In conversation with Mississauga’s Crystal Wong Kruger, owner and founder of LIOHAN.

1. What does your company provide/do?

LIOHAN (“Live In Our Here And Now”) empowers families to bond, learn, and grow together through shared experiences. We create digital content that showcases simple yet powerful ways parents and their children can connect. We also host in-person events we call parent-child dates, where we guide people through mind-blowing, heart-warming activities.

As a busy parent myself with three kids, I noticed it was becoming increasingly hard for me to make time for personal growth. All the healthy habits I was struggling to make were habits I wanted my children to develop, too. Also, there’s just so much amazing knowledge out there. While I’d read a lot and listen to podcasts, it just doesn’t stick unless you experience the lesson directly.

2. What inspired you to start your company?

My children.

I’ve always loved learning and wanted to share my joy of diverse activities with my kids. One day, I realized that unintentionally, I had overscheduled my children with extracurriculars seven days a week! I was watching them grow up instead of growing with them, and I thought there had to be a better way.

So, I decided to schedule one-on-one time with each of my children every week - like a date! Everything changed from there. I saw my little four-year-old mature instantly, and we connected like old friends who love and take care of each other. It was then that I knew we had to share this magic with others.

3. What's been the most impactful lesson you've learned being an entrepreneur?

That even the most seasoned entrepreneurs and the most successful people still experience fear and self-doubt…and that they “do it anyway.”

When I finally, and recently, realized this, a complete weight was lifted. I had been struggling to appreciate my fear of failure for decades. In fact, it took me years just to realize my habit of procrastination and indecision came from a fear of failure. Knowing that I didn’t have to wait until I felt ready - because I very well might never, truly, feel ready - enabled me to jump into rapid action.

I started seeking opportunities to experience failure - like going through with a pitch competition, I felt wholly unprepared for - thinking it’d be good for me to get over my fear. Like an inoculation! And you know what I learned? We entrepreneurs are so hard on ourselves and have such massive aspirations. We want to give the world our very best every single time, and yet, our good enough is often incredible. And if we didn’t take the courageous steps to share our work, we’d be withholding our transformative help from others.

So yeah. Feel the fear. Expect it. Do it anyway. And focus on serving others.

4. How do you unwind?

My first love was music, and our living room is filled with instruments, including my keyboard and my teenager’s full-size drum kit. That’s right, not in our basement; at the front of our house! And yes, it gets loud. Because we’ve developed this lifestyle of supporting each other to be our best selves, even when we’re tired - and many of us are tempted to just crash on the couch, watch videos, and stuff our faces with junk food - it's likely one of us will say “let’s do family band!”

Making music with my family is the best! It’s about the time spent together (and “practice makes perfect” is not in our vocabulary). We chill, have fun, laugh, connect, and feel together. It’s teamwork where we learn from and appreciate each other. And once we get started, we never want to stop. It’s “active recovery” from our busy days and soul-filling bonding that makes me feel like the luckiest person alive.

5. What succinct advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs?

Aspiring entrepreneurs often have hundreds of different ideas which produce endless task lists. If you’re also a parent who’s “trying to do it all,” it makes it even more likely that your unconscious habit is to put your own needs last.

After years of struggling with mental health issues and various physical illnesses, I finally learned my lesson.

No matter what, you need to take care of your fundamental habits first. Always. Your healthy habits - eating well, exercise, social connections, SLEEP - we all know how important they are so why do we sacrifice them?

Without your health, you can’t do anything. And if you’re waiting for “the day when things are less hectic” before you focus on yourself, consider this:

How you live today is a summary of the rest of your life.

6. What are your goals for 2024?

For me, 2023 was all about building my fundamental habits. All the lessons I shared here are lessons I finally started embodying this year. And because I’m now a healthier, more capable version of myself, I am ready to take my startup from ideation and inconsistent traction to a scaling, sustainable business.

2024 is all about bringing everything together! I’m so grateful for all the support I’ve received from the Mississauga incubator community. They kept me going through all my hesitations and stuck with me as I tried various offerings. I’m excited to connect with the beautiful families I’ll be striving to serve in the new year.

My 2024 be a year where even more of us learn the joy of Living In Our Here And Now.

Learn more at liohan.space