Friday, July 16, 2021 7 Brooklin Town Crier Zoe's Backyard Swimming Zoe Butterworth, age 19, started her swim lessons business in 2018. "I teach individuals of all ages. My goal is to make individuals feel safe and comfortable in, on, and around the water. I have always loved to swim and enjoy working with kids therefore, I thought it would be a great fit." The aspect Zoe loves most is seeing students improve their swimming skills and confidence in the water. "I am so glad I am able to take part in students' amazing progress." "I wish I would have more time to teach everyone but I can only book so many students each year." She is completing a commerce degree at Mount Allison University and plans to use her knowledge from school and business experience to help potential business endeavours. "Starting my business taught me a lot about being organized, hardworking, and accommodating," she says. "The way you treat customers reflects greatly on your business's reputation." Contact: zoe@butterworths.org Cross Customz Andrew Cross, age 15, runs a company that specializes in shoe customization. "I buy a plain white shoe and hand paint any designs to support the customer's wants and needs. I mostly paint on an all white Nike Air Force 1 Low, but I have branched out and started painting some Air Jordan shoe models." He also specializes in cleaning and restoring. If a client has a beat up dirty shoe, he can clean it and even repaint it to look new. His passion for painting shoes began in March when he came across a beat up pair that he really liked. "I thought that I could maybe fix them so they can look new again." He ended up repainting them and loved the result. He used the leftover paint to try to create a design on a brand new shoe. "My friends and family thought I should try and sell them. I posted a couple of pictures on Etsy and within a couple weeks my business blew up!" The one thing he loves about painting shoes is that it's very relaxing. "When I start painting I can focus on the shoes and forget about any stress from school or other problems." "I have to prioritize my customers' safety by ensuring I follow Covid protocols while handling their merchandise. After finishing painting the shoes, I will disinfect all the items they purchased and let them sit for two days to ensure all bacteria and germs are gone." He protects himself by wearing a mask and social distancing as much as possible when dropping off or shipping out shoes. He hopes to see his brand worn all over the world. "I already ship my shoes all over Canada and the USA, but I think it would be cool to see some merchandise get shipped overseas." Other plans include branching off Etsy and launching his own website. He's been experimenting with making his own clothing and plans to release his designs on his Etsy website by the end of 2021. Contact: https:// www.instagram.com/ cross.customz/?utm_ medium=copy_link Call or Text: 905.706.3131 office@tanyatierneyteam.com 49 Baldwin St. Brooklin