In this episode, I come in to see if there’s anything I can do for two struggling Canadian companies — Toronto boutique retailer Lavish & Squalor and Ottawa fair-trade food producer Camino. Is there hope? What happens in the end? I can’t tell you! You’ll just have to watch it and see!

• Watch a preview of The Big Decision

Have a great weekend and a fabulous St. Patrick’s Day!

But if it’s important for me, it’s so much more important for children. They’re still growing, developing, learning. This is the most crucial time of their lives, because what they do today will help them become who they are in the future.

The problem is 1 in 10 Canadian children are at risk of going to school hungry every day.

The Breakfast Clubs of Canada is changing that. They’re helping feed breakfasts to children in need across the country right now. How many breakfasts? 18 million across Canada every year. Because every kid deserves an equal chance to shine at school. And at life.

Just last week, I had a chance to go to one of their events at Highfield Junior School in Etobicoke where they fed over 100 students. 100 kids, all getting a breakfast they might not normally get. And the look on these children’s faces at simply getting a healthy meal — they just… lit up. I can’t express how it made me feel. Beyond humbled.

• See ET Canada coverage of the event at Highfield Junior School

As a mother and a grandmother, it’s hard for me to think of anything more important than making sure children all across the country have access to healthy breakfasts to start the day. So I’m doing what I can to help. And you can too.

You can support the Breakfast Clubs of Canada a number of ways:

• As part of their Help Them Shine Campaign, you can go to Walmart and purchase a $1 bookmark. You can also buy select food products from Danone, Folgers, Kellogg’s, Laughing Cow, and Uncle Ben’s in Walmarts across Canada and they’ll donate a portion of these sales during the Help Them Shine Campaign.
• You can also text BREAKFAST to 45678 to donate $5.
• And you can go to breakfastclubscanada.org and donate online.

$1 feeds one child one breakfast. $5 is a whole week.

We can do this.

For more information, please visit:

http://facebook.com/BreakfastClubsCanadaFanClub

http://breakfastclubscanada.org/

http://twitter.com/BreakfastCanada

The sixth season of Dragon’s Den is in full swing — I still don’t know how I ended up at the altar with Kevin! — and at the same time, I’ve been filming my new show The Big Decision. On top of all that, I travelled back and forth across the country, speaking at events in Halifax, Dawson Creek, Kitchener, Edmonton, and Toronto (just to name a few!). In November, I got to spend an incredible weekend in Kananaskis with the whole team from Venture — now that’s an inspiring bunch of people.

And my book Persuasion came out this fall. And the response has been far beyond my wildest dreams. I just found out it was 17th on the Globe & Mail bestseller list for 2011. That was a nice surprise.

But as I look back, what I’m going to remember most about the past fall is all the conversations I’ve had and the reactions I’ve received from readers all across the country. At book signings, by mail, online, or just on the street, so many people have spoken to me about how Persuasion has touched them and inspired them and encouraged them.

It’s hard to describe how special it is to me to know people have read Persuasion. To choose to read a book is a sizeable commitment in time and energy. When you decide to read a book, you are dedicating a portion of your life to it. And that’s a responsibility I don’t take lightly. So to know people have given their time to my words and my thoughts and then felt like they had received real value from it — that they feel it has changed who they are and how they think — I literally can’t think of a better Christmas present. So to all of you… thank you. So much.

But enough of this. It’s a new year full of new opportunities and new surprises. And I can’t wait to see what happens.

I also can’t wait for spring.

On Wednesday night, we had the launch party for my new book, Persuasion, and my line of Persuasion products. And it was wonderful. My dear friend Jann Arden was there to host the event — still one of the funniest ladies anywhere — and my fellow Dragons, Jim and Bruce, were on hand to say some very nice things about me. (We also got to make fun of Kevin, which is one of our favourite forms of entertainment.)

We took over the space at Andrew Richards Designs and we partied. The bar kept the drinks flowing and people were able to get a taste of my new Persuasion wine. Jeremy Baker from Thomas George Estate Winery even came up from Sonoma County, California to introduce it to everyone. (I might have had one glass too many. Possibly two.) And there were sampling stations around the room where people could experience my other products. On one side, I could see a crowd sipping cups of the coffee right next to another group trying out the skincare products. On the other side of the room, people were lining up to indulge their sweet tooths with the delicious chocolate. (I’m fairly certain I saw a few of you line up more than once.)

I want to thank everyone who came out to celebrate the evening with me. I also want to thank all of you who have bought the book and the products. This has been a real journey and now that the book and the Persuasion products are actually out in the world and in your hands, I want you to know without your support, I couldn’t have done any of it. You mean the world to me.

(Again.)

I used to have a blog. And I loved it. But then life got in the way — Hello, Dragons’ Den! — and as I got busier and busier, I let myself get out of the habit of blogging.

But then one day I realized something — I really really missed it.

I missed being able to talk about things that matter to me. I’ve missed talking about my life. I’ve missed talking about being a mother and a businesswoman and what I think I did right (and wrong) in trying to find a balance between the two. I’ve missed being able to talk marketing — which is at the heart of what I am as a businesswoman — and about what goes into becoming a successful entrepreneur.

And I’ve really missed having a place where I can talk with you. The best blogs are a two-way street. What I’m talking about are my experiences and my opinions. I want to hear yours.

So yes. I’ve missed a lot.

But we make mistakes so we can learn from them. Not blogging any more was a mistake. So I’m back. I’ve got a brand new site and a brand new blog and I’m ready to go.

So I hope you come back soon.

It’s going to be fun.