About Us
Think of us as your go-betweens, your guides, and your sisters in solidarity
Our Story
Business Sisters keeps it real
We’re a community of rural entrepreneur women in Eastern Ontario who want to connect, learn from each other, and do business together. We all wear many hats—at home, in business, and in our communities—and we understand that finding balance is a challenge. So we listen to each other’s stories of wins and losses and together, we find strategies to become more resilient—and to rock our goals.
Joining our sisterhood of women entrepreneurs is as simple as signing up for our newsletter.
Sign UpJoining our sisterhood of women entrepreneurs is as simple as signing up for our newsletter.
Business Sisters takes pride in being a bilingual social enterprise and want our work to have purpose. Supporting women in business results in having a direct impact on the economic development of our communities. Who wouldn’t want that?
Meet our founder: Doreen Ashton Wagner
Welcome! I’m happy you’ve found your way to Business Sisters. Like many of you, I’ve always been an entrepreneur at heart. After spending 13 years in the corporate world, I left my job as VP of Marketing of a Toronto hotel brand so I could find a better balance between my personal and professional life. With my husband Heinz, I co-founded a business development consultancy in Alexandria that grew into an enterprise with 23 employees and a large client list. We sold the company in 2016 so I could focus on my true passion: helping other rural women entrepreneurs succeed.
Since 2018, I—with the help of hundreds of like-minded women—have built Business Sisters into a community that is keen to advocate for what we want and what we need to launch, lead, and grow businesses while being there for our families and strengthening our communities. I’m proud to say that my goals are not only guided by what I learned from my master’s thesis on the resilience of rural women business owners but also by all the incredibly strong sisters in our surrounding communities.
I hope you’ll join us. We’re stronger together.
Since 2018, I—with the help of hundreds of like-minded women—have built Business Sisters into a community that is keen to advocate for what we want and what we need to launch, lead, and grow businesses while being there for our families and strengthening our communities. I’m proud to say that my goals are not only guided by what I learned from my master’s thesis on the resilience of rural women business owners but also by all the incredibly strong sisters in our surrounding communities.
I hope you’ll join us. We’re stronger together.
Our Advisory Board
Meet the women who help guide our activities
