Collingwood entrepreneur loves outdoor adventure, and wants to share it

She’s gone for a dip with great white sharks, and trekked across New Zealand, but these days a Collingwood small business owner finds herself staying close to home.

For this week’s edition of People of Collingwood, we spoke with Lauri Corlett, 30, owner of SHE Ventures.

Q: Where did you grow up?

A: I grew up about 20 minutes outside of Shelbourne right near Mansfield Ski Hill, in Mulmur.

I lived there until I graduated high school in 2012.

After that, I moved to London, Ont. for four years for university. I went to the University of Western Ontario for an honours specialization in geology and a major in environmental science.

I was pretty nomadic. I moved every six months or so. I lived all over Canada and lived abroad for a bit. I lived in a van for a bit.

I started a Master of Science in 2021 that I’m still doing now. It’s at the University of Manitoba in polar oceanography.

I moved to Collingwood in 2022.

Q: What was it like, living a ‘nomadic’ life?

A: When I was a kid, my parents would flip through the photo album of trips they did. They went to Egypt and Greece. My mom would say, if there’s a time to travel it’s in your 20s before you have kids and a house.

From a young age, I always had that mindset.

Literally, the day after I graduated, I was on a plane to Africa. Now I’ve been to almost 30 different countries. You kinda get hooked on it once you start.

I did fly-in-fly-out work for almost four years. I worked at a mine in the Arctic, where I would work four weeks straight, and then I would get four weeks off. It gave me flexibility to travel in my time off.

I didn’t see the point in renting because I’d be gone for weeks at a time, so I got a camper van and did that for a couple of years. I was living in a van during COVID. It was crazy.

There’s a lot of freedom to have new experiences, meet new people and see new places, but a lot of your connections are surface level because you’re only meeting people for short periods of time before moving on to the next place.

I missed my family, friends from childhood, and routine. There’s a lot you can’t commit to when you’re gone 50 per cent of the time. I did love it and I miss it, but I’m appreciative of the experiences I get to have now that I’m settled.

Q: What brought you to Collingwood in 2022?

A: I got a job. It’s a good job.

Having travelled so much in my 20s, I wasn’t prioritizing a career, just life experiences.

I wanted to hunker down and prioritize my career more. I got a good opportunity in Oakville that was remote, but they transitioned to hybrid.

I thought, where can I live that is a commutable distance to Oakville? I did not want to live in the city.

I picked Collingwood. I hadn’t spent too much time here before that, but I spent some summers in Killbear on Georgian Bay when I was a kid. I loved being close to the water.

Collingwood is a hidden gem in Ontario where it’s very close to nature. It has everything you need, but keeps the small-town feel.

Q: You started a new business this year: SHE Ventures. What is the business, and what led to you starting it?

A: I think the end-goal for everyone is to wake up everyday and do what you love to do.

For me, transitioning into a more corporate role in 2022, my job is mostly desk-based. I live alone, and I work alone. I’ve struggled with that.

It’s a lot of time by yourself.

I thought about what I needed to do to have connection with people and find community again.

For me, there weren’t really groups aligned with what I wanted to do. I’m sure there are a lot of women in a similar scenario who are alone, who are scared to go and do things because they’re alone.

We do multi-day hikes, day hikes or workshops on outdoor education. Where my passion lies is with intense, multi-day experiences like back-country hikes, winter camping and canoe trips.

Q: What are your hobbies?

A: Travel, adventure, camping, hiking, canoeing. I have my paddleboard and I go out on Georgian Bay all the time.

I have my 200-hour yoga teacher training, so this summer I’ve run a free yoga series on Thursday at Sunset Point. I teach spin classes at Northwood Club.

I love arts and crafts. I’m still doing my master’s part-time on the side.

This all takes up 100 per cent of my time.

Q: Is there anything else you want people in Collingwood to know about you?

A: I’ve swam with great white sharks.

I hiked across the South Island of New Zealand.

I’m in the community and I’m always open to connecting with people. I’m open to collaborating with other business as well.

For our feature People of Collingwood, we speak with interesting people who are either from or are contributing to the Collingwood community in some way, letting them tell their own stories in their own words. This feature runs on CollingwoodToday every weekend. If you’d like to nominate or suggest someone to be featured in People of Collingwood, email [email protected].