Lisa Banville is an entrepreneur in the Ottawa area who attended
Ottawa U and Algonquin college. She began her education route at Algonquin
college in Pembroke, starting with a general business diploma. The two year
program was a largely male program, but with Lisa’s mother and father (business
owners) as guidance and inspiration, she completed the program and made the
Dean’s list. Once completing the program she decided to attempt to follow up
with an undergrad at Ottawa U in Business with a specialization in accounting.
This is where she joined the Sigma Psi Alpha sorority, where she
began to network with a group of strong, passionate, goal-oriented women who
only inspired her further. At one of her first sorority events, the group of
girls went to a loose leaf tea house, and Lisa’s love for loose leaf tea was
born. What started as a small collection quickly grew into cupboards filled
with different teas from around the world.
After 2 years at Ottawa U, Lisa decided that she had enough of
university. Enjoying Human Resources more than accounting, she enrolled back at
Algonquin College for a 3 year Human Resources program. Once completing the
program (and again making the Dean’s list), she decided it was time to follow
in her parent’s footsteps and open her own business.
Using Shopify (An online platform for building ecommerce websites),
she built www.tealee.ca, where she sells loose
leaf tea and shares her love of tea with friends, family, and strangers.
Finding that online sales weren’t as enjoyable as face-to-face interactions,
Lisa decided to start attending farmer’s markets in the Ottawa area. She begun
with the Ottawa U farmer’s market (which starts again in September) and loved
it so much, she decided to bring Tealee to the Main street market every
Saturday between May and October.
Never getting enough of tea, Lisa began taking the Tea Sommelier
program at Algonquin College, which educates students on tea types, the process
of blending, preparing, and drinking tea, as well as pairing tea with food,
creating menus, and the history of tea. Once completed, the program will give
Lisa the opportunity to take a Tea Sommelier Certification exam.
While running a business, furthering her education, and working a
secondary job, Lisa has volunteered her time to assist with the Ottawa Tea
Festival, planning a children’s tea party to raise money for the
Candlelighters, an Ontario based charity that provides assistances to families
whose children have been diagnosed with Cancer.
In the future, Lisa and her boyfriend hope to open a physical
location in the Ottawa region. A lounge style shop where patrons can enjoy
loose leaf tea while socializing, working, completing school assignments, or
just relaxing with a warm(or cold) cup of the world’s most popular drink.
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