2021 AWE Awards: Nominees Announced

Alberta Women Entrepreneurs Are Unstoppable

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – June 17, 2021

EDMONTON, AB – In a year where businesses faced unprecedented challenges, Alberta women entrepreneurs proved to be unstoppable in their efforts to better the world around them. Today, Alberta Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) is recognizing those efforts by naming 152 nominees across four categories in its annual AWE Awards.

Awards Overview and Nominees

• Emerging Entrepreneur Award – Awarded to a female entrepreneur who has built a strong, scalable business foundation and has achieved early success.

• Indigenous Entrepreneur Award – Awarded to a leading Indigenous woman entrepreneur who has a strong business concept and demonstrates plans for future growth and commitment to the community.

• Upsurge Award – Awarded to a female entrepreneur who has built a solid foundation for her business and is now experiencing rapid growth.

• Celebration of Achievement Award – Awarded to an exceptional female entrepreneur who has achieved recognizable success and acts as a role model for women in business.

Next Steps
Finalists will be named in September. The annual awards gala will take place in October, where AWE will name one winner in each of the four categories selected by a panel of judges.

Quotes

“These are the outstanding women who are working tirelessly to build their businesses and their communities. In every corner of Alberta, women entrepreneurs make positive changes and innovate to continue moving forward. Their efforts and achievements are truly remarkable.”

- Marcela Mandeville, CEO, Alberta Women Entrepreneurs

“ATB Financial is delighted to celebrate the achievements of Alberta women entrepreneurs who have been instrumental in driving business success in our province. At ATB, we know that when women are successful, Alberta is successful. Congratulations to all the nominees and thank you for inspiring women entrepreneurs to pursue their aspirations and be part of Alberta's thriving business community.”

- Nikki Briggs, Head of Women in Business, ATB Financial

Quick Facts

• Since 2012, the annual AWE Awards have recognized more than 800 women entrepreneurs in Alberta.

• Over the last 25 years, AWE has worked with thousands of entrepreneurs through coaching, mentorship, leadership development, business advising, access to capital, and access to networks.

• Alberta small businesses contribute more GDP per capita than small businesses anywhere else in the country. In addition to providing jobs, these small businesses inject about $100 billion a year into the Alberta economy.

Special thanks to our presenting sponsor, ATB!

Media Contact:

Julie Gathercole

Communications Lead, AWE

403-968-6424

Bold Leadership Feature: Janet Caryk

Janet Caryk is a psychologist and business owner based out of Edmonton, AB. She made the pivot to private practice after being a long-term employee at a hospital. Her private practice is called Centre for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. She’s been in private practice for about 22 years now. Janet’s services aid her clients in treating OCD, panic disorders, and more with cognitive behavioural therapy. Rethinking therapy, Janet’s clinic offers group therapy programs, free events, and more for her clients.

In the mid-90’s there was a prospect that healthcare was going to change relating to maternity leave. Although the healthcare changes never took place, it got her thinking, “I'm not going to wait around for my pink slip. I have to do something, and that's when I started talking to my colleagues about starting a clinic.”

After sitting with the idea of owning her own practice, she began to lean into it, transitioning out of her full-time job. “I told my boss at the hospital, I'm thinking of leaving and I'd like to go part-time here. He agreed to that. I think it was like about six months of working part-time I decided that I was going to go full-time with my private practice. Then I developed the clinic with my business partner.”

Initially, Janet participated in an AWE Program to assist her with opening a gym. AWE assisted Janet is examining the decision for every angle. After careful consideration, she decided franchising a gym wasn’t a good decision for her business at the time. “Now, you can imagine that deciding not to open the gym was the best decision I ever made as a businesswoman. It was about 18 months before COVID hit.”

When COVID hit, there’s was a large demand for her psychology services. The increase in demand and limitations in meeting clients in-person lead her to have to make a digital shift quickly. She leaned on the Bold Leadership Program to assist her in becoming more tech savvy. Now, she can host events and appointments remotely and is gaining confident in her technical ability. “I think the most important thing is that I've changed my mindset. I don't automatically say ‘I'm low tech, I can't do that’. I'm no longer low tech. That's not an accurate statement. I'm not high tech either, but I am learning.”

The Bold Leadership Program helped Janet streamline her back office, which consists of accounting, paperwork, payroll, etc. “I tried so hard to figure out the best way to organize everything and the most cost-efficient way. What AWE helped me do was sit down and really have a hard look at the numbers.” By looking in depth at all her accounting, she was better able to find areas for improvement and opportunity, all while being supported by AWE.

The next big project that her Bold Leadership coach is going to help with is leveraging different online platforms so that her clinic can be easily found, and to measure which platforms are performing best.

“My experience in the Bold Leadership Program was really amazing. Everybody's so helpful, supportive and nice. There is lots of communication, willingness to help answer any questions that you have, and lots of collaboration. I call it my mini-MBA”

Janet’s advice for entrepreneurs growing their business in the digital era:

“You can’t be as successful unless you're willing to embrace the digital components. If you resist these changes, you're just not going to be competitive. You're not going to be able to grow without embracing this kind of technology.”

Janet recently completed the Bold Leadership Program with AWE. The program is designed to support women entrepreneurs who are creating new strategies, and implementing technology and processes that will improve their business performance.

8 Interesting & Motivating Podcasts for Entrepreneurs

Podcasts are extremely popular as of late—and for good reason! Through this auditory medium, people can listen in to conversations with experts to learn, laugh, join a community, and ultimately, be inspired! There are plenty of podcasts out there suited for any niche, and that certainly includes entrepreneurship.

Here are 8 podcasts to help enrich you along your entrepreneurship journey, featuring both local and international productions as well as personal recommendations from the AWE team!

Akimbo, by Seth Godin

Akimbo is a podcast from Seth Godin, a guiding light in the marketing community. In this show, he delves into culture in all of its forms, with undertones of marketing, entrepreneurship and a dash of mystery.

“Seth is one of my business crushes. He is the author of 19 international bestsellers including Tribes, Purple Cow, Linchpin, The Dip, and This Is Marketing. He writes daily at Seth's Blog, which is one of the most popular blogs in the world.

Akimbo is an interesting mix of culture, marketing, and doing things that matter. I find Seth's episodes to be thoughtful, observant, and honest. He doesn't interview guests, which I like. Though he does answer his audience's questions at the end of each episode.” - Jen Horvath, Business Advisor

Let’s Do Coffee

Presented by NAIT’s Mawji Centre, Let’s Do Coffee interviews local entrepreneurs about their undertakings, not shying away from deep dives into the challenges, questions, and even fears that come with entrepreneurial ventures.

The Get It Girl Radio

This podcast is a community created by photographer and entrepreneur Nicole Constante. While on the air, Nicole provides mindset tips, personal development tools and growth strategies in collaboration with women in leadership positions.

“I love Get it Girl Radio podcasts…they have lots I’ve listened to but the most recent is Lessons Learned From the First Year of Being a Full Time Business Owner featuring Joanne Bartolome, an AWE speaker and client.

Get it Girl Radio in general has a lot of very useful and interesting topics for women to build their resilience and confidence, whether or not they are business owners.” - Kiran Sagoo, Program Lead

The Inner Circle, by Carrie Doll

Carrie Doll, former journalist and storyteller extraordinaire, extends her passion for “the interview” into a podcast filled with powerful stories and impactful messages. Hosting a new guest every week, Carrie encourages experts, entrepreneurs, and creatives alike to share their journeys and the lessons they’ve learned along the way. She’s even featured our very own CEO, Marcela Mandeville!

Creative Processing with Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Put simply, Joseph Gordon-Levitt chats with a cross-section of various creatives and asks: how do you do what you do? Creativity, in any shape or form, is something that touches everyone, particularly entrepreneurs, and Joseph’s questions inspire guests to reveal the nitty-gritty of their creative careers.

“My podcast recommendation is a bit atypical and it’s “Creative Processing with Joseph Gordon-Levitt”. It’s a podcast that explores questions around creativity through interviews with exciting guests from various backgrounds like scientists, entrepreneurs, musicians and much more. My favourite episode is the one with Jessica Alba, actress and co-founder of The Honest Company.

I’d recommend this podcast because it’s a fun listen for women entrepreneurs who place an importance on being creative and look for the creativity within anything that they do.” - Fatima Mohamed, Marketing Assistant

Don’t Call Me a Guru, by Linda Hoang

Another homegrown podcast from right here in Alberta, Don’t Call Me a Guru hosted by YEG content creator Linda Hoang takes up the ins and outs of social media strategy.  Linda helps listeners navigate the ever-changing world of social media, highlighting trends to be aware of, and changemakers using social in unique ways to reach their communities.

Unlocking Us with Brené Brown

Brené Brown, an expert on all things courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy, shares her expertise in “conversations that unlock the deeply human part of who we are, so that we can live, love, parent, and lead with more courage and heart.”

“I really like the podcast: Unlocking Us with Brene Brown because she interviews a whole range of people who have different experiences in life. Also, it challenges you to think about your life in a different perspective.” - Nicole Cayanan, Financing Specialist.

What Next: TBD

TBD explores the ever-changing tech industry, colliding with hot-topics and taking on controversies without a flinch. The world of tech can seem like a mystery looking from the outside in—this podcast provides a clear view into the future.

BONUS: The Fab Collective

The Fab Collective, by Edmonton entrepreneur and AWE client Christine (Fab) Channer, shares important conversations about entrepreneurship, mental health, social justice, lifestyle topics, and so much more!

Podcasts are an excellent way to connect with an audience, create value-added content, and share expertise as a thought-leader in your community. Even in the busy life of an entrepreneur, they provide inspiration, new perspectives, and entertainment in an accessible, on-the-go format. We hope you find value in the recommendations above, and please feel free to recommend your favourites, too!

Client Feature: Christine Channer August

Christine Channer August, also known as Fab, is a multi-passionate entrepreneur. She is the CEO of Channer Consulting and Training and hosts a podcast called The Fab Collective. Hopeful optimism is what drives her day to day, always keeping the big picture in mind.

Over a year ago Christine left her previous employment. “I can't say that entrepreneurship hasn't always been a part of who I am. I've always had a side hustle of some capacity. Leaving my job was that final push. I've always taken this posture of service and doing things with integrity. When there was a misalignment of values in previous roles, it was my opportunity to do things the way that I wanted. I believe clients deserve to be treated with full transparency and true collaboration.”

Channer Consulting and Training is a customized solution to training needs for businesses because training staff is at the core of every customer-centric business. “I've been in situations where I've noticed training is not considered. I always give the example if there's this massive hotel or structure that's going up, but then once the structure is erected, who's going to work there?”

Christine’s business assists other businesses in bridging the gap between starting a business and assisting with sustainable growth. The solutions her company provides are very customized to her clients’ needs.

“I'm very client-centric in everything that I do. I make the clients a priority. It's about literally being a partner. Not to say that my business survives off of air and unicorns, obviously there's a financial component, but I just truly have the mindset of working hand in hand with clients.”

Christine places a large emphasis on making her strategies easy to follow and to helping her clients in every way she can. Often, she has several phone calls before a contract is signed so her clients can have piece of mind before investing. She also lets her clients know of what funding is available to them to assist them in paying for her services, or to keep another aspect of their business running.

“If you take care of your team, if you take care of your clients, your business will take care of itself. I strongly believe that. Not everyone does. So that's why I'm doing it my own way.”

After being turned away from federal funding because her business was relatively new, a friend referred her to AWE’s The Regional Relief and Recovery Fund. When the pandemic hit, Christine reached out to AWE for some financial help. “AWE was honestly a lifesaver for my business. Working specifically with Amber and Nicole has been a dream. I'm always anticipating a ‘no’ when it comes to asking for funding, but that wasn't the case here, AWE said ‘yes’.”

To anyone starting a business right now, Christine gives the following advice, “Resiliency is only developed in opposition. As long as you are aligned with what you enjoy and your purpose, just stay the course.”

What to Consider Before Opening a Second Location

Opening a second location for your business is an extremely exciting time. That being said, there are also numerous factors to consider before you sign a lease. It’s important to make sure you think through the following points before opening a second location to ensure no mishaps arise.

Cash Flow

The number one factor to consider is your cash flow and if it can support two locations for your business. Opening a second location is an accomplishment, but it’s important to consider the factors that will keep your business afloat. Instead of jumping into a second location early in your business, aim for slow and steady growth. Manage your growth so it is sustainable long term.

Location

Many businesses depend on walk-in traffic. When considering where to open your second location, consider if the area has high foot traffic. Be aware of your surroundings and what's driving that walk-in traffic and what could affect it. It’s important to also be mindful if walk-in traffic is essential to your business.

For an example, if you own a restaurant that is located next to a very busy popular restaurant and you always get the overflow customers, then suddenly, they go out of business, your business will also be affected. There won’t be the same amount of people going to that location anymore.

Outgrowing

Working in-office isn’t as common as it used to be. However, there are some offices that are still outgrowing their space. If you feel that your business is outgrowing the space, consider if all your staff need to, or want to work in-house. For an example, if your business has space for 20 employees, consider if you actually have to provide physical seats for all 20 of them to be in-office at the same time.

Another reason you may outgrow your space is because of the COVID restrictions. If you have the cash flow to support it, opening another location can support you in socially distancing your employees.

Rental Prices

Additionally, due to the current global climate, rent is comparatively low. It’s important to be mindful that even though rent is low, that you still need to have the historical revenue to justify opening a second location. If COVID has negatively affected your business, opening a second location to take advantage of low rent prices is likely not a sustainable option. Many businesses that opened a second location are still struggling and applying for loans to stay afloat.

Negotiating Leases

Given that rent prices are low and businesses are closing, it gives business owners the opportunity to negotiate their lease for their second location. You are able to get good deals on spaces because landlords are willing to negotiate right now as they would rather have someone rent the space than leave it unoccupied. Make sure you're outsourcing negotiations to people that are professionals and educated in real estate to make sure you're getting the best deal and you're not overpaying.

Some questions to consider are:

• Will this new location bring in the required amount of revenue?

• Do you have historical revenue to support the additional rent?

• If you get this space, will your business be this busy after opening? Or is it just temporary?

• Should you take this year to focus on recovery instead of expansion?

It’s crucial to take the time to fully consider all your options before opening a second location. Although it can be exciting, it’s a large business decision and investment.

Bold Leadership Feature: Diana Frost

Diana Frost is the owner of a colouring book company called Colouring It Forward. Diana is Algonquin Métis, an artist and a musician. Diana was an engineer for 20 years, then had a dream about creating a series of colouring books and decided to pursue her creative side. “It started with a series of coloring books that I made with artists and elders from different nations. The coloring books include real artwork, and also stories and teachings from the elders. It's a way for people to learn a little bit about the First Nations culture in a positive way.” Colouring It Forward was rapidly successful, with 2500 copies being sold in the first 6 weeks of launching. This captured the attention of CBC, radio, and print news sources. 

When the pandemic happened, retail bookstores were shutting down, which negatively impacted the B2B side of the company. However, Colouring It Forward already had a Shopify website, so Diana began to utilize more digital tools to focus more on selling directly to customers. The Bold Leadership Program assisted Diana greatly; she went into the program knowing she was going to implement what was needed to further her business. With AWE’s support, Diana has been able to optimize the website, merge her email so that everything was in one place, and launch her subscription box with assistance from Angus Gastle (AWE coach).

“I came up with the idea to make a gift box, like an Indigenous wellness box, called Equinox Box. While I was still doing the program, I think it was on March 1, I launched it.” The launch was successful with 30 purchases. Then after some media attention, it took one week for the subscription boxes to nearly sell out. “So, I opened up [sales] for another 50 boxes. And they sold out the next day. Again, I sold 50 boxes that day, and then the next day, they were completely sold out.” The Bold Leadership Program propelled Diana’s business forward in replacing the dependable income she had lost from bookstores closing due to COVID-19.

Diana had a very positive experience in the Bold Leadership Program and expressed great gratitude. “The coaching has been tremendous. Angus has done so much work on my platform and putting me in touch with people. They’ve helped with simplification of my platforms. I really appreciate knowing that there's someone there that I can ask for help. Anything that has to do with the digital platforms, I can ask Angus, and he'll help. Having people you can ask questions to, or to give you feedback is invaluable.”

“I feel like I have a better understanding now where my weaknesses are digitally, and my strengths. The Bold Leadership Program helped me with identifying goals and objectives specific to the digital platforms I was using. As a solopreneur, you don't have a lot of time. You end up putting fires out all the time and you don't have a lot of time to plan. Being part of the program gave me that time; it was forcing me to listen and answer important questions. I knew I had to grow digitally.”

When asked about advice for entrepreneurs growing their business in this digital era, Diana touched on the dilemma many small business owners face. “I think the most important thing is to make sure your messaging is consistent and to be patient. Interact with your prospected clients, or your customers. Try lots of new things but don't try too many platforms right at the beginning. Pick one or two and do it well. I remember at the beginning of my business I was trying to do so much for different platforms, plus doing B2B as well; it was too much.” Diana also highlighted the importance of consistency when using digital tools like social media. “Some people say you have to post every day, but I don't think so. I think what you need to do is be consistent. Make it quality over quantity. Make sure you check back on your posts because if people leave you some kind of comments, they'll want you to responded to it somehow.”

Spring Cleaning Your Finances as a Business Owner

Winter is typically a month of high business expenses because of the cost of utility bills. When spring comes around, it’s time for a refresh in mindset, and your approach to your business’s finances.

Hiring a New Employee

Spring is a popular time to hire a new employee. This is typical because bills have lowered slightly from the winter months, and businesses often have funds they can reinvest into their staffing.

Before hiring, the first thing to do is check your cash flow. Book a 30-minute meeting with your bookkeeper to get a good idea if a new hire is within your budget. Then, check in with your staff to see where you need extra support. This will help you frame a new position in terms of salary and job description.

If your business is tighter on finances because of the unpredictability of the past year, look into hiring a subcontractor instead of an employee. A subcontractor is a great option for businesses needing an extra hand but don’t have enough work or capital for a full-time employee position. There was a vast amount of people that were laid off in 2020, and those people are open to different work opportunities. Additionally, many breadwinners of households are looking for an extra source of income to supplement their full-time employment. Hiring a subcontractor opens the possibility to have someone work on an as-needed basis. Flexible employment and working positions are more mainstream and sought after now, making it easier to find your ideal candidate.

Setting Budgets

March 31st is the fiscal year end for many businesses. If this is the case for you, it’s a great time to re-evaluate your business’s goals. Looking into your business’s financial goals helps you set expectations for the months and years to come. In order to apply for any funding, you need to project two years of your finances. Though this may feel challenging, it’s important to have a realistic budget documented. Given the changes that have taken place in the past year, projecting a ‘best’, ‘worst’, and ‘most likely’ financial forecast will help you in feeling more prepared for any potential challenges ahead. It doesn’t have to be perfect, and the forecasting can be updated quarterly as things change. The best way to do this is to have an Excel Spreadsheet of all your finances. This way the document can be easily updated with formulas already in place.

Another great way to learn where your business can save money is to collaborate with your bookkeeper. Your bookkeeper holds important information for what finances it takes for your business to run. Having an ongoing conversation with them will assist you in learning where you can cut costs and where you can invest more.

Working from Home Tax Implications

Tax season is upon us. The taxes this year introduce new challenges because of so many employees having worked from home. To have a mutually beneficial situation, it’s important to communicate with your employees what exactly your business will cover for their home office expenses or if it will have to be claimed by your employee. Make sure to be very clear on how expenses should be claimed when submitting taxes. Ensure that both you and your employees are educated on the Government of Canada’s changes in an effort to simplify claiming at home work space expenses.

We hope you found this article helpful on Spring Cleaning Your Finances as a Business Owner. With so many changes in the past year, we feel optimistic that the businesses today have resilience for any challenges to come.

Need to talk through your business strategy, your delivery model, or how to manage cash flow? Connect with an AWE advisor - book a free appointment here. 

We're hiring a Marketing Lead (Full-time)

Are you interested in joining a dynamic team passionate about helping growing businesses that are shaping Alberta? Alberta Women Entrepreneurs (AWE), an organization dedicated to helping women achieve their entrepreneurial aspirations, is searching for a Marketing Lead.  AWE provides women entrepreneurs with access to capital, business advice, practical training, and a supportive community to start, scale, and succeed.

Poppy Barley's E-Commerce Journey

Poppy Barley started as an e-commerce company, but it now has several retail locations in Alberta. Kendall and Justine created Poppy Barley in 2012 to create a shoe with a better, more customized fit. They designed and created the shoes based on specific measurements. Now it’s evolved beyond that; Poppy Barley is now making environmentally friendly, comfortable shoes for people who want to wear them from season to season. Though you can still order customized footwear from Poppy Barley, their offerings have expanded.

Kendall and Justine are sisters, and growing up, their father worked on the railway. This meant that their family was constantly on the move. Kendall explains that she always wanted to be an entrepreneur because, “if I worked for myself, I could decide where I wanted to live and where I would move. I would have more control over my destiny.” Both Kendall and Justine studied business and creating Poppy Barley felt like a natural progression of their education and skills. On top of that, Justine has experience working in social development, which assisted them in making business decisions. “For us, a business is a platform that has responsibility. We play our part to shaping a better future for our world.”

Poppy Barley rethinks luxury for the planet and people.

Being a digitally native brand, they didn’t think they would ever transition into retail stores. Then customers inquired about touching, feeling, and trying on the shoes before purchasing. This lead Kendall and Justine to opening brick-and-mortar stores. Opening stores in Alberta offered Poppy Barley an additional sales channel.

Poppy Barley reached a pre-qualified audience by launching online initially. The retail locations have an excellent conversion rate because people are already familiar with the brand from its online presence.

One of the most important aspects of Poppy Barley as a digital business is the ability to measure everything with data. When you use data, you’re able to test theories and remove yourself from caring what others think. You can let the numbers speak for themselves, and then pivot your strategy accordingly. Additionally, visual assets have been vitally important. The way Poppy Barley presents its website, branding, and social media influences how people are being captivated by the brand.

The global events in the past year pushed many companies to transition digitally. Though the events affected Poppy Barley, the company’s digital aspects were already in place. Rather than changing the digital components, the company leaned further into them. The pandemic affected shipping and manufacturing for companies. To help mitigate this issue, Poppy Barley relied on pre-orders and emails for items back-in-stock.

To further their digital component, Poppy Barley is implementing a ‘try before you buy’ program in the near future. In this program, customers will pay a small deposit to be sent a variety of shoes, then the customer will pay for what they keep. This is a fantastic example of what companies can do in the current global climate to reimagine what bringing an in-store experience to customers is like.

Kendall’s advice to entrepreneurs growing their business in the digital era is to keep in mind how fast the digital world is moving. With so many new and upcoming media platforms, it’s important to create a foundation for your business. Kendall suggests to always be building your email list because you own your email list. Even if the digital world changes, you’ll still have a connection with your customer with an email list. Additionally, leveraging SMS messaging can assist companies with a direct line of communication with their customers. When using email and SMS, it’s a great addition to develop a loyalty program. A loyalty program helps your customers feel more connected with your brand and rewards them for that connection.

“The world is changing really fast, but what people want from their product has not changed. We still want product we can feel good about. Focus on the core of the product the rest is just the ‘how’ behind that.”

Client Feature: Shirah Consults

Shirah is an online consulting firm that offers professional services to individuals who wish to study, work and live in Canada. Founded in 2018 by Bukky Abaniwonda, Shirah started as a side gig that slowly began to grow. Running the business is now her full-time job. It has grown to two divisions: Shirah Migration, a Regulated Canadian Immigration firm that handles permanent relocation and admissions to Canada,, and Shirah Tutors, which prepares clients to be able to ace their IELTS and TEF through their tutoring classes.

The idea for the tutoring division was already in the works and was put into motion when other services were put on hold due to border closures and delayed application processes during the pandemic. Bukky explains that: ”I reached out to my network and was asked if I was offered support or funding for my business during the covid period. I had looked at the requirements, but I didn't meet any of the eligibility requirements, and a friend told me about AWE.” Bukky applied for AWE’s Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) and received funding. The RRRF, which provides financial support to women-owned businesses to address the impacts of COVID-19, helped Shirah Consults continue with the tutoring division and allowed them to bring on key staff members and market their services.

Some of the highlights Bukky has experienced as an entrepreneur has been the ability to get people to trust and say they want to work with Shirah. “We get a lot of feedback; it’s rewarding that people enjoy our services and that I feel like I have a voice.” Bukky realized early on in her career that she didn’t like the idea of being at a 9-5 job for a long time because she gets bored easily and likes to change what she’s doing from time to time.

“The thing is I’ve always wanted more out of life, and that displayed itself through entrepreneurship. In the back of my mind I want to feel like I’m doing something important, something special that contributes to society, and entrepreneurship helps me to do that.”

Bukky believes that challenges as an entrepreneur keep changing. “You find a challenge and overcome it, then a new challenge presents itself.”. One of the first challenges she overcame was sales. “We think sales tactics are for sales executives, but as a business owner, your first skill is sales. You need to get people to buy into you as a person before they even buy into your services or products.”  With that, Bukky also realized that confidence is critical:

“There’s something about confidence. No matter how good your service is, if you cannot confidently defend yourself or your services, people will look down on you, and that was one challenge I had to overcome. People will ask ‘Why should I use you? Someone else offers it cheaper or quicker.’ It took me a while to wrap my head around how to present myself and my services. I didn't know what I didn't know at the time. I had never run a business before. That confidence comes from knowledge, experience, and results.”

Setting boundaries and processes was another lesson that Bukky had to learn and adapt to. Previously, Bukky was spending some of her time reviewing people’s resumes and applications and would not charge them fees. She quickly realized that boundaries and structure are  necessary for any business, and that’s when she had her ah-ha moment. She began to take steps to implement systems and processes.. “I used to be on WhatsApp, and people could contact me whenever they wanted, and I ended up giving out free advice. I then removed myself from the app, and now people can contact my team,  but to speak to me and receive advice, they have to book a consultation then proceed to retain our services.”

When asked what advice she would give to someone building their own business, Bukky noted that as the business owner, you can’t do everything. “Spending my time answering DM’s wasn't a good use of my time. There’s a term “Don't use your valuable time for penny tasks”, so I hired a social media manager! It’s not that social media management is beneath me, it’s just not a good use of my time as a business owner. I would rather have someone who is dedicated to that, do that.” Bukky is also a proponent of working with other professionals. “When I need a service, I would rather get another small business owner to do that service for me rather than figuring it out for myself. Why? I want to expand my network and get into their space. The moment you use another small business, that’s relationship building. It also opens you up and exposes you to what they know, because they value you coming to them for support.”

To learn more about the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) click here. There are limited funds available.