PARO Announces Northern Ontario’s Enterprising Women of 2012
by Scott A. Sumner
The Enterprising Women awards presented by PARO were given out in Thunder Bay on November 15, 2012. Some of the winners were present at a recent news conference.
Donna Brown is the President of PC Medic Computers Inc. and won the Best Business 2 to 4 employees presented by PARO. Donna has been in business for 18 years and previously worked for Bell Canada as IT administrator for 15 years. “ When they downsized at Bell Canada I had 4 children to raise so I took that as an opportunity to go out on my own and be in control of my job situation from there on. I love being my own boss and feel like I am retired. It is about independence and going from being home based to an office and then employing people, so a lot has happened. It is awesome to provide employment in Thunder Bay. My client base is large and networking is huge.” “ You need technology in business and even to apply for a job today. We get many people coming in who have lost their jobs and need training and we are happy to provide that. We sell and fix computers, do virus removal which is probably about 60% of the job, data recovery for systems that have crashed, computer upgrades and on site house calls, as well as networking of computers printers etc. There are so many different devices and OS 8 has just come out. I like to keep up on technology.”
Sandra Hay a certified reflexologist. It is a specialized type of massage that works on reflex points on your body that we have all over. She won in the Social Entrepreneur division. “ I specialize in foot, hand and facial to effect your well being. I work on arthritis, cancer, just to relax, MS and all sorts of different requests like migraine headaches. We make you feel better and the people are so happy and feeling better than when they came. Our field is growing because we see more ailments and are living a more stressful life in general. Part of my job is to eliminate stress.”
Stephanie Ash is the CEO, the chief cook, cleaner and bottle washer at Firedog Communications and won in the established business division. She came to Canada in 2001 from London England. “We started the business in 2003. I was waiting to get my residency in Canada and as soon as I got it started the business which is coming up on our 10 year anniversary. I can’t believe it. Previously I worked in London, England for a large PR agency for some large Fortune 100 clients. I also worked in Australia doing the same thing.” “ We have grown at Firedog. 10 years is a big milestone. We must be doing something right. At Firedog we have a great team of 9 people and it works well for us. I tend to be a HR manager when you get bigger so the key is getting the right people who can manage themselves, work independently and not be micro managed.” “ We have clients in NW Ontario and beyond. Yesterday we secured a new client out of Toronto so you don’t have to be based in Toronto to do work there. We also have clients in Quebec. Our clients are small businesses like women who use PARO Centre who we still like to service, as well as some large clients like Bombardier and Thunder Bay Hydro. There are also lots of not for profit organizations as well.” “ I believe if you want to take out of the community you have to put something into it, so you meet new people and learn about what’s happening. My mom wasn’t an entrepreneur but always was very active in getting involved as a volunteer or through her church. We were raised that way. My parents moved here from England to help me get my family started. It is a not a one women show.” “ I really enjoy living in Thunder Bay. I wish I could send everybody to London, England for a week to see what it is like to live and work in a large city in Europe. They would run home so quickly. The pace of life the quality of life here is just fantastic.” Firedog have their own office building on Court Street. which was another step in their growth.
Zabine Rattansi is the President and owner of a retail business based in midtown Toronto in Forest Hill Village,a nice area north of Bloor, St Clair and Eglington and was a keynote speaker at the event. “ I was in the corporate world in the financial services industry and also doing a lot of work outside of my job in women’s issues like gender equality and injustice. The more I worked with my women’s groups the more I enjoyed that work. One of our friends was selling a lingerie boutique and I had never even walked into one before. I made a decision to buy the store and in 3 months I was in my own business.” ‘It is going amazing. It was a declining business but in my first full year we doubled the revenue. It has been really fun and scary at the same time. Small business and big business in Toronto have lost the art of appreciating your clients. I treat my clients the way I want to be treated. People come in and we change their look. I send out personalized cards out to all my clients and they are blown away. My background is Indian and I’m from Tanzania which gives me a more personal touch I think. I am very passionate about the business and love my clients and feel their love back.” “ Today I am sharing my entire story that I have never shared in public before, from when I landed in Canada when I was 10 to where I am now. It was a journey and quite challenging. Now life is amazing. Life has it’s amazing points at every challenge. Remember the stars come out and shine when it is dark.”
Rosalind Lockyer is Executive Director PARO Centre for Women’s Enterprise. “ This is an exciting major event, being able to showcase and celebrate women entrepreneurs in Northern Ontario. We call then enterprising women. They have a dream and start that, but go beyond by contributing to the community and impacting the economy of Northern Ontario. We feel they need to be recognized. Across Canada women entrepreneurs are declining to 16% but in Northern Ontario it is steadily increasing. We are using Contact North distance learning, video conferencing through Knet so women anywhere in the province can participate. That is increasing the outreach to women entrepreneurs they could be in say Sandy Lake.” “ PARO was started 18 years ago. I have a lot of gratitude for the warmth and support from the women here and across the north. It is gratifying to see women take up the banner and start a business. It can be pretty scary along with everything they are responsible for like their children, parents and others. The small businesses in the community keep the community going all the time.”
