Meet Vicki Wallace-Godbout, Owner of Truck Stop + (Edmundston and Moncton).

A lawyer and small business owner with extensive experience in business development and management, Vicki Wallace-Godbout is known for her ongoing efforts in economic development initiatives with First Nations communities. Amongst her many business ventures, Vicki is co-owner of Truck Stop+ Edmundston, established in 2012, as well as Truck Stop+ Moncton, which opened in 2020. She is also co-owner of Frontière FM, the first privately owned commercial Francophone radio station in Canada, outside of Québec. She’s been recognized for her success in business with several awards, including Female Entrepreneur of the Year, both with the Ulnooweg Atlantic Aboriginal Entrepreneur Awards (2014) and REFAM – Réseau Échange Femme Entrepreneur du Madawaska (2016). In 2019, Truck Stop+ Edmundston received the Prix Coup de Coeur for business of the year in Northeastern NB, by the Conseil Économique du Nouveau-Brunswick, and in 2022, she was identified as Atlantic Canada’s 25 Most Powerful Women in Business by Atlantic Business Magazine.

My first job ever was… working as a laborer on my First Nation at age 12.  

I decided to be an entrepreneur because… I grew up in an entrepreneurial family, we were always in business. Once I completed law school, my husband and I started investing in real estate. It became very clear that being an entrepreneur was what I wanted to do versus practicing law full time. When I was approached by my First Nation to see if I would be interested in being their first anchor tenant on their new commercial development, I immediately accepted. It was the most rewarding decision I made to help my First Nation community.

My boldest move to date was… to build a truck stop while learning the ins and outs of the transportation industry, an unconventional move for a woman.

My biggest setback was… I had a few setbacks, such as keeping my head up when powerful competitors wanted me to fold, and adapting our way of doing businesses during the pandemic while facing the largest staff shortage ever.  

I overcame it by… staying focused on my dreams, vision and goals. There will always be setbacks in business, the key thing is to adapt.  It is important to always remember the reasons, goals and objectives of the business and keep working very hard towards achieving them.

If you Googled me, you still wouldn’t know… that I love to workout. It is part of my daily routine, I don’t miss a day, as I strongly believe that it is an integral part of good physical and mental health. 

When starting my business, I wish I knew… how important financial dashboards (and/or iT) were crucial to any business.

My best advice for people looking to grow their business is… to question experts, to learn from others’ mistakes and successes as well as ours. Listen to your employees and keep your eyes and ears to the ground with your customers; this is crucial to the success of your business.

A great leader is… someone who motivates their team towards continuous improvement.

The future excites me because… our team will soon diversify in other sectors. We need to constantly evolve and adapt to the future.

Success to me means…  that I was able to achieve two major developments on First Nations’ lands; turning a vision and a dream into a successful business takes determination. We are constantly innovating, which is the best way to meet customers’ demand and expectations and maintain excellent customer service.  We constantly learn from our mistakes, watch how others do, learn from it and never give up.  Surrounding ourselves with an experienced, hardworking team ensures success, and most importantly, have fun along the way as projects become reality.