An enthusiastic Kamloops entrepreneur who turned her success into a professional business coaching enterprise is now offering her services for free at Thompson Rivers University.

TRU's School of Business and Economics has enlisted Natalie Peace as its young entrepreneur in residence as she completes her master of business administration degree.

Originally from Kelowna, Peace moved to Kamloops in 2001 to study at TRU. She returns for her MBA, but she is no ordinary student.

Her recent accomplishments include hosting the TV show The New Entrepreneur and authoring a book entitled 30 Keys to Building a Multi-Million Dollar Business as well as several articles in the Kamloops Currents and Kamloops Business magazines.

She owned Booster Juice franchises in Kamloops that grossed $2 million in the first two years. That led to head office hiring Peace to train staff and to be master franchisor of the first Booster Juice in India in August of 2008.

She also won Kamloops Chamber of Commerce Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2007 and was nominated for Business Person of the Year in 2011 and for Service Provider of the Year 2012.

And now she shares her Midas touch and enthusiasm with up-and-coming hopefuls.

"You don't just want an OK business," she said. "You want a crazy-delicious one that makes you wake up eagerly every morning, ready to serve the world with your whole heart. And when you have that, my friends, you will make more money than you ever thought possible."

Often as students work with the community on projects in their third and fourth years they are formulating ideas for their own business venture, said Dr. Russell Currie, dean of Thompson Rivers University School of Business and Economics.

Currie said having Peace available for the students to brainstorm their ideas will help them solidify their plans and ideas.

"Natalie's new role will benefit not only our students, but the broader Kamloops community as well. This enables us to help infuse Kamloops with graduates better prepared to succeed in the business community."

Peace offers her mentorship as part of her studies.

"Faculty mentors at TRU were a tremendous advantage for me as I finished my BA program here in 2007," said Peace. "This is an opportunity to give back to the school that supported me when I was starting my business."

Students are invited to one-on-one consultations during flexible officer hours at the TRU campus.