Women In Business by PostVue Publishing

Women at work

Gender is no longer one-sided when it comes to business leaders boss. This means controlling when and how they work. They can set their own hours and do their work on their own terms. They frequently enjoy the people that they work with, and they like their customers and clients and the interactions with all of these people.

t one time, men dominated the business world; however, this is no longer the case. Women in this city own and operate stores and shops that offer all kinds of products and services. Hair salons. Bakeries. Fitness studios. Many local businesses exist because a woman had an idea and went into business. In many other cases, women work as independent salespeople for larger companies. What is life like for women in business? Why do they choose to enter the business world, and what benefits do they see? What challenges do they face? For many women in the business world, passion is the main reason for entering this life.

Their passion for a particular product or service is what led them to business in the first place. Having engaged in a service, or having used a particular product, the women decided to take that passion into the world, and to share it with others. This genuine love for what they do drives the women to work hard and to strive to make their customers happy. Additionally, when women feel they are ready for a new challenge, they will also decide to enter into the business world. They realize that this life takes a lot of hard work, but they are up for it when a good opportunity comes along. Women in business also find many joys in working for themselves. Many women in business enjoy the freedom of being their own

Working with staff and keeping abreast of developments in their field is also rewarding for many business owners; many enjoy teaching and training staff, too. For those women who work in a creative field, they enjoy the ability to have an outlet for their creative abilities. The business owners also enjoy making their customers happy; for these women, it’s rewarding to see customers’ satisfied reactions when they have received spectacular service or a high-quality product from a company. At the same time, a woman who owns her own business faces challenges. If she is the owner of the business, she assumes all the responsibility of that company. This means that she is ultimately the one who answers for everything that happens. She also has to have all the knowledge and to generate solutions, because her staff members go to her when they have questions. An owner is also responsible for the business side of things and all the paperwork, including payroll and taxes. Particularly when the economy is strong, owners of businesses might find it hard to find or to keep good staff. The overall economy can also affect the bottom line; this could mean

Ailynn Santos-Isla • Owner / Operator Whimsical Cake Studio

tougher days when the economy is not good. The operational types of work is done behind the scenes, meaning that people not involved within the business may not realize how much work goes into owning and running the place. All facets of running a business take up a lot of time, which frequently translates into very long hours. It’s not just a matter of closing the doors and heading home. If women work as independent salespeople for a larger company, they also face challenges unique to their particular circumstances. For instance, they need to make their name known, and continue to make contacts and to sell products. Still, with persistence and hard work, these particular women can find themselves overcoming difficulties and becoming very successful in their particular area of sales. Many women in business find that they appreciate all aspects of the job, whether working with clients, creating a product, offering a service or performing the paperwork that keeps the company running smoothly. No longer the exclusive domain of men, the business world sees many women owning and running successful businesses. And while businesswomen frequently face similar excitements and challenges, they all share certain characteristics, including passion for their line of work, a strong work ethic and a very busy professional life.

Tracy Friesen • Owner / Operator Integration Pilates

Whimsical Cake studio

Integration Pilates

ilynn Santos-Isla, owner of Whimsical Cake Studio Inc., loves the creativity that goes into making 3D cakes, shaped like anything from purses to highend furniture. For Santos-Isla, the most rewarding response from customers is amazement at her artistic creations—a double-take that they will actually be eating THAT! The shop also offers other desserts that include cupcakes, macarons, sugar cookies, mini tarts and whoopie pies. The business side of the cake shop also keeps Santos-Isla busy, even though people may not see her working on payroll or taxes. “People just see the icing on the cake,” she explains.

oga and pilates are Tracy Friesen’s passions. As the owner of Integration Pilates, Tracy loves to teach classes in these disciplines, passing on her love of movement to her students. Pilates can help people with injuries, and helping people is extremely rewarding, says Tracy, who loves teaching and working with people. A former dancer, Tracy trained in Pilates; now, Pilates allows her to keep moving and be active with the same sophistication as a dancer. Tracy keeps refining her own art of teaching, as well the training of her staff, so that students can receive the best-possible classes.

10565-114 St Edmonton, AB T5H 3J6 780.421.9853

8716 109 Street Northwest Edmonton, AB T6G 1E9 780.988.2253

Abe Brown • Owner / Coach Certiﬁed Life Coaches Federation

t takes more than reading a book to win friends and influence people: for over five years the Certified Coaches Federation (CCF) has certified over 8000 life and executive coaches, most of whom were women in leadership roles. With an international team comprised of individuals like Abe Brown, who has been a certified life and executive coach for over 15 years, CCF teaches communication skills, emotional and social intelligence, conflict resolution, and fostering strategic goal setting and accountability. Everyone from real estate agents and chiropractors to financial planners and chief executives have benefitted from learning how to better connect with and influence employees and clients. The bottom line? If you work with people, learning to coach will make you better at it.

Certiﬁed Life Coaches Federation 866.455.2155 info@healthywealthyandwise.com www.certifiedcoachesfederation.com

Women In Business OCTOBER 2012

Trish Bronsch • Chief Executive Ofﬁcer, Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation – Prairies/NWT

Region

ince the day Trish Bronsch traded in her nursing scrubs for office attire, she has worked tirelessly to help grow the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation and increase its funding support for a number of advancements in research, awareness and community involvement.

sory Council, which involves youths aged 16-25 in volunteerism and gives the Foundation a youth perspective on key issues. An influential leader, she makes a difference every day and is a true advocate for the 23,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer each year.

Bronsch is at the helm of one of the four regions of the Foundation, which is the largest national volunteer based organization dedicated to creating a future without breast cancer. After growing the region from a three-person office to a team of over thirty employees and 2,000 volunteers across Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories in almost twelve years, there is no doubt that Bronsch is a professional powerhouse. In one of many career highlights, she led the region’s effort to make an initial $2 million grant and a subsequent $2.2 million grant to the Alberta Research Tumour Bank – a provincial, multi-resource initiative. She also spearheaded the development of the Youth Advi-

Dana Tkachuk • Owner / Stylist i•Tonica

Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation www.cbcf.org 780-452-1166

Dana Videla • Owner / Lead Artist Flux Glass Studio

ana Tkachuk loves to make people pretty. As owner/stylist at i•Tonica, a full-service hair salon, she was a stylist for twelve years before becoming the owner four years ago, feeling ready for this challenge. Having been mentored by the previous owner, Dana worked hard to become the owner, and enjoys being her own boss. She also works with great people and has awesome clients. Good staff can be hard to find, however, and there’s always paperwork for the owner of a business to handle. Regardless, Dana cares deeply about the salon, her work and all the people in her salon.

i•Tonica

11003 Jasper Ave Edmonton, AB T5K 0K6 780.429.0606

ana Videla is the owner and lead artist at Flux Glass Studio Inc.

She opened Flux Glass studio back in 2007 with a vision of integrating art into architecture and she has been using her glass to add colour, light, visual interest, and texture into spaces ever since. Flux Glass Studio is a hidden gem in custom design/building industry because it is artist owned and operated, and the glass art is fabricated by the skilled glass artists themselves right in their Edmonton based studio. Flux glass is used in many different types of applications both residential and commercial for sliding doors, railings, divider feature walls, privacy screens, colour accents, large scale feature art pieces, and corporate art, just to name a few. Dana is proud to be constantly pushing the boundaries and expanding the possibilities of kilnformed glass for her growing range of cliental.

Flux Glass Studio 102, 14536 118 Ave NW Edmonton, AB T5L2M8 fluxglass.ca 780.454.3589

Women In Business OCTOBER 2012

Steffni Ault •

Edmonton Musical Theatre

Karen Bishop • Owner / Artist Daffodil Gallery

ver wanted to perform a Broadway show, but didn’t know where to start? Lifelong theatre teacher and performer Steffni Ault has been working with aspiring performers for 25 years through Edmonton Musical Theatre (EMT), which offers performance training in all areas of musical theatre including dance, choral work and vocal classes. The strength of EMT is the passion and talent of its female leaders, beginning in 1977 with founder Dr. Dasha Goody, and later with Steffni who took over as artistic director in 2001 and general manager in 2007, as well as vice president Susan Rasko and president Joyce Mellott. Together these three women are thrilled to offer the experience of musical theatre through EMT’s ongoing workshops, show group and annual concert.

trong, independent businesswomen own the shops that surround The Daffodil Gallery. Similarly, along with business partner Rick Rogers, Karen Bishop owns The Daffodil Gallery, which showcases emerging and mid-career artists, especially Alberta artists. An art-related business was a natural fit, as Karen had been painting full-time prior to opening the business; opening her own gallery was also a longtime dream. For Karen, being in business has meant more time away from her children, so being in business has had some drawbacks. Still, Karen is glad that she took this opportunity when it arose, rather than always wondering, “what if?”

Daffodil Gallery

Edmonton Musical Theatre

10412 124th Street Edmonton, AB T5N 1R5 780.760.1278

10104-121 Street 780-452-8046

Janet Brouwer • Independent Consultant PartyLite Gifts

Christine Baluk • Independent Consultant The Pampered Chef

or 12 years, Janet Brouwer has been working with PartyLite Gifts Ltd. She sells candles and home décor, hosts shows, and helps other women set up their own businesses so that they can gain financial control of their lives. Janet enjoys having a flexible schedule, the company’s great hostess program, and selling a terrific product: “the world’s best candles.” Being her own boss, she works when she wants to, and enjoys control, freedom, and flexibility over her work and personal schedule. Janet and her husband have also taken 15 trips all around the world, all expenses paid, courtesy PartyLite!

hristine Baluk is a new independent consultant for The Pampered Chef. Having just started in this capacity at the end of August, she decided to join this business after realizing that everything in her own kitchen was from The Pampered Chef. Now, she shares her passion for these products with other people, selling everything from spatulas to dinnerware to cookware. As well, she does cooking shows at home, demonstrates products and kitchen tools. With her own personal experience with The Pampered Chef ’s products, Christine is now in business herself, hoping to share these high-quality products with other people.

PartyLite Gifts

The Pampered Chef

partylite.biz/janetbrouwer 780.417.0400

chef@baluk.ca www.pamperedchef.biz/cbaluk

Karyn Stirling • Owner / Operator Expressionz Café

Jamie Kerr • Owner / Operator DaizyMay Baby

ust over a decade ago, a life-threatening illness forced Karyn to reevaluate her priorities and express her truer self. The result is Expressionz Café, Market & Meeting Place: a modern day community centre built around a café/coffee bar. The versatile space boasts over 6000 square feet and can accommodate a wide variety of people and their creative expressions, including live performances, presentations, rehearsals, workshops, meetings and warm gatherings of friends, family and business associates. Karyn’s belief is that all humans are uniquely creative and that the expression of our artistic gifts brings health, happiness and personal fulfillment. Sing like no one can hear you!

Expressionz Café

DaizyMay Baby

s a stay at home mom of two beautiful little girls, Jamie Kerr has managed to find a way to work while still doing the things she enjoys. How did the name come about? “My girls are truly my inspiration for everything in my life and this endeavour is no exception. Ava was born in April and her birth month flower is a daisy. Hannah was born in May. And as far as the “Z” in the name, well that was just to add some fun!” Handcrafted in St.Albert, DaizyMay Baby’s product line includes rag quilts, travel wipe cases, pacifier clips, and gift baskets, just to name a few. Even custom baby items can be made to order.

www.daizymaybaby.com orders@daizymaybaby.com facebook.com/daizymaybaby1 780.264.1317

Market & Meeting Place 9938 – 70th Avenue 780.437.3667

This Feature is Published By t

Rob Lightfoot

rob@postvuepublishing.com

Art Directors & Design

Shawna Iwaniuk Mike Siek

shawna@vueweekly.com mike@postvuepublishing.com

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Postvue Publishing

#200, 11230 119 St. Edmonton, AB. T5G 2X3 780.426.1996 F: 780.426.2889 rob@postvuepublishing.com

Women In Business OCTOBER 2012

To have your guide or promotional product produced, contact Rob Lightfoot at rob@postvuepublishing.com or 780.426.1996