bizwomen

My name is Anne and I don’t have a Blackberry. There I said it out loud.

I’ve been avoiding getting one because I know myself and my addictive personality. As one of our team said, the great thing about a Blackberry is you are available 24/7, but on the other hand, the problem is the same – you are available 24/7 and never get away.

I have to say that this past week has caused me to re-evaluate my decision. First my keynote speaker who was sick had emailed me to say she was not coming – but how would I know, as I was at the hotel, with no access to email. She just assumed that I had a Blackberry. Most people do.

Then when my tire blew, and my cell phone was dead – I realized that with a Blackberry I could have at least texted or emailed someone for help. As it was, I was stuck on the side of the highway waiting until a tow truck spotted me (and the dogs).

So I don’t know… is this enough to convince me to purchase one? The jury is out.
I am certainly warming more to the idea and can see some of the advantages, but my fear is I will next be announcing – my name is Anne and I am a crackberry.

Labels: blackberry; company of women; communication

Several years ago a group of us went to hear Gloria Steinham talk. Imagine our disappointment when it was announced at the start of the event that she was sick and unable to make it. Instead, the organizers advised that they had brought in Tobin Anderson. At the time, we all shook our heads – none of us had ever heard of her.

Well, we had the privilege of hearing one of the most profound and moving presentations from a woman who was terminally ill with cancer but who refused to let life pass her by. She has since passed away, but I can honestly say that her talk was one of the best I have ever heard and I will always remember her words of wisdom. Instead of getting second-best, we had the best.

I share this story because you just never know how your week will unfold, and sometimes what seems like a disaster turns out to be best thing that could have happened.

I started my week talking to a group of professionals about starting a business and how you have to be flexible to survive whatever change comes your way.

By the end of the week, I was having to practice what I preached! It was every event planners biggest nightmare – I found out thirty minutes prior to the scheduled presentation that my keynote speaker was sick, and not coming!

But the universe provides. Among our participants we had a motivational speaker. Not only that, she had her presentation with her. And her lively, funny keynote was just what we needed after an action-packed day.

Pat Mussieux – thank you. You were my guardian angel, my Tobin Anderson, and a real trooper. Not only did Pat come to the rescue, she was one of the highlights of the day.

Labels: company of women; Pat Mussieux, motivational speaker

I am in love. It’s early days, but this new relationship is exciting; it’s broadened my horizons, giving me the courage to go further and venture outside of my comfort zones.

No, I am not cheating on my husband, nor am I fantasizing after someone else. I’m talking about Gina – my GPS system. Like many relationships, there are times when I want to rebel and disobey but on the whole, I listen and just do as I am told.

It often surprises people when I share that I am a somewhat nervous driver, and in the past, this has limited me in where I will go. But with the GPS, I have new-found confidence and am finding my way around and driving to places that once were off limits.

Having someone, Gina, tell me when to turn, what lane to get into, takes all the guesswork out of going somewhere new. This way I can concentrate on my driving – which is not a bad thing - and going somewhere new is no longer the nerve-wracking experience that it used to be.

It is a bit like having a business coach. Just as now I can concentrate on my driving and reaching my destination, a business coach helps you to focus on the business and achieving your goals. With “Gina” on my team, I can be confident that I will get there and with a coach by your side, you gain more confidence in your ability to succeed.

And it doesn’t mean you hand over control. There have been times when I have totally ignored the directions, because I know a faster route and like a broken record, Gina recalculates the route – but eventually she gets onto the same path as me. Likewise, if you don’t like the direction you are heading in, change it. Listen to your instinct, it will guide you well.

Labels: women in business; company of women; business coaches; gps systems

Do you ever check out your horoscope? I read mine regularly and if I like what it says, I think great. If I don’t, I declare it a load of rubbish! I really should have checked mine this week. To use astrology jargon, I am sure mercury must have been in retrograde.

Why? Because nothing worked out the way it was planned – mix ups in appointments, serious computer problems and to cap it all – I hit a skunk on the way to work on Tuesday.

Now for those of you who are not aware of the potency of eau d’skunk, let’s just say as people walked up our driveway, the not-so-pleasant aroma swamped them. But I have decided it is all my husband’s fault.

Several months ago I swerved on the road to avoid hitting a deer – I mean this could have been Bambi. At any rate, I got lecture 22 on how you should never swerve to avoid animals, it was dangerous. So… I saw the skunk, did not swerve but drove straight ahead. I have to say, I was hoping that the skunk was right in the middle and nowhere near my wheels. But no, I hit it. The good news is the world has one less skunk, but the bad news is my poor car.

While I was driving and the car was moving, I was lulled into thinking I’d got away with it. But when we stopped in traffic, the smell just permeated the car. To give you a sense of how bad it was, it took them two days to “bomb” and de-skunk my car.

So the moral of the story is read your horoscope - because maybe then I could have seen it coming!

Labels: skunks; company of women

My recent nomination and finalist ranking for the Women of Influence Award caught me by surprise.

Throughout my career I have been fortunate enough to receive several awards for my work. I remember receiving a flurry of awards shortly after my first cancer diagnosis, and I recall at the time joking that people wanted to celebrate my contributions before I “checked-out.”

Clearly that didn’t happen, and I am alive and well and still doing meaningful work to help women succeed.

But this award is different. When I first heard that I was a finalist, I was thrilled of course, but then I realized that I needed to ask people to vote for me. Not my comfort zone at all. First I’ve always had difficulty asking for help. Second, it felt presumptuous that people would even want to vote for me. So needless to say, I’ve found the whole process very uncomfortable.

And reality is there are some serious contenders in this “race” who truly are women of influence and who also have massive databases to draw on. So I have concluded that with this American Idol strategy, it’s not going to happen.

So I am letting this one go – I am voting myself off that island. You won’t be hearing any more from me as I don’t want to get further embroiled in this vote-seeking campaign.

At the end of the day, none of what we do in life is done to win awards. For me, it’s always been to make a difference - and that is honour enough.

Labels: Women of Influence Award; Women in Business; Company of Women

Over the last two weeks I have heard two amazing women share their story of how they turned a personal tragedy in their lives into something meaningful that will benefit others.

First was Joey Adler, CEO of the clothing retailer diesel Canada. When her husband died, she vowed that everyone’s life should count, especially children and she founded the One x One Foundation, with celebrity patron Matt Damon. This charity is making great headway in its attack on child poverty around the world, and in four years has raised $6 million to make sure that children’s basic needs are met. To learn more about the foundation, go to www.onexone.org


The second was Jane Roos, who is the Executive Director of CAN Fund, a charity that raises funds to support Canadian athletes so they can train and compete at the Olympics and other world competitions.

In Jane’s case, she had just graduated from high school and had her career in athletics all mapped out, when she was involved in a serious car accident. Her girlfriend died and she endured injuries to her back, thus ending her dreams of being an Olympic athlete.

But she had kept this dream alive for others, and founded the Canadian Athletes Now Fund to provide our athletes with direct financial support so they can afford better nutrition, coaching, new equipment, travel to competitions, etc,… With every donation, you are given the name of the athlete you have supported and receive a tax receipt. You can donate online at www.CanadianAthletesNow.ca

The word crisis in Chinese means danger or opportunity. Clearly these women have chosen to make their crisis an opportunity for others. I applaud them.

Labels: jane roos, joey adler, women in b usiness; companyofwomen, www.onexone.org; www.canadianathletesnow.com; heroic action

I have one of those books that gives you the thought for the day. So I looked up September 15 – the evening of our first event of the season – and it seemed so appropriate that it said “A feeling of warmth creates a kind of openness. You’ll find that all human beings are just like you.”

It seemed fitting on a number of levels. First, one thing I have discovered in running Company of Women is that it doesn’t really matter what business you are in, the issues remain the same. We have an opportunity therefore to learn from each other.

Second, I liked the idea of “a feeling of warmth” because that is the atmosphere I want to create – that we are a community of women coming together to support one another.

The third reason is that last week we launched the book Faces of Opportunity, which tells the stories of women in developing countries. I’ve always known and understood that it takes courage and tenacity to succeed, but I am in total awe at the determination, resilience and joy of these women as they strive to create a better and brighter world for their children. Yes, they are human beings just like us and as women entrepreneurs, we should applaud and honour them.

And lastly, I have always believed that being honest and open creates the best of relationships.

Two sentences. And it says it all. These words so accurately describe what I dream and want for Company of Women.

Labels: community of women, Company of Women, Faces of Opportunity, women entrepreneurs

I have one of those books that gives you the thought for the day. So I looked up September 15 – the evening of our first event of the season – and it seemed so appropriate that it said “A feeling of warmth creates a kind of openness. You’ll find that all human beings are just like you.”

It seemed fitting on a number of levels. First, one thing I have discovered in running Company of Women is that it doesn’t really matter what business you are in, the issues remain the same. We have an opportunity therefore to learn from each other.

Second, I liked the idea of “a feeling of warmth” because that is the atmosphere I want to create – that we are a community of women coming together to support one another.

The third reason is that last week we launched the book Faces of Opportunity, which tells the story of women in developing countries. I’ve always known and understood that it takes courage and tenacity to succeed, but I am in total awe at the determination, resilience and joy of these women as they strive to create a better and brighter world for their children. Yes, they are human beings just like us and as women entrepreneurs, we should applaud and honour them.

And lastly, I have always believed that being honest and open creates the best of relationships.

Two sentences. And it says it all. These words so accurately describe what I dream and want for Company of Women.