From skyscrapers to a life in nature |
"Everything my partner & I learned in just two meetings at CWEAT inspired us to do something we could not have done a year ago--start our own business." --Kiersten Sciba
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When I attended the first meeting of CWEAT in November 2008, I brought with me only the vague idea that I wanted to do something for myself. I didn’t know what, I didn’t know how. Starting a business of my own was something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, but I just couldn’t seem to get the right idea. I always stopped short in the research or funding stage. It seemed like an impossible mountain to climb, yet I knew it was possible, others had gone before me. The first CWEAT meeting would finally give me an opportunity to find out how women like me began the journey. I was attracted to the meeting by the keynote speaker, Beth Mairs, who started Wild Women Expeditions when she decided that she needed more of what she loved in her life. I admired Beth for what she’d created, but I wrestled with the burning question: How on earth did she do it? Well thanks to CWEAT, I was going to find out. Beth came prepared. She had a wonderful presentation of how she started, how she kept her day job, how she grew slowly, how she found her niche market. She talked honestly and candidly about the challenges of building a business, her setbacks and her successes. I took so much away from that first meeting, the best was the feeling that I really *could* do this. Shortly after the first CWEAT meeting, inspiration struck: I decided to start a moving company operated by women, offering flat rates. As a woman living alone who had moved several times in a few years, I recognized the need for this service; dozens of women I spoke with echoed my sentiments. The second CWEAT meeting helped me make all the contacts I needed to get Burly Gurls Moving Company off the ground. I found research assistance, web designers, writers, marketing ideas, contacts for legal and insurance agents. I found my first customers! The 30 seconds at the mike segment was a great way to meet everyone in the room so you knew who to contact for whichever services you required. The second keynote speaker, Sunny Widerman, gave an amazing presentation about small business income taxes – she even ended up saving me hundreds of dollars when she did my taxes the following spring. But there was something about Burly Gurls that wasn’t quite right for me; I would be putting down more roots in a city where I did not want to stay. This past June while my partner and I were traveling in British Columbia, serendipity met necessity when we discovered a beautiful little town called Ucluelet. We fell in love with the community and the environment, and we just couldn’t go back to Toronto knowing that Ucluelet exists. We put our heads and our skills together to formulate a plan that would allow us to relocate to this little bit of paradise, and thanks to our experiences with CWEAT, we knew how to do it. We would start a coffee roastery. Kathryn had been roasting coffee for years for a small roastery in Toronto – she could take care of the product. I had the experience to run the sales, marketing and administrative half of the business. We could do it! While Burly Gurls was a short-lived prospect I gained a lot from the experience. I learned how to pull together a business plan, how to talk with lenders, how to approach insurance companies, how to network, how to take one small step after another to get up that mountain. Everything my partner & I learned in just two meetings at CWEAT inspired us to do something we could not have done a year ago: start our own business. Precisely one year after our first CWEAT meeting, Kathryn & I arrived in Ucluelet. We love it here. The town is full of small business owners, everyone is helpful and encouraging. Our lenders are supportive and we’ll be producing coffee in the New Year. We’re so grateful to have found the energy and inspiration of CWEAT, with all the practical advice and contacts to back up the ideas. Our CWEAT experience was absolutely invaluable. Thank you Carrie and the awesome women of CWEAT! Contact Kiersten at ksciba@gmail.com |
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