Celebrating Island Women in Business

Words by Jacqui Chaisson

PEI has an amazing group of women in the business community - both those who own and operate their own ventures and those who create success for businesses they're involved with.

I started my first business in the late 1990s - a magazine, of course. I needed a job, so I created one. Over the past two decades I've been self-employed a majority of that time and "mistakes, I've made a few" - but every mistake was a lesson.

Every time I wanted to quit I found myself so inspired by other businesswomen that I simply picked myself up and moved forward with determination. I witness that same tenaciousness every day in the women I meet and it makes me so proud to be a part of it.

There were 1,079,000 self-employed women in Canada in 2018, accounting for 37% of all self-employed persons. Almost 60% (635,000) were unincorporated businesses with no employees. There were 1,781,600 self-employed men in 2018. A much smaller percentage of self-employed men (39%) were unincorporated and had no employees.

63% A flexible work schedule is a greater motivator for women planning to open their own business (63%) than for men planning to do so (51%).

23% 36 % of men planning to open a business plan to do so to become wealthy, while only 23% of women planning to open a business do so for the same reason.

35.9% 35.9% of female owned new businesses were engaged in innovation, versus 44.0% for male owned businesses.

Globally, Canadian women rank first in terms of involvement with newer businesses, ahead of the U.S., Britain, and other innovation-based economies, and sixth for established businesses.

Starting a venture can pose huge risks financially and many female business owners don't utilize the many resources the Island has to offer.

▲ Margaret Magner, Ph.D, M.A., M.P.W.: Executive Director (Photo: PEIL Staff) "PEIBWA is the only business women’s association in the province with an Island-wide mandate."

Margaret Magner is Executive Director of the PEI Business Women’s Association (PEIBWA). For 25 years, PEIBWA has thrived as a member-based not-for-profit organization, educating, empowering, and inspiring PEI women to succeed in their business endeavours. It is the only business women’s association in the province with an Island-wide mandate.

"With a membership of some 450 woman entrepreneurs and business professionals, PEIBWA offers professional training, opportunities for development, and connections with other women to support social and economic equality for women," says Magner. "Currently, we reach 1600+ PEIBWA participants annually; 7400 social media followers; many students at UPEI; provincial women’s and business groups; and the three women in business centres we collaborate with regionally."

▲ Ashley Green, leader of Facebook group Girl Bosses of PEI "We have members from all across the Island and even a few that aren’t currently living here, but are from here and hoping to return and get into business."

(Photo: Oakar Myint)

Woman business owners are finding support and mentorship through social media as well - Girl Bosses of Prince Edward Island is a Facebook group that currently has over 500 members from across PEI. Ashley Green, a graphic designer who also owns a small clothing company, Local Legends, runs the group. "When I took the group over from Laura Morneau in November 2017 there were about 75 members and the group has been consistently growing since then! Savannah Belsher-MacLean and Katharine MacDonald moderate the group with me and are great contributors to the conversation."

The group is a safe place to ask questions and learn from other businesswomen. "Whether you’re just starting out and need help finding funding, or you’ve been at it for years and you’re looking for someone to help you with SEO - there’s always someone else who has been in a similar position and is able to give advice. It’s a really supportive place."

On March 24th they hosted their first all-day workshop at bar1911 and spent seven hours learning more about how to grow their businesses. "We concentrated on topics such as Facebook advertising, time management, graphic design, bookkeeping, social media planning, and eCommerce through Etsy. At the end of the day we learned a lot and walked away feeling energized."