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When Barrie author and entrepreneur Carleigh Bodrug was looking for ways to expand her plant-based digital meal plan business last fall, she signed up for the eCommerce Rockstar Accelerator program offered through the Henry Bernick Entrepreneurship Centre (HBEC) at Georgian College.
Carleigh was inspired after hearing Alex Brown, founder of the Rockstar program and Georgian alumnus, speak at an HBEC event about his entrepreneurial journey. She saw the program as an incredible opportunity for her business. Now, the self-taught content creator has more than 2.5 million followers on her social channels and is a New York Times best-selling cookbook author.
“With Alex’s advice, I was able to focus on building my email list to upward of 30,000 before my book launched, which helped me convert more sales and ultimately land on the New York Times list,” says Carleigh. “He has been an amazing mentor to me and has drilled down the importance of investing in building my list and diversifying my income as a business owner.”
PlantYou is a cookbook with over 140+ low-waste and vegan recipes to outfit anyone with ideas for every meal of the day. The book is the newest addition to Carleigh’s plant-based business. She is a digital meal planner, produces weekly cooking videos and recipes, and hosts a podcast called the PlantPod, all with the goal of helping people eat more plants in an easy and approachable way.
Carleigh says she would definitely recommend the program.
“The eCommerce Rockstar program through Georgian College is an incredible opportunity for any business owner who wants to level-up, network and start looking at their business from an outside perspective rather than always being on the inside of things,” says Carleigh. “While I’m not sure I’d consider myself a rock star as I feel like I’m still very green in my entrepreneurial journey, I’ve gained an openness and willingness to always learn new things and work as hard as possible. Those are rock star qualities.”
About the eCommerce Rockstar program
The 12-week online program can accommodate 20 businesses and costs $99 (plus HST). The application deadline is March 22 and the program begins April 5.
Through the program, you’ll:
- master the 15 pillars of running a structured and scalable ecommerce business either as a solopreneur, or as part of a team
- receive over 60 hours of complete video training from 25 industry experts, including Brown
- collaborate with other growth-focused entrepreneurs, share experiences, and create power partnerships and alliances.
The program is presented in partnership with the Henry Bernick Entrepreneurship Centre at Georgian College, Small Business Centre, the Town of Innisfil and the South Georgian Bay Small Business Enterprise Centre.
More about Carleigh
Tell us a bit about yourself.
I was born and raised in Innisfil, and have lived in Barrie for the last eight years. I have a Media Information and Technology degree and a Broadcast Journalism diploma. I worked in northern Ontario as a morning radio host for two years, and before leaving my job to pursue PlantYou full time in 2019, I worked as the Communications Officer for Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital’s Foundation.

In addition to being an author, what else do you do?
I’m a full-time content creator and food blogger with an audience of over 2.5 million followers across my social channels who enjoy my simple take on plant-based and low-waste recipes. Additionally, I run a monthly subscription vegan meal planner, where clients can sign up to have access to over 500 ad-free recipes, weekly curated meal plans and shopping lists.
Tell us a bit about the cookbook.
When I started my vegan journey seven years ago, I noticed that there weren’t a lot of really practical, simple and approachable plant-based recipes online that someone, who had grown up on a meat and potatoes diet, could enjoy. I started sharing my journey on Instagram under the name PlantYou, and slowly grew an audience who seemed to resonate with my no-fuss approach to cooking plant forward meals based on the food I had eaten as a child and into my teen years. As my social following grew, I was approached by a literary agent in New York who asked if I had ever considered publishing a cookbook.
PlantYou is the cookbook that I wish I had when I first went vegan, and includes over 140+ recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, appetizers and dessert to outfit someone entirely with plant-based ideas for every meal of the day.
Are all the recipes yours?
All of the recipes are mine and I took all of the photos, apart from the cover.
How are sales going?
I’m very fortunate that PlantYou hit the New York Times Bestsellers List the week it was out. One caveat to the early success of the book is that it has actually almost completely sold out of its first print run, so it’s now difficult to find any available copies to buy. Because of supply chain issues, copies of PlantYou won’t be available again until the summer. So, to answer your question: sales are going great but it’s a little bittersweet because people are having trouble getting their hands on a book!
How can someone still purchase a copy?
There might be some copies left in store at Indigo. You can also preorder for June from Amazon.
What’s your hope for the book?
My entire hope with PlantYou in general is that I can inspire people to eat more plants. That doesn’t mean someone needs to go vegan or completely overhaul their lifestyle, but consider including more plant rich foods on their plate! It’s an amazing thing for our health, the planet and the animals.
Do you have plans to write more books?
Yes. I hope to do more cookbooks for sure!
What would be your advice to someone looking to write and publish their own book?
My best advice to anyone wanting to write a book is to build a social network around the topic you plan to publish on. It doesn’t have to be incredibly large, but in order to make sales for your book, having a built-in audience that’s already interested in the topic helps you both secure the publishing deal and then ensure its success.
Interested in learning more about Carleigh? Follow her on social:
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