Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: Welcome everyone to the TRON podcast. Today I have a very special guest which shows that age has no limits to success and going after what you want. Special guest today, entrepreneur, author and all around hustler, Ms. Abigail Banda. How are you?
[00:00:16] Speaker B: Good. Thank you for having me.
[00:00:18] Speaker A: Thank you for being on the show. You know, you're an incredible story that you decided really early, quickly at the age of 16 actually that you were going to do certain things. Can you give us a quick highlight of your background, please?
[00:00:30] Speaker B: Yeah, of course. So I was 16 in the middle of COVID I was really bored at home and luckily for my 16th birthday I got a sewing machine from my parents and I taught myself how to use it. I used YouTube videos, old books, everything.
And I learned how to make all sorts of things and I'm still learning today. I can make bags, T shirts, I make fabric, bookmarks, all sorts of things like that. And from there my, my business expanded into other craft things. I make pin buttons now. I got a press that Christmas from that year and it allowed me to expand even more. And then when I started publishing my books, I wanted to tie in my business with that. So now it's more book related products that I do.
[00:01:24] Speaker A: Okay, yeah, which, yeah, I saw that and you know, I went to your website, went to your LinkedIn profile and you have your toes in a couple different things. So, you know, when it comes to buttons and books, as somebody who can't sew, how did you even know how to pick up that skill? Like what attracted you to seamstress especially particular? You know, with all due respect, it seems like that's not something people really do that much anymore just because they're so used to buying their clothes already made. What made you go to that particular, very, very talented skill that you have?
[00:01:53] Speaker B: Yeah, well, you're absolutely right. But my late grandmother was a seamstress and she could make anything. She was way more talented than I was. So that was somewhat of an inspiration for me. I never really got to know her because she passed when I was young. But I still have so many of her old crafts that she made with her old sewing machine. So I think that was also somewhat of an inspiration for my parents to get me a sewing machine to begin with because they knew I was kind of creative and hands on. So they figured you can be like your oma and you can try to pick up sewing.
[00:02:31] Speaker A: Fantastic. Now how about, you know, as far as the books that you write and you're an author as well too. I got a chance to go on your Amazon profile and saw that you've written three books. One of them, I believe, is a series so far. Can you go into some of the books that you've written?
[00:02:44] Speaker B: Yeah, so I write a variety of things. My most popular one is a romance novella, and it's kind of based on a true story. The characters, at least, are based on real people. And then my series that I'm working on, I have the first one out. It's called. Called Lincoln School of Magic.
[00:03:02] Speaker A: I saw that.
[00:03:03] Speaker B: And it's. Yeah, I'm. I'm. I'm a huge Harry Potter fan, so it's very. It's heavily inspired by that. It's about wizards and witches inside of a magical school. And then there's a student that turns evil and starts tormenting the school. So the second book of that series is in the works, and I hope to write five of them.
[00:03:23] Speaker A: So getting a call from some film executives, you never know. Or some TV executives.
[00:03:28] Speaker B: Yeah, well, I hope so. They're not big enough yet.
[00:03:32] Speaker A: But still, you know, everybody has their start somewhere, which is amazing.
[00:03:37] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:03:38] Speaker A: You have a Wikipedia profile. Like, that is nuts. Right?
[00:03:42] Speaker B: I know. Yeah. I actually don't even know who started that. I. I was just. So. I discovered it when I was talking to ChatGPT and I was like, tell me about Abigail Banda. And it started describing me. Exactly. And I'm like, where did you find this? And then they sent me a link to that Wikipedia, and it was some lady that made it. I don't know. I guess that's pretty cool.
[00:04:07] Speaker A: Was it accurate? Like, did you have to go in there and edit anything?
[00:04:11] Speaker B: It's somewhat accurate. The only thing that was wrong was my birthplace, which I guess is something I never really disclosed, so.
[00:04:18] Speaker A: Oh, Jesus. Maybe it was somebody close to you. Right?
[00:04:22] Speaker B: Yeah, probably.
[00:04:23] Speaker A: You know. You know, what's cool is obviously you're the CEO of Abby's Hobbies, but you also have a world traveler, so you got a chance to see. You don't just do business. You also do a lot when it comes to travels. Experience. And you said you've traveled twice. You've been in the Netherlands, you've been to uk.
Tell us a little bit about your experiences traveling and how that's kind of made you. You.
[00:04:43] Speaker B: Yeah, well, that's a good question. So as a kid, my mom is obsessed with traveling, so that's probably where it came from. As a. We would do our annual vacations. We would usually go to Disney World because we were just kids. But I do have lots of family in the Netherlands.
[00:05:01] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:05:01] Speaker B: So we visit there frequently and then of course, visit the surrounding countries while we're there because it's.
Yeah. So I. I really love Europe and I want to explore more of it. And now that I'm in my final year of university, this is kind of my opportunity. I. I can't wait. I just, unfortunately, I wish it was more affordable.
[00:05:24] Speaker A: How do you balance being a college student doing all of this?
[00:05:28] Speaker B: Yeah, well, it's not easy, that's for sure. I mean, I love my calendar. In my calendar, I always have listed every single assignment I have to do for sure. And I usually set aside dedicated time to work on my business. And if not, it might be something I just do before bed. I just open up my laptop and just.
I don't know. So I'm usually updating social medias, my website and all that. So you're not like super time consuming, but.
[00:05:57] Speaker A: Yeah, you know. You know, but, you know, putting everything in every calendar means you're accomplishing every task that you have laid out for yourself for the day, which people can't say that they're doing, I guess, because it's. It's difficult. But once you get in a routine of it because, you know, you're living proof of what happens when organization meets preparation and taking advantage of opportunities. And you're getting a bachelor's in of Art in Communication and Media studies, correct?
[00:06:20] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:06:21] Speaker A: Nice. Nice. So what I. What I thought was amazing about you too was you were nominated for the best home business at the crcc. What's the crc?
[00:06:30] Speaker B: That is the Caledonia Regional Chamber of Commerce.
[00:06:33] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:06:34] Speaker B: It's like it's an organization in my local area.
[00:06:37] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:06:38] Speaker B: And I actually, I never even heard of these business awards until I got an email saying I was nominated. So there is a event dinner going on for that next month in March, and yeah, we'll see if I actually win. I don't know who I'm going against.
[00:06:55] Speaker A: Yeah, right. So are you. Did your. How did your business grow? So what. Who was your circle that you started out with? Did you go to fairs? Did you. Family and friends were the best, most available people. Can you give us a rundown of how you actually started getting word out about what you do?
[00:07:09] Speaker B: Yeah, it's usually just at craft shows and fairs, like you mentioned. I do them as much as I can, but, you know, being in school, I'm sorry, it can be pretty hard to find time to do it. So usually I do like one show a month, but while I was in high school, I Could do them more frequently.
I'm always handing out business cards and I also go to lots of community events, so word of mouth is a big way of sharing it. And even my family, they are pretty supportive and I'm sure they're also going around telling everybody about it. And living in such a small community, it's easier to get that support. And everybody knows you. Right. And they all want to support you. So I think that's the best way to grow.
[00:07:53] Speaker A: Got it, got it. Have you found any particular customers that are. Do you have a shop or do you have like a particular store? I know obviously you have your online retail, but do you have any particular place that says I want to. You start making things for me through an outlet. Are you. Are you put in any stores in particular or do you just stay in. Stay prospectively with yourself?
[00:08:11] Speaker B: I actually do have some products in a store. It's a local small shop and they rent out spaces for artists like me to sell our things there. Yeah.
[00:08:23] Speaker A: Okay. That's fantastic.
Yeah. You know, and like I said, obviously if you get things larger, I'm sure you'll sign some sort of non disclosure. But I just had to ask just in general if some items were available.
[00:08:34] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:08:34] Speaker A: A larger scale for you because that's usually how a lot of people start when they start making goods. Homemade, they scale up and that's great. And I hope that happens for you.
[00:08:42] Speaker B: Yeah, thanks.
[00:08:43] Speaker A: So tell me about the podcast that you're a host of, please, too. I'm not Canadian, so I don't get a chance to maybe tune into that, but I'm tuned into Canada quite a bit.
[00:08:51] Speaker B: Yeah. So it's called the Canadian Context and I host it along with my boyfriend Dylan.
[00:08:57] Speaker A: Nice.
[00:08:58] Speaker B: And we want to highlight Canada because often Canadian content gets saturated with American content everywhere. So, yeah, we wanted a place where Canadian entrepreneurs and artists can be highlighted. And that was something that really touched me personally because being a Canadian, especially in a small town, it's hard to even make a living, just a comfortable living off of running a business or being an artist, anything like that. And I do know multiple people who are in the music industry who are trying to become actors, but it is very hard with so much competition down in Hollywood. And I know Toronto is like the second best city in the world to be an actor.
[00:09:44] Speaker A: Sure, for sure.
[00:09:45] Speaker B: So I think these Canadians, they don't get enough credit all the time or.
[00:09:50] Speaker A: They'Re going to have to look at Vancouver as well too. Right. Because you know, Vancouver. But I've been to Vancouver, and it's a monster of a city, you know, but they do all the Hallmark movies up there and they film a lot, a lot of Hollywood productions out of there too. Right. Deadpool's obviously been filmed.
[00:10:04] Speaker B: Anywhere with a forest is Right, right, right.
[00:10:06] Speaker A: Well, it's funny not to segue too much. I went on that color suspension bridge and you know, that was. That was absolutely amazing. It's breathtaking out there. It really is, by having that podcast. How's the reception been when it comes to the audience that maybe wasn't being served?
[00:10:24] Speaker B: Yeah, well, so far it's still fairly new, but the majority of our audience are female Canadians between the ages of 23 to 27. So I'm assuming they're women who are maybe aspiring entrepreneurs, artists and they're. Because they're just kind of getting started in their career and. Yeah, and we actually do have some American audience members, which is great. They're getting. I like that. The Americans are now consuming Canadian content, whereas usually it's the other way around.
[00:11:13] Speaker A: Sorry, I think I lost you there for a second. I'll make sure to edit that portion of the podcast out. I hate to ask you to repeat that, but how's the reception for the podcast then?
[00:11:23] Speaker B: Yeah, so it's been pretty good. It's still fairly new, but so far the majority of our audience are young women between the ages of 23 and 27. And I do like that we have a few American listeners, which I think is fantastic because now Americans are being exposed to Canadian content.
[00:11:42] Speaker A: Right.
[00:11:43] Speaker B: And usually it's the other way around.
[00:11:46] Speaker A: Yeah, it's.
[00:11:49] Speaker B: Like, oh, sorry.
[00:11:51] Speaker A: No, no, it's my fault. I'm just fascinated because I know so much of a little bit about Canadian media like you guys, only it has to be most Canadian content the further you get away from like London or Toronto. But since because of proximity purposes, you. You guys naturally consume a lot of American US based content.
[00:12:08] Speaker B: Yep, you're right. And we even get like the Canadian or, sorry, the American news channels here. We can watch CNN and we get all the American ads.
[00:12:16] Speaker A: Right, right, right. It's crazy. So, you know, that's great. And so like has. That has. How is your audience is growing? Because I saw you have a really decent number of listeners to it. I mean, have you? Obviously. And I'm happy for that. I'm very happy for you. Has it started to gain some steam to get more attention nationally as you've been growing and giving people opportunities to. That maybe they weren't available to talk about themselves particularly Those women.
[00:12:42] Speaker B: Yeah. So I think these, all these women listeners, they are definitely taking advantage of a Canadian podcast. And also, even if they're business owners, they may be targeting Canadian customers. There's a lot of businesses, they only serve the Canadian area, so it's another platform for them to speak directly to their consumers.
[00:13:06] Speaker A: Right. How do you feel as far as, you know, entering new markets and how do you, when you want to expand, you want to expand your reach as a, as a, as a business, how, where do you particularly go to get out of your backyard to make your company more well known? Obviously the Internet, everybody can look things up. But have you gone to larger markets to see if your product was available and expanded?
[00:13:29] Speaker B: Not really. I usually stick with my small area. I really love my community and they have been supportive enough for my business. Especially, you know, they nominated me for an award, which is fantastic. So, yeah, obviously like Instagram, Facebook is my primary advertising platform. And now I also use my podcast a little bit to talk about it, but I don't want to always put myself in the spotlight there. But yeah, and then there's that little shop that some of my products are in and I often refer.
[00:14:02] Speaker A: Yeah, I was only asking just because I think that it could be very effective for you, you know, considering how you're growing in the, in the space that you're in currently right now. Maybe at some point just this is just me thinking as, you know, as a fan of what you did, I'd love for you to take off and take the next steps. And you know, you're a small town, but people from small towns you hear great success stories about all the time. And I'm like, man, I would love to, you know, her to venture to Toronto or, you know, Montreal's a different beast because they speak French. But I, you know, I could see you doing bigger things if, you know, and that's just me talking to you. I'd love to see like, you know, you be in a big retail store.
[00:14:40] Speaker B: Yeah, thank you. It would definitely be the dream.
I wish, you know, one day it might happen, but right now I can't dedicate enough time to my business. It's basically like part time, part time business.
Like, I just kind of do it in my spare time.
[00:14:57] Speaker A: Yeah, okay, gotcha. Well, it's still doing, still doing really well, you know, and I saw your LinkedIn page as well too, for your business. You can get it. You have interns?
[00:15:07] Speaker B: Yeah, I did, I did have one this past semester in the winter time. It was a great experience for Both of us, right?
[00:15:19] Speaker A: How does a 20 year old in college has an intern for her business? Like, you couldn't even. That's incredible.
That's like an Autobot. It just doesn't happen. Right. Like, I mean, it does happen, but I'm just talking to one who does it. Right. And you're just like, wait a minute, you're supposed to be on paper, the intern somewhere else, right?
[00:15:37] Speaker B: Yeah, I know, you're right. And it did feel a little bit weird, especially interviewing them. I'm like, all these people are the same age as me.
[00:15:45] Speaker A: Right, right, right, right, right, right. That's incredible. That's amazing. And yeah, I had. I away when it said that you had. You had interns you were looking for. So how can. Obviously I. I say this to the guests that I talk to. You're obviously doing really well. But for the person listening, how can they find you?
[00:16:02] Speaker B: Yeah, so I do have a link tree, which is easiest for me because I have so much stuff going on. So. Want me to say the link?
[00:16:10] Speaker A: Yeah, please. Absolutely.
[00:16:13] Speaker B: Yeah. So it's link. Tr.ee/abiban, A B I B A N. Okay. So on there you can find my business website, my social medias, you can find what else is on all my podcast.
[00:16:28] Speaker A: Yeah, I saw that.
[00:16:29] Speaker B: Anything that I've done, my books, they're all on there. Yeah, I. I realize I sometimes take on a bit too much.
[00:16:37] Speaker A: Walk me through the process of writing a book. Right. Because I'm just curious, like, so you. Did you look at the writing structure? Obviously Harry Potter was a big influence on you. Did you have like a certain structure that you needed to follow? Did you take a course? Or did you just, I hate to say wing it, but say, I'm going to do the best I can with what's in front of me.
[00:16:56] Speaker B: Sorry, you froze.
[00:16:58] Speaker A: Okay, how did. Can you walk me through the process of writing a book?
Can you walk me through the process of writing the process that you go through?
[00:17:17] Speaker B: Yeah. So usually it just starts with an idea in my head and I know, you know, the main character and I know what I want the plot to be, generally. And a lot of the times it sounds weird, but the ideas come to me in a dream. Like, I literally, sometimes I have a dream and I'm like, that could be a good book.
[00:17:35] Speaker A: But that's the title of one of your books too, where somebody said they were imagining somebody too, as well. Right?
[00:17:40] Speaker B: Yeah, that's the Mystery Man. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:17:44] Speaker A: Right.
[00:17:45] Speaker B: Yeah. So. But for Lincoln School of Magic, for example, Yeah, I, I don't have like, crazy applications or anything. I use notes app on my phone and I do like chapter one. This is what I want to happen in chapter one. Just like point form notes. And then in another note, I do short character descriptions.
[00:18:06] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:18:06] Speaker B: I describe them physically and what their personality is like.
[00:18:09] Speaker A: Right.
[00:18:10] Speaker B: And then I, I don't know, I just go into it. I. I say, right, chapter one. And I, I just write it. But you should know the, the title usually comes to me near the end of writing.
[00:18:23] Speaker A: Yeah, that's awesome. You know, I think because, you know, people get their. Get their inspiration from different places. And I was just curious, like, you know, do you, do you do it old school it and just grab a notepad and kind of, you know, go there? You know, some people use chat GPT to clean up some, Some errors or grammatical sentences and things like that. And to be able. In the fact that you have, you know, three books, I mean, I'm just. There's not a lot of words to sit back and say, she's 20. She owns her. Has her own business. She's a college student. She's balancing all this. And oh, by the way, she's got, you know, a Kindle store. And it just shows you that when you're inspired at an early, inspiration comes no matter what, and you just prepared for it when it happens. That's incredible. That's amazing.
[00:19:02] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:19:03] Speaker A: I'm glad you reached out.
[00:19:04] Speaker B: Yeah.
I have been writing since I was five, so it's been something that stuck with me my whole life. I was always, you know, the strongest reader and writer in my class.
[00:19:15] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:19:15] Speaker B: But I can't do math.
[00:19:17] Speaker A: Okay. Okay.
[00:19:18] Speaker B: One or the other, we all have.
[00:19:20] Speaker A: Our strengths and weaknesses and that's all that matters. Right. You've gravitated towards it that you were best at. So, you know, here on the Tron podcast, you know, the randomness of nothing. I've always tried to talk to fascinating people to get, Get a chance to pick their. Brian. Their brain, excuse me, who are smarter than me, because I believe that inspiration comes from a variety of walks of life. And the work that you're doing in a small community in Canada, hoping to get your voice out, voice heard and expand and do well, which you already are, is one of the reasons I was honored that you reached out to me to talk to me, because I wanted to make sure that, hey, you know, there's smart people and success stories, you know, everywhere. And the fact that you're 20, your accomplishments speak for themselves. And it's Amazing to hear this from you.
[00:20:01] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, thank you so much. And you're absolutely right. And I see that with my podcast, too, with the people that request to be on it. They all. They all do amazing things. And I see these businesses that I've never heard of, and sometimes it's like, I wish I thought of that.
[00:20:16] Speaker A: Right. So I got a question for you. If I wanted to be a guest on your podcast, do you have American guests?
[00:20:22] Speaker B: No, I don't.
[00:20:23] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:20:24] Speaker B: I want to keep it Canadian. Yes.
[00:20:26] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:20:27] Speaker B: Sometimes there are exceptions.
[00:20:29] Speaker A: Right.
[00:20:31] Speaker B: We're contemplating inviting international people who have maybe traveled to Canada, and we could get their perspective on it. Tim Hortons, things like that. Yeah. We actually just recorded an episode all about Tim Hortons.
[00:20:46] Speaker A: Oh, my goodness. Yeah. Like, it's so funny. Like, sometimes people don't know the name about stuff. Like, yeah, that was an actual hockey player who started that franchise. Right. The name didn't just come out of left field. Right. And so, you know, and then you guys, you know, your silk type dollar bills. Right. And toonies and loonies. Right. It's crazy.
[00:21:02] Speaker B: Yeah. You're educated.
[00:21:03] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. Just. Yeah, it's. It's so I have. Yeah. I go up there a lot. I go up there a lot. And it's. It's a great country. You know, it's funny. Like, people sometimes think, like, it's just, you know, I don't know, it's a real place and people act normal and there's nothing like, you know, scary about it. It's great. It's a great country. It really is.
[00:21:19] Speaker B: It's beautiful. We don't live in igloos.
[00:21:22] Speaker A: Right? Right, Right, right, right, right. And so it's awesome. And, you know, I want you. I want you more than anything from this experience. I hope that you enjoyed being on this podcast with me. You know, it seems like, you know, you have a very bright future ahead of you, and you certainly didn't need to talk to me for you to know that. And you know the wonderful things that you've done. If I had any advice to you, it would be keep exactly doing what you're doing right now. And more importantly, you're not just in a small community because you're connected to the world of all the great things that you're doing.
[00:21:53] Speaker B: Wow. Thank you so much.
[00:21:54] Speaker A: Yeah. You got.
[00:21:55] Speaker B: The sky's the limit for this opportunity.
[00:21:57] Speaker A: Yeah, the sky's the limit for you. It really is. And that's what the randomness of nothing is all about. And we're going to continue to reach out to people like you, and I hope to get people like you available for the time to do so so we can continue to find those niches and those things that people love that make them tick and they're passionate about that.
[00:22:17] Speaker B: That sounds fantastic. Yeah. Thank you for giving people like me the spotlight on your podcast.
[00:22:22] Speaker A: I'd love to have you back, too. Thank you so much. Take care, Abigail.
[00:22:26] Speaker B: Yeah, thanks.
