Natalie Peace is a Young Entrepreneur-in-Residence at TRU.

A young entrepreneur has taken up residence at  Thompson Rivers University.

Natalie Peace, a Kamloops business success story and business consultant will offer insight and advice to students in all programs as she pursues her Master of Business Administration degree at TRU.

“Natalie’s new role will benefit not only our students, but the broader Kamloops community as well,” says Dr. Russell Currie, Dean of Thompson Rivers University School of Business and Economics. “This enables us to help infuse Kamloops with graduates better prepared to succeed in the business community.”

Often as students work with the community on projects in their third and fourth years they are formulating ideas for their own business ventures. Currie says having Peace available for the students to brainstorm their ideas with will help them solidify their plans and ideas.

“Faculty mentors at TRU were a tremendous advantage for me as I finished my BA program here in 2007,” Peace said. “I literally left the convocation stage to return to work in my own, one-year old business, a Booster Juice franchise. This is an opportunity to give back to the school that supported me when I was starting my business.”

In her new role Peace will mentor students seeking solutions to the challenges and questions they face with starting their own business. She is offering her mentorship as part of her studies as she works on completing her Master of Business Administration (MBA) at TRU.

“What is the first step in starting my own business?”

— A question students often ask of Natalie Peace

Peace is a well-known local business success story. In 2007 she was a Kamloops Chamber of Commerce Young Entrepreneur of the Year, a finalist in the Business Person of the Year in 2011 and nominated for Service Provider of the Year 2012.

After opening her first Booster Juice in 2006, she grew the business to three franchise locations and 50 employees, eventually selling the last of the stores in 2011. She now has a stake in several businesses, and works as a business consultant.

PEACE TALKS
Students can arrange a one-on-one consultations during flexible office hours at the TRU campus. When working with students, Peace says the number-one question asked is “what is the first step in starting my own business?”

Along with finding solutions to challenges students are facing, The Young Entrepreneur In-Residence is bringing in successful business leaders from the community who have excelled within their industry, to share their experience and knowledge with TRU students.

MORE INFORMATION
Natalie Peace
Phone: 250-851-6428
Email: natalie@peaceandprofit.com

Dr. Russell Currie
TRU Dean, School of Business and Economics
Phone: 250-828-5217
Email: rcurrie@tru.ca