Boiling Point – Episode 132 – Janice MacPherson and Pomodori Pizzeria

Put Up or Shut Up

Introducing Janice MacPherson and Pomodori Pizzeria

We have all had the experience to being unsatisfied and it isn’t a great feeling. For some of us though, being dissatisfied can be the catalyst to creating something great. Take this week’s Boiling Point guest, who would end up ordering local fast food in order to get something on her table, but would often end up complaining to herself about what she received. Instead of just accepting what she got, she decided to “put up or shut up” and get into the fast food business for herself.

Janice MacPherson is the co-founder of Pomodori Pizzeria in Rothesay, New Brunswick along with her husband and previous BP guest, Steve Goddard back in 2008. Prior to Pomodori, Janice was running an independent internet service provider in British Columbia named Net Idea Telecommunications, which offered ISP services to people in Nelson, BC.   However, after becoming pregnant with her second child, she decided to move home to the Maritimes and work for the ISP remotely. During this time, she ended up eating out often but was often left unimpressed with the service and food she was receiving. The answer was to fix her problem herself and as a result Pomodori was founded. Now in business for around 8 years and after being rated 8th best in the world in the World Pizza Championship in Italy, Janice was able to turn dissatisfaction into a thriving business.

Find out how you could do this as well in the episode of the Boiling Point.

In this episode

• Greg and Dave are treated to some fantastic pizza from Pomodori.
• Janice tells us about the ups and downs of opening a new business two months before the greatest recession of our time.
• Janice also tells us about the work she does with the Wallace McCain Institute and her four-year stint interviewing entrepreneurs on CBC radio.
• We hear about how she got involved in an ISP years before the local telecommunication companies did in BC.
• She tells us of what prompted her to get into the food business after returning to New Brunswick.
• We understand Janice’s thought process when deciding on how Pomodori was to be set up and why she decided to go the route of fast counter service versus a full service restaurant.
• Janice tells us what prompted her and her business partners to enter the World Pizza Championships and the outcomes that resulted.
• We also hear about Janice’s human resource philosophies and how she is able to get teenagers to take on real responsibility so that they are able to gain true confidence.
• There is also a discussion on why we don’t see more healthier fast food options.