Shelby Weaver (left) and Abby Albino (right) both have jobs based in Canada’s basketball scene and together run Mack House, a sneaker decorating studio, and Makeway, a sneaker retail store. They say starting their businesses while continuing with their full-time roles reduced the financial pressures on the business.Supplied
When Shelby Weaver started customizing sneakers as a hobby in 2018, she says she didn’t consider herself to be particularly artistic. Ms. Weaver sought reprieve from her busy role as a director for the Toronto Raptors when inspiration to experiment with altering sneakers first struck. A year later, Ms. Weaver was hatching a plan to launch a studio where others could come together to paint and personalize their favourite pair of kicks.
Today, Ms. Weaver and her co-founder Abby Albino, who is head of brand and business strategy at Canada Basketball, run Mack House, a studio near Toronto’s Queen Street West strip where sneaker heads can put their personal spin on footwear. Next door is Makeway, launched a year later, where the pair sell sneakers and streetwear.
“I’m an action person,” says Ms. Weaver. “If I have an idea that I think is good, I’m doing it right away.”
Like many entrepreneurs, Ms. Weaver and Ms. Albino started a new venture while balancing full-time jobs, and in Ms. Albino’s case, parenthood. They are two out of 7.4 million Canadian adults who report having a side-hustle on top of other work commitments. What sets some of these entrepreneurs apart from the rest is their ability to scale their side gigs into full-fledged businesses.
A key strategy for scale, according to Rawcology founder Tara Tomulka, is a willingness to experiment.
“I’m a recovering perfectionist,” confesses Ms. Tomulka, who began building her raw food business 10 years ago while working in corporate communications. “It can hinder you from getting started if you think it needs to be perfect first. Get out there. Start experimenting, adjust and get feedback. You can change things along the way.”
Ms. Tomulka did exactly that while researching the ideal Rawcology product to place in supermarkets. She experimented with several types of plant-based foods, including a line of vegan dips, before landing on a recipe that enabled coconut chips to masquerade as Doritos.
“On a whim, I tried making smoky cheese coconut chips. I took the recipe to [the culinary department] at George Brown [College], and we looked at how we could launch a product like that with a shelf life. While testing recipes there, I realized I wanted to have an impact by creating snack foods that are better for you.”
Ms. Tomulka has since left corporate communications entirely and works full time on expanding Rawcology’s footprint with products like grain-free granola and other low allergen offerings. Both she and the women behind Mack House and Makeway credit their trajectory, in some part, to the support of good mentors and business partners.
“I had a very positive relationship with my boss,” Ms. Tomulka says when reflecting on the period where she transitioned from full-time work in communications to studying nutrition. “I didn’t leave my full-time role right away. We made an arrangement for me to stay on part-time while going back to school.”
Ms. Weaver says her parents are both entrepreneurs, which made taking the leap herself less daunting. She also notes that, perhaps counterintuitively, juggling multiple jobs and projects has helped relieve some of the early stress of entrepreneurship.
“Doing this while we’ve had full-time jobs has allowed us to take the pressure off the business financially,” says Ms. Weaver, who notes the recent lull in consumer spending is a difficult reality the Makeway team is navigating.
“When you’re fighting to pay your bills you make very different business decisions than when you’re investing in the business. I’m not saying it is viable for everyone, but having the businesses live on their own while also building our careers in basketball has been empowering.”
Kimberly Knight (left) and Shanelle McKenzie (right) created Canada’s first wellness space for women of colour, The Villij. They started by hosting pop-up yoga classes and that morphed into a bricks-and-mortar wellness space.Supplied
Like the founders of Rawcology and Makeway, Kimberly Knight and Shanelle McKenzie were looking to improve their wellbeing when they hatched their plan for what would eventually be Canada’s first wellness space for women of colour, The Villij. The co-founders met while working at Via Rail in 2017 and started working on The Villij while holding down full-time jobs. In 2023 and 2024 respectively, they left their roles to focus on growing The Villij full time. What started as a series of sold-out, pop-up yoga classes morphed into a bricks-and-mortar space for both fitness and networking.
“We knew we were ready to open the studio because we were putting out events and we were sold out each time,” recalls Ms. McKenzie while reflecting on what prompted them to take the leap into launching their studio.
“Sixty per cent of women who came to our pop-up events said they would have never tried yoga before due to lack of representation,” says Ms. Knight. “We know we are meeting an underserved community, and it’s not necessarily that the demand wasn’t there, it’s just that we’re one of the first to step up to the plate and successfully meet it.”
Another common thread between these entrepreneurs is a powerful ability to cultivate community. Ms. Tomulka says one of her proudest moments was seeing different generations of consumers fall in love with her food. For Ms. Weaver, there’s pride in building a business and community hub that engages and employs locals.
“We are obsessed with our community, our business, and our team,” says Ms. McKenzie. “There’s not a day that I don’t think about something we can do for The Villij.”