Laurel & Daniel

We are Daniel G. St-Jean, and Laurel R. Simmons—entrepreneurs to the core! We've both owned businesses for over 40 years. We met at a meeting of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers on March 8, 2003. We got married on September 26, 2003—after only 27 weeks! (We are people of action… who like to take advantage of a great opportunity when we see one!)

Laurel has been the owner of two successful consulting companies specializing in technical communications and information management, working with start-ups that employ half a dozen people to international giant corporations like Nortel. She is a professionally trained personal and business coach and is the author of Your Career Is Your Business. Laurel is a sought-after trainer, speaker and facilitator who has given workshops and presentations at local and international events on communication and business issues. She has spent years working with her clients and colleagues to help them build their businesses. Like Daniel, she focused a lot of her time and energy on being an effective Real Estate Investor, from 2010 to 2014... but at the beginning of September 2014, she became a full-time student in the Winery & Viticulture Program at Niagara College, thus realizing a dream she's had for many years.

She completed the course in May 2015 and is now a certified Winemaker. In November 2015, she spent some time studying in Florence, Italy, in order to achieve her WSET Level 3 (Wine & Spirit Educational Trust). In the summer of 2022, she became an International Wine Judge when she was invited to be a judge at the Berliner International Wine Competition, the largest one in the world. In the early fall of 2015, Laurel and Daniel started a new company called Wine Behind the Scenes Inc. On the website, you will find a blog and a series of original and interesting podcasts. Check it out at www.WineBehindTheScenes.com

Daniel has been in “sales & marketing” in one form all of his adult life. And in the last 37 years, he has bought, started, or sold ten different businesses. He has been a professional photographer, a publisher of educational material, calendars and greeting cards, the owner of a framing shop & art gallery, a professional tour guide, an independent distributor of health products, a speaker, a trainer, a teacher and a Realtor® with eXp Realty Brokerage. He has also written two published books; his first one became a Canadian bestseller in 1992.

The first printing of his second book—A First Serving of Milk & Cookies for Success—was released in September 2004 and is sold out. As well, he has contributed a chapter in the bestselling book 101 Great Ways To Improve Your Life (Volume 2) that featured many celebrity authors like Jack Canfield, John Gray, Richard Carlson, Bob Proctor and Alan Cohen.

CURRENTLY…Daniel is partner with a builder (Alvaro Castro) and a developer (Hector Maldonado) in Costa Rica and there are at the moment 8 projects under development. For more information on how you can participate in these projects as a lender and shareholder, check out the tab COSTA RICA.

Together—we have generated millions of dollars of business for our clients, customers, affiliates, and ourselves, and we're very enthusiastic about achieving that level of success with the people who know us. We love to help others, which is one of the main reasons why we LOVE our Tenant-First Lease-to-Own program. This has to be the best win-win- win situation we've ever created!

And oh yes... we're the kind of people who are constantly trying new things, and building the kind of life and business that we want. We believe in working smart and having fun... AND in sharing the wealth that we create.