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- Giving Thanks
Hello friend,
Thanksgiving weekend is hands-down my favourite holiday on the calendar. I love the sunny, crisp days, the beautiful fall colours, and having the whole family together for Thanksgiving Dinner. At my house, we will make time for the Blue Jays amongst the festivities this year, but that’s an aside!
Giving thanks is an important part of the ritual this weekend, and while there is so much uncertainty and negativity in the world, it always feels good to count your blessings. Amongst mine is the privilege of speaking with incredible women entrepreneurs each week and sharing their stories with you. Learning about how a product or experience comes to life and the intention and sacrifice that goes into it gets me fired up. I’m truly thankful for the women in Canada who dedicate their lives to making our lives better with swoon-worthy fashion, innovative beauty products and wellness routines, elevated food products, and art.
This week, we’re approaching the newsletter in a slightly different way. Here are 10 reasons to be thankful for women entrepreneurs, and some brands that exemplify why it is so meaningful to shop women-owned! Please let us know how you like today’s newsletter by responding to the poll at the end. Your feedback helps us shape the content we share with you.
Happy Thanksgiving!
10 Reasons to be Thankful for Women Entrepreneurs
When your values line up with the ethos of a brand, it’s a match made in heaven. Implementing sustainable business practices isn’t for the faint of heart. It is an intentional and often expensive process, where care for the planet is a primary business objective. As a general rule, most of the brands we’ve featured consider sustainability in some way. Here are a few that go above and beyond.
The Shop Canadian movement is alive and well, and we are all doing our best to shop local. Kristi Soomer’s brand, Encircled, is as Canadian as it gets. She designs her line of comfortable work and travel wear in Canada, and she also supports local manufacturers. Even the fabric she uses is knit and dyed in Toronto. Here are some other Made in Canada brands that are intentional about supporting local.
A recent report by Statistics Canada shows that women are more likely to hire and promote other women in their ventures. Kim Wiseman’s entire team at Kanel Spices is a group of food and wellness-loving women who create the most delicious salt and spice blends. Wiseman has created a flexible, family-friendly environment where the team supports each other and the product is exceptional.
Who better to trust than another woman when it comes to your well-being? In my experience researching and writing about woman-owned brands for the past 18 months, it is clear that women are dogged in their determination to find solutions to everyday problems that affect the body, mind, and soul. Here are a few brands dedicated to improving our health and wellness.
There’s sustainability and then there’s unfettered respect for nature. We’ve featured many Indigenous woman-owned brands since we launched, and their absolute care for the earth demonstrates that success in business doesn’t have to be at the expense of our environment. We’ve also featured a few brands where ingredients are grown on-site and formulated into beautiful, all-natural products.
The “three-generation rule” is a theory that most family businesses fail by the time the third generation takes over. I have a hunch that if a woman is in charge, the rule doesn’t apply. That’s certainly the case for Marissa Freed. She took over her grandfather’s coat company when her father retired and created a high-fashion, zero-waste collection of runway-worthy coats. Similarly, Sharon Rotzang pulled her parents into a new venture after they sold their prepared foods business. La Presserie started as a cold-pressed juice business that now sells cold-pressed cocktail mixers. The all-in-the-family vibes are a secret to their success.
As an entrepreneur, turning a passion into a business is as gratifying as it gets. I’ve interviewed a few women in the last little while who were encouraged to sell the things they make in their spare time for fun and fulfilment. Turns out, the demand for their creations is pretty strong! Here are a few women whose passions are paying dividends.
Can we take a minute to give thanks for women in wine, spirits and beer? It’s an industry known as an old boys club and more and more women are making their mark with products of the highest quality and innovative techniques and recipes. Here are a few of the women creating exceptional adult beverages.
Buying from a woman-owned brand often means you’re getting more than a great product. Chances are you’re contributing to something bigger. Many of the brands we feature donate part of their profits to charities near and dear to their hearts. Here are a few where giving back is more than a brand promise, it’s reflected in their brand name.
You may not think of artists as entrepreneurs, but selling their work is a business just like any other. In today’s digital world, women in the arts are getting creative about how they market their work. We’re thankful to all of them for putting themselves out there and sharing their talents with the world. Reaquaint yourself with some of the incredible women artists we’ve featured.
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