Blog
The Business Sisters blog posts will keep you up to date on what’s happening! Find out the back-story to our events and conferences and more – we will be featuring reflections and more from local rural women entrepreneurs.
Fuck You Fuel – A Source of Resilience for Women Entrepreneurs
In my research on the entrepreneurial resilience of women entrepreneurs I have heard stories of women who were spurred to keep going in their business endeavours because they had been… belittled, overlooked, told to take a back seat. Claudia* told me about pouring her...
The 3 Behaviours That Led Entrepreneurs to Their Undoing During COVID
During the pandemic I was fortunate to help entrepreneurs in my area in my position as COVID-19 Business Relief Advisor for ACCFutures, a local economic development agency. I personally interacted online with hundreds of business owners in Eastern Ontario. About 3/4...
Family Business – What’s Love Gotta Do With It?
Entrepreneurship often is discussed in individualistic terms, and we forget that around the world small business is a family affair. According to the Conference Board of Canada family enterprises generate just under half of GDP, and account for almost 2/3 of all...
Meetup for women business owners – Wednesday, December 1, 2021
It’s been a long 20 months since Business Sisters met in person. We’ve missed you! This crisis may not be over, but somehow it feels like it’s time we reconnect. To talk about how we re-think business and re-launch for a more sustainable future. This will be a...
An Open Letter to Women Business Owners
Owning your own business can be a long and lonely journey. That’s why, dear Business Sisters, it’s OK to… Increase your fees, especially if you’ve had higher costs. You can’t continue to take the hit. When you explain it, most will understand. Those who don’t aren’t...
Give Yourself Permission to be Human
As Business Relief Advisor for a rural development agency during this pandemic I have witnessed immense pain, fear, and frustration amongst entrepreneurs. Just yesterday a business owner left me a voice mail to explain why she hadn’t returned forms for a loan...
The Entrepreneurial Narrative is Out of Date. Let’s Make it More Inclusive!
Ask the average person to name a famous entrepreneur they will often mention Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Richard Branson. Ask them to name a WOMAN entrepreneur; a few might mention Oprah. Here in Canada some might point out Arlene Dickinson or Manjit Minhas (from Dragon's...
An Ode to The Quirky Carrot
The most important starting point for a rural community to reverse economic decline is to have a place where people can connect. In our small Eastern Ontario town, that anchor was The Quirky Carrot. It was a point of reference, a place where people of all ages and...
What is Entrepreneurial Resilience?
The American Psychological Association defines resilience as a process of overcoming adversity, where individuals recover from significant stress by applying mindsets and behaviors that can be learned and developed over time. Some psychologists think resilience is no...