuff.
Sharon 06:06
I was doing some research. Kyle, sorry if I interrupted you. I was doing some research a bit, and it's been talked about how you're trying to collaborate everything to have to function from the nation. Is that correct? They have their own resources.
Kyle 06:22
Yeah, yeah, right, exactly, yeah. So the mandate, I guess, from day one, and it's always been like that, is to try to be a sovereign nation, to be self-sufficient. So what we try to do is try to grow our economy, right, just internally, and then just trying to think outside the box. Okay, what are some good business ideas within the city limits, right within Lloydminster? Because Lloydminster is our nearest city where a lot of our community members go, where they rely on the grocery needs and clothing and stuff like that. So we do support Lloydminster in that sense, but now we try to think outside the box. Okay, how do we support ourselves? So now we're trying to game plan some infrastructure within the community, bring in these corporations to offer services and stuff like that.
Sharon 07:10
So as you implement that, sorry, I'm totally off script. But as you implement, what do you foresee in five years, as you keep focusing on the C suite, like, do you see projections? Like, what are you working towards?
Kyle 07:24
Well, what I'm working towards right now is we're just trying to correct the things that are kind of usually outdated or just backlogged and just internally. So by that, I mean like our infrastructure is aging, a lot of our buildings are 30,40, 50 years old, and they show their age, right? So what we want to do is try to get more modern buildings. You know, we want to build our infrastructure, our data center. We've been talking about data centers. We want to have sufficient infrastructure that helps us move forward,
Sharon 08:03
Right, right, right. I've only been out there once in my defence, and it was to the hockey rink. I have never been inside, and the hockey rink is just outside there.
Kyle 08:13
Yeah, the hockey rinks, it's it was built in ‘93, I remember when I… That's actually when I started minor hockey was 93/94 and then that's when the arena was first built. Before then, we had an older rink, kind of like the Archie Miller rink, just one of those Quonset-style rinks, but that one shut down, I think, in the mid-80s, so we're kind of out of an arena for about eight to ten years. So what the guys did was they just went to Marwayne or… and joined those minor hockey leagues.
Sharon 08:43
Yeah, right, right. How is the… because, of course, this whole podcast, and I'm very passionate about business, and you talked about the entrepreneurship program. So how do they get taught on entrepreneurship, or do they just jump in and hope for the best? Or, how does that work?
Kyle 09:01
So what they'll do is we try to preach on what Onion Lake needs are. And basically the main components are the trades, the electricians, the plumbers, the so on and so forth. So we do have some young individuals who come right out of high school. They'll take a trade, they'll go do their own apprenticeship in Lloyd or whatever, right? And they come back with their journeyman. So now they want to open up their own business, and they know for a fact, we only have one electrician, journeyman electrician in the community. Yet we're building 15 to 25 homes a year. So obviously we're going external to bring in guys, so we encourage these band members to open up a business where we have shortfalls. So we'll put a business plan together right at the CDC. We'll push the application for a grant… like there's a lot of grants out there for under 35 indigenous entrepreneurs, and they actually cover up to 40% of your loan. So that is where we're very fortunate. But another thing that is unfortunate is basically trying to build facilities on reserve lands because we're restricted according to the Indian Act, where banks can't seize any of that kind of stuff if someone was to default. Right? It’s the way the Indian Act goes. So what we do is, the banks will ask for a guarantee from the Chief and Council, saying, We support this, as long as the Chief and Council are okay with us, you know, seizing it, if you know the entrepreneur, I guess, defaulted under loan. So there are those type of arrangements,
Sharon 10:50
Okay, so there's ways around it. Okay, that's awesome. Okay, you're known for building strong community. You've been involved in so many things and relationships. How important is trust when it comes to long term partnerships?
Kyle 11:06
Trust… I think it goes a long way. I think it's… the way I look at it is definitely a two way street. So you want to try be open when you create these partnerships. And obviously it's like, well… how does it benefit me? And then kind the question kind of goes to the other side of the table, well, how does your endeavor and benefit me? So what we want to try to do is, we want to try reignite that partnership with even just the city of Lloydminster—okay, what does that partnership look like? It looks… the economy part of things we support Lloydminster. Okay, how is Lloydminster going to support us? So what we started doing was started purchasing land in Lloydminster. Our latest purchase, I don't know if you know, we just purchased this Synergy building that's attached to the CIBC. So that was obviously through the Synergy… but regardless. So we bought that. We're talking to the city of Lloydminister… Okay, so how can we partner in something like this to, you know, give Onion Lake that presence in Lloydminster? So, actually, we're going to be signing up for the economic summit on February 25, so we're gonna get a table there and try to get our feet in there.
Sharon 12:26
So that's awesome. I just became a member of Startup Lloydminster, and that was one of the emails that went through, because they're a sponsor for it… the economic summit. So anyway, I just became a member. I just literally… It’s new to me. So it's exciting, speaking of which… So that goes into my next question. As a business owner, entrepreneur, community, networking and building credibility is huge. So you talked about that, about Lloydminster, even, but those entrepreneurs out there that are just starting up at Onion Lake, how important is networking or getting out there? How can you help them get out there?
Kyle 13:02
I think how we can help them get out there is through our leadership because a lot of initiatives call for indigenous like procurement, right… These oil companies, because of the duty to consult, and all the land stuff and the treaty stuff, there's that indigenous procurement where certain oil companies need to meet a certain percentage of staff of indigenous, you know, ancestry or whatever, right? So our leadership go to these meetings and offers that partnership again, we talked about that, and our entrepreneurs, like the electricians, the pipe fitters and the welders get on these big projects. And I think that's where it starts.
Sharon 13:48
Awesome, because, you know, I've been doing this for 18 years here in Alberta, and I usually just go into my four walls and I work, work, work, work, work, work, and try to do the best I can. But networking and getting out and your community is important. Give back to your community, be present in your community for numerous reasons, but also it's good to like… For example, I'm part of BNI network, and sometimes I just go out and I have to talk business with other people. Like I say, it's different because I have good friends and I can talk with them, but it's different from business talk. So sometimes you need those resources somewhere just to hammer stuff out. Yeah, it could be friendship, it could be your counsel, it could be whatever it is, but they're going to need that help. Oh, yeah, for sure. Yeah, business is tricky.
Okay, we're going to talk about culture and values, that kind of stuff. So you're going to have to have to help me with this and explain a bit to me and my listeners—cultural traditions and values woven into business or into the nation there. Let's talk about how that works, as far as… So, for example, I have to explain this a little bit to you. I have people from Onion Lake coming in, and they talk to me about the different symbols, the different colors, and all the different… and they're wanting to embrace the culture. So for me, I'm not familiar with it. I'm learning. I'm learning. So is that something that's really strong in your community? Is all that culture stuff…
Kyle 15:13
Yeah, it actually is very important. We always try to implement culture in anything that we do, whether it's our business, our entrepreneurs, our schools. So even with Onion Lake and the uniqueness of it, we have funded our own Cree immersion school. So that goes from pre-K right up to grade five. And when you go there, it's strictly Cree. So yeah, what we're trying to do in our community is try to revitalize that because we've heard about the residential schools and how the government tried to strip us of our language and our culture, so we're trying to bring that back. And how we do that is starting right from a young age and getting them to speak it, learn it, and do it every day, and they take it home, and it's actually working out so that the curriculum matches, I guess, like the modern-day school curriculum, but in a Cree aspect. So that is one key piece. And then, according to the org chart that I just mentioned earlier, a new department that I just created is Culture and Traditions. We don't see it beyond that grade five level. So what I want to do is I want to implement it community-wide, and have initiatives, have programs that do Cree classes or land-based training and stuff like that.
Sharon 16:34
So yeah, even talking to Fraser about his podcast, he says he has the elders come in and they do a Cree episode, because he said even he notices that there are less and less people speaking the language. So that’s awesome.
Kyle 16:49
Yeah, exactly. So that was kind of the message behind the PR department was to implement more language programs. And yeah, Fraser is actually a pretty good Cree Speaker himself, too.
Sharon 17:01
So yeah, yeah, he was, yeah. I really enjoy our visits when he comes in. Okay, so for any entrepreneurs, because, again, it's an entrepreneur-based podcast, who's feeling overwhelmed, what piece of advice would you want them to take to heart, whether on the Nation or here in Lloydminster or wherever?
Kyle 17:18
One thing I'd like to say is, don't be scared to think outside the box. You know, I've heard this saying, and I'm sure you've probably come across it—staying in your comfort zone is where dreams go to die. So I'm a big believer in that. And that's just kind of how I thought when I implemented this org chart, trying to get the leadership to have that open mind, that open vision, to think, you know, we're not just Onion Lake. Onion Lake is, you know, something bigger than that. So we're trying to get outside the box.
Sharon 17:50
It's not even just, like Onion Lake, it's Onion Lake, it's, you know what I mean, like, it's even just the mindset of it. It's a shift, right? So I'm a firm, firm, firm believer in stepping outside your comfort zone. That's where growth happens. Like huge, and it's kind of remarkable. I feel that people are even more and more… what's the word to say it properly… not comfortable doing it. Like we've got a lot of issues right now with people who have this mindset or this, what do you call that? Not depression, no, anxiety. I think that's the new word out there—anxiety. Yeah. So if you're going to step outside your comfort zone, your anxiety is high, but my gosh, just do it. Do it. Do it. That anxiety will help. And I honestly believe that people who stay in that anxiety level and don't step out of that comfort zone. It just builds and builds and builds. And yes, it's scary, but it's not the end of the world… like you can do it, you can do it. And they have resources. You like, you're there to help them, right? So, oh yeah, yeah. I love that phrase.
Okay, so these people start a business, and they're going to want to keep people for the long term, like myself. I want staff to be here for a very long time, and I want them to have a career, not a job. What's your take on that kind of stuff for business leaders?
Kyle 19:13
So for business leaders… I'm going to speak more at my level, I guess, on how I thought things through. The first thing I thought of was retention, recruitment, and succession. So when we talk about recruitment, we want to try to recruit the best possible staff or employees that will benefit the nation and retain—I already came up with a retaining plan with my HR division. We emphasize lots of our group benefits, our pension plans, and upgrading our salary grid, so just being competitive with the market in terms of salary. So that was the second part of it. And then the third part of it is succession. You know, we have a lot of veterans, I guess you could call them, who hold a lot of knowledge. So what we want to do is implement a succession plan where that knowledge is carried on with our younger generation.
Sharon 20:09
And you will help them with the succession plan? Oh yeah, for sure. Yeah, help me with my succession plan. I don't have one. I'm just gonna keep working until I drop. Oh, my God. So you talked about recruitment and hiring the best staff. We're hiring right now. We're always hiring. We're growing, which is great, but it's really hard. It's hard finding the best staff. I find that as I'm either in this business longer, or, I don't know if it's a global pandemic, so to speak, or if it's just my outlook on what my expectations are, but it's hard to find the right staff. Do you find that over there as well? Or how does that work?
Kyle 20:49
Well, for me, I have the benefit of working with the budget, and I think with yours, like being an entrepreneur yourself. I run the natural gas utility, which is one of the companies that fall under the Group of Companies. So it's basically almost like an entrepreneur—you eat what you kill. There's no funding. There's no set budget. You know, you got to go out and create that income. So you got to work within your limits, right? But with me, I'm able to exploit that. I could plaster like top notch posters, recruit people, I could utilize, you know… I could utilize any recruitment site as much as I want. But as an entrepreneur or slash manager for a profit company, it's tougher, because you got to work within what you got, right? So I can see where you're coming from. It's tougher for you to recruit, but for me, I have a budget that I can definitely exploit and utilize to its full potential.
Sharon 21:52
What I find is.... We've been doing this for 18 years, and we built credibility, we built a name. So you have to be careful with the people you hire, and those people are representing you and your company and your other team mates. And you know, like we are, in my business anyways, if you can go down the street and do the same thing. So you have to protect your credibility. You have to protect your name, right? So it's really hard, and as we grow, I'm more and more in the office working on business, which I enjoy doing and what I should be doing. I get that, but you have to have them portray what you built for the last 18 years. So it's a hard thing, and I don't know if I know the answer to how to do that for people. I did like your take on that you talked about the succession plan and having your veterans train. So we do implement that quite a bit. I have a great team that's been with me for a lot of years, so they actually helped me with that. But I like the idea of… I was actually thinking about doing short videos and sharing it with my new team regularly, on my core values and on what my expectations are, and stuff, but I haven't implemented that yet.
Kyle 23:05
Like an orientation video, an orientation package. Yes, that's one thing we're trying to do, too. We're trying to correct, especially with the non-band members or the non Indigenous that come and work for our community. We try to put an orientation package together that understands the Onion Lake culture. I know we talk about Cree culture, but I think every reserve, or every First Nation in Canada, is unique in its own way, so we call it the Onion Lake culture. So yeah, just to understand our community at hand.
Sharon 23:39
What barriers still exist out there, Kyle, like for funding, mentorship, and resources?
Kyle 23:44
Well, the barriers… I talk about the banks needing that Band Council resolution just to do business. So that's one of the biggest barriers that we face. I think it's Section 89 of the Indian Act, where no institution is allowed to come on reserve lands, to seize any property. So that is basically it, but it actually works good in a sense of like, you know, trying to maintain, especially when people hit their lowest point in their business and whatever. But when we talk about seizing Indian lands, it goes beyond just the business part of things… it doesn't even allow guys like me to buy a house through a mortgage, through the bank on reserve lands. So when we want to do something that we got to go outside, which is fine, it adds value to it anyways, if you're investing in your own home or your own property outside of the community, that's the biggest barrier for any indigenous entrepreneur to try to start a business, is that bank portion.
Sharon 24:58
This may be way outside the banks, and they can remove this if it's not even a thing, but can you guys not create your own bank? Is that a thing? Is that weird?
Kyle 25:06
Yeah, no, actually, there are banks out there, First Nations banks and institutions like that. So what we rely heavily on is a company called SIEF for that purpose. So SIEF I think, stands for Saskatchewan Indigenous Enterprise Foundation. So they're basically like a financial institution for entrepreneurs in Saskatchewan. They're out of Saskatoon. I think they do loans right up to about a quarter million dollars for entrepreneurs. So, it's very beneficial.
Sharon 25:44
What systems or partnerships do you think need to be built to help indigenous entrepreneurs?
Kyle 25:50
In Onion Lake, I'd like to see more programs coming out of high school for our young adults, especially when they don't know the importance of, let's say, having good standing, good credit. We talk about credibility. So good credit means you could basically go to the bank and get whatever you need—open up a business, or get a mortgage, buy a car, whatever, right? There's not enough emphasis on credit.
Sharon 26:22
Not just on the First Nations. It's global.
Kyle 26:25
Well, yeah, that's true, because I actually went to high school in Saskatoon and that wasn't really…
Sharon 26:30
I honestly believe that the whole structure should be revamped. Like, they don't know… like, my kids when they hit 18—and it's part parenting, I should know this better—I should be a better parent. But they're like, what's income tax? You’re 18. You have to file income tax… credit rating. They got their first $500 credit card and they racked it up. My boy racked it up on a Game Station, or something like that. Bad credit, right? Like they don't know. And I feel that we need help in our school systems in that area to to create more success and more awareness, Yep, yeah, we've actually been implementing it a bit here with my staff, because there are young 20s, and I wish I had somebody in my back pocket to help me, you know, because I'm now 57 right? I wish I had my RRSP. And I wish I had, you know, my savings plan organized, right? Like, even that kind of stuff should be taught in school.
Kyle 27:22
I totally agree. I think we have to learn the hard way.
Sharon 27:28
Yes, 100% so now I'm looking forward to it. Let me tell you, go, go, go. But yes, yes. And like, back when I was growing up, we didn't talk about finances. My parents didn't talk about that stuff. It was very confidential or something, or hidden, or it was taboo. I'm not sure what the proper terminology is, but we didn't talk about that. Okay? Endurance in business. We're going to talk a little bit about that. Do you feel it's Mindset, strategy, community?
Kyle 27:53
I think it's a majority strategy. When we talk about credibility, right? We want to make sure that these entrepreneurs and companies are successful, and how do they do that? They have to prove themselves. And I'm a strong believer in workmanship. We don't want to be hiring individuals just because they're band members to do these contracts. We want to make sure that the other people on the other end are taken care of… who are like the homeowners, right? We don't want to run into any issues, basically. So if they have good workmanship, done in a timely manner, and their pricing is competitive, that speaks a lot about your credibility and the longevity of their company will be successful.
Sharon 28:33
I often think you don't have to look down the street to see what your competition is doing; just focus on yourself. Actually, I did a podcast with Gary Kulak from ATB, and he commented about watering your grass. Don't look at what's greener on the other side. Just water your own grass so it's green. And I thought, you know, that's a really clever analogy actually, and I really like the simplicity of it. So it doesn't matter if, even as an employer or a business owner/entrepreneur, I gotta water my grass as well. I can't just keep watering other people's grass, or it’s not going to work. I thought that was very clever.
For the entrepreneurs listening who feel overwhelmed, which—every entrepreneur feels overwhelmed. What's one piece of advice you would want them to take to heart… one piece of advice for somebody who's feeling overwhelmed, which is, you know, you start this business and you think, oh, yeah, I know how to weld. I know how to do that. And then once you start, you're not just welding, you're running a business. There's a difference between being in business, doing business, and then being on business. So they are going to feel overwhelmed. They're not going to get much sleep. They're going to be stressed. What's one piece of advice you can give them?
Kyle 29:43
Oh, it's pretty straightforward. Don't give up. And also keep a balance. I know a lot of times we are out on the road or, you know, we're missing out on a lot of family time, but try to keep a balance between work life and family life because the most motivation are the people that are at home waiting for you, right? And that's why you do it every day.
Sharon 30:06
I should have listened to this podcast 18 years ago. It's hard, like it sounds like it should be easy, this work life balance, but when you're in business, it's hard, because you've created a baby. So it needs nurturing. You know, when you have responsibilities, you got to pay your staff, you got to, you know, pay the power bill. You got all these responsibilities, and it's so easy to neglect the things that you know love you, right? Or even there's nothing worse than you having a bad day to go home and you take it out on the ones at home, right? It's the same scenario, but be very mindful of that. I agree with you, Kyle, and one thing that we did… So my husband and I both work a lot, but we took time, like if we stayed home, we still kept working, if that makes sense. So we had to leave. So we camped a lot. We literally loaded up the kids, and we would go away, or we'd make excursions, or we would do something to offset that. So whatever it takes for our listeners to make sure… but work-life balance is important, however you work it, but just be grateful for that time for sure.
Kyle 31:12
Oh yeah, for sure.
Sharon 31:15
Okay, anything else you'd add to our podcast, Kyle… something that you'd like to talk about?
Kyle 31:20
Well, I just want to throw in a little bit more on the statistics side of things. Yeah, so Onion Lake is comprised of about 120 entrepreneurs since it began this CDC, so we have about 60% of them—truck owners, about the other 20%, trades, and then the other 20% would be like miscellaneous, like barbers and those kinds of technicians, nail technicians and stuff like that. So, we are growing. We do have the support there, back at home, whether or not our community is growing, and it's growing pretty quick. So there are a lot of opportunities. There are a lot of gaps that can be filled just in terms of business opportunities…
Sharon 32:09
I was gonna ask you about what parts need to be filled out there, like, what are people looking for?
Kyle 32:14
So like I said, we're building 15 to 25 homes per year. We're trying to revamp that and get 40 to 50 per year. So we're short on trades. We're short on electricians, plumbers, gas fitters, construction, carpentry engineers, all that good stuff… we want to try, I guess, basically rely on ourselves. We rely heavily on a lot of Lloydminster businesses. And it's, you know, it's not a bad thing, it's a great thing. It's a good partnership. So, yeah, we want to be a sovereign nation. We want to be self-sufficient. We want to be independent.
Sharon 32:55
So, yeah, that's awesome. One thing, I think, too, just because of my BNI group, there's a lot of shortages in the trades.
Kyle 33:03
Yeah, I think so. There's a shortage in the trades and, like, throughout Canada.
Sharon 33:08
So, yeah, again, another global thing. Like, I don't know what's happening. Like, why is it so hard to find workers and people and entrepreneurs? I'm not sure.
Kyle 33:16
Well, you know what? I think the world's evolving to AI and that kind of thing. So I think a lot of people spend a lot of their time on the technology side of things, right? So, but then I was watching videos about AI and how it's going to take away jobs, but at the same time create other jobs, right? So I think the world is heading in that direction. So I was trying to grasp the concept of a CPU and a GPU and data centers and stuff like that. So it's crazy how quick it's moving.
Sharon 33:50
It's fast, like, I keep telling myself, I don't want to get old and not stay current, like I need to stay current. But at this rate, it's fast. It gets crazy fast. It's alarming. Actually, it's exciting. It's exciting as long as it's good. Like, you know, you see bad things, like, again, when I had the podcast with the bank, they said that, because of AI, you got to be extra careful now with cyber, right? So it's a thing even it's like, oh, that's scary, because it's so smart, right? And I think of my mother sitting there and sher gets a weird email or a message, like she would be alarmed, right? So anyways, it's very scary. Okay, anything else before I jump off? I know that's twice I said that, but anything else?
Kyle 34:34
No, I think that's it. But I appreciate all the business we've done so far with It's Time Promotions. I think it's been positive ever since we started doing business. And just from my point of view, I think your company is growing and it looks successful on our end, and Onion Lake will always support It's Time Promotions.
Sharon 34:54
Awesome. Thank you so much. That's really, really kind of you to say that for sure. Yeah, and I'm learning. And we're learning, just be patient with us. So okay, I'm gonna wrap her up. Then I just have a couple… I like to do some fast questions, like one-answer questions. How many languages do you speak?
Kyle 35:10
Two, two.
Sharon 35:11
Okay, so you speak… Seriously, I need to know what is in a peace pipe?
Kyle 35:18
Tobacco.
Sharon 35:20
… fried or baked.
Kyle 35:23
You could do both.
Sharon 35:27
Oh, okay, okay. So why sage for the cleansing? What's the purpose of the sage thing?
Kyle 35:31
It's actually sweet grass. It's like cleansing. It's almost like the holy water to the Christians, like it's a cleansing mechanism.
Sharon 35:41
Okay, okay, I get to learn all kinds of things here. Oh, I have one personal one. It wasn't on my list here, but I've had… okay, so as an entrepreneur here in Lloydminster, I need to charge GST, but you guys don't have to pay GST. But when I research that, I actually have to be on reserve out there, right? Is that how it works?
Kyle 36:03
Goods and services delivered on the reserve are tax exempt. But when we come to you and buy some promotional items, we have to pick GST, okay?
Sharon 36:12
Because I had one customer come in, and she goes, No, I have a treaty number. And I'm like, I don't, like, I even reached out to Alberta. Like, I want to make sure I'm doing it right. Like, I don't know.
Kyle 36:20
No, no, it's okay on reserve lands.
Sharon 36:20
Yeah. I figured if somebody was to know you would know that answer. So perfect. Thank you for clarifying that for me, because it does it, yeah, okay... So thank you again for joining me today Kyle, again, I really appreciate you, and I love talking to you when you come in and our phone calls. So hopefully out there, somebody's learned a little bit about business or entrepreneurship, and hopefully they can grow in your nation out there at Onion Lake.
Kyle 36:45
Yeah, a lot of opportunities.
Sharon 36:48
Yes, lots of opportunities. And the resources. Sometimes when you start a business, you don't have those resources, so take advantage of what you guys have out there. That's brilliant. Yes, to our listeners, I hope this conversation sparks some reflection on the power of leadership and collaboration and investing in your people. Until next time, keep learning, keep growing, and remember success is always stronger when it's shared. Thank you, Kyle, for joining us.
Kyle 37:11
Yeah. Thank you.