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Money & Career

10 inspiring success stories from top female entrepreneurs

The W100 is a partnership between Chatelaine and PROFIT magazines that ranks the country’s top 100 female entrepreneurs — who, between them, contribute a remarkable $1.4 billion annually to the economy.
10 inspiring success stories from top female entrepreneurs

Construction mogul

W100 ranking #1Kelsey RamsdenAge 36London, OntarioPresident,Belvedere PlaceDevelopment, a B.C.civil-construction company2011 revenue:$25–$50 million, aneightfold increasefrom 2008Employees:Eight full-time, 58 part-timeWhy we love her:Because she juggled three kidsand gruelling cancertreatments while building amulti-million-dollar company.Kelsey Ramsden believes in beingnimble and taking risks. Those aretraits you need if you’re going to starta civil-construction company fresh outof business school. “Being 28 and agirl owning a company in this industryis not normal. But I know how to buildroads.” And does she: She started inthe family biz at 14 as a flag girl onthe Alaska Highway. “When you’rethe boss’ kid, you have to outworkeverybody to get respect. And I liketo work hard.”So in 2004, she started taking smalljobs in Kelowna, B.C., to break into thebusiness and start building a crew.Today, she’s getting contracts worthupwards of $30 million. And all thiswhile commuting across the country:In 2009, she moved to London, Ont.,so her husband could run his family’sfoundry business. While expectingtheir third child last year, Kelseyestablished a management team tobe on the ground in British Columbiaso she could run the business fromLondon and visit less frequently.Fortunately the team was in placewhen, two months after her son’sbirth, Kelsey was diagnosed witha rare form of aggressive cervicalcancer. “Nobody wavered or lookedfor other work. They stuck right withme.” Today, Kelsey is feeling strongerthan ever. “I just do my best andpivot with the circumstances.”Trade secret “I have greatmentors — old boys who will answerthe phone and give me advice.”People skills “I’m candidinterviewing applicants. I say,‘I expect from you what I expectout of myself.’”Lesson learned “I took on apartner for a project who I didn’t knowvery well. That was a huge mistake.We are still fighting it out legally.”Power play “I’m not beyond takingoff my heels and putting my bootson and getting out there and workingwith the guys.”Shining moment Driving onone of the roads she’s built.For a full list of Canada's top 100 female entrepreneurs, click here.

Kelsey Ramsden, W100, top 100 female entrepreneur

Domestic goddess

W100 ranking #61Trish RonanAge 47Mississauga, OntarioCo-owner,Enjo Canada, a direct salesdistributor of non-toxiccleaning products2011 revenue: $2–$5 millionEmployees:Eight full-time, three part-time,320 consultantsWhy we love her:Because she turned a personalproblem into an opportunity.In 2001, pregnant with her thirdchild, Trish Ronan and her husband,Doug, moved from Mississauga,Ont., to Australia, where he setup a chiropractic practice. It wasthere, when she complained abouta stubborn stain on her wall thatwouldn’t come off, that a friendsuggested she try Enjo, a line ofcleaning pads made of a fibre thatattracts and holds dirt and bacteriawithout toxic chemicals. It worked,and she was converted. In 2003,her middle son, Jack, was diagnosedwith profound hearing loss, promptingthe decision to move back toCanada to access the renownedspecialists at SickKids hospital inToronto. But they had to make aliving, so Trish and her brother-in-lawpartnered up and won the CanadianEnjo distribution contract. Trishstayed in Mississauga with the kidswhile Doug returned to Australia fortwo years to fund the set-up costsfor the company. The sacrifices wereworth it, she says. In 2012, Profitmagazine ranked Enjo Canada the50th-fastest-growing company inthe country. And Jack, now 14, hastwo cochlear implants and is “a great,happy kid.”Power play Trish rented officespace from the get-go. “It showedthat we were serious. If you don’tgo all in, your efforts aren’t all in .When I walk through the door, I gofrom mom to businesswoman.”Lesson learned In thebeginning, Trish followed thescript of what books told her aboutdirect selling. But it didn’t work forher, and the sales figures showed it.“I decided to just be me and sharemy passion for the product withoutworrying about sales. Sales wentup and people started asking tobe consultants.”Shining moment “I love thatmy sons see a woman set a goaland achieve it.”

Trish Ronan, W100, top 100 female entrepreneur

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Legal eagle

W100 ranking #63Susan WortzmanAge 48TorontoPresident, Wortzman NickleProfessional Corporation,a law firm specializing inelectronic evidence2011 revenue:$2–$5 million, a million-dollarincrease over 2008Employees:Seven full-time, four part-time,up to 80 off-siteWhy we love her:Because she not onlyidentified a gap in the market,she had the guts to fill it.While working at a large lawfirm, Susan Wortzman saw the needfor a company specializing in thegrowing field of e-discovery: theprocessing and analysis of electronicallystored information for audits,litigation and regulatory matters. Soin 2007, she and fellow lawyer SusanNickle struck out on their own. Verysoon after they signed the lease,though, Wortzman’s husband, John,was diagnosed with cancer. “He couldhave asked me not to start the firmgiven the circumstances, but hebelieved in what I was doing,” she says.Wortzman and Nickle founded thecompany with the belief that beingflexible, caring employers makesgood business, which is why they haveregular staff retreats at cottages andspas. “Getting to know each other in acasual setting has allowed us to createa fun, caring culture.“ And she saysher staff lived those values insupporting her throughout John’sillness and death in 2009. “We act likeone another’s backstop. My partnercovered for me when needed, andeveryone pulled together and made itwork. We’re very much a family.” Theyeven managed to be flexible enough tohave both partners commute — Wortzmanfrom Winnipeg and Nickle fromLondon, Ont. — until Wortzmanrelocated to Toronto this fall.Trade secret “I believed somuch in the company, I was willingto take the financial and professionalrisk of leaving my partnership witha big firm. I haven’t looked back.”Biggest challenge “We are aniche practice that offers specializedtechnical expertise. Technology isconstantly changing. I’m a lawyer,not a computer programmer. You cannever know everything, so you needto know what to ask and hire peoplewho have the knowledge you don’t.”People power “Retaining skilled,highly competent off-site contractemployees has been key to oursuccess. I tell them, ‘I don’t care ifyou work in your pyjamas or at threein the morning. Work when you’remost productive.’ ”

Susan Wortzman , W100, top 100 female entrepreneur

Ace of braces

W100 ranking #94Robin McCullochAge 37Lethbridge, AlbertaOwner, HiTech Athletic Bracingand Orthotic Services, anorthotics and brace provider2011 revenue: $1–$2 millionEmployees: Five full-time, growingfrom a one-woman operation in 2000Why we love her: Because she wasso passionate that she quit her job and,within a month, created a business planand was running her own company.AT 24, Robin McCullochfelt lucky to have landed ajob at a sports medicineclinic shortly aftergraduating with akinesiology degree.But the entrepreneurialspirit inherited from herdad — a business ownerhimself — plus the feelingthat she had great ideasshe couldn’t implementat her workplace sparkedher to branch out on herown. “I’d seen the difference braces couldmake in people’s recovery from injuryfirst-hand. I wanted to make both thepatients and the health care systemaware of their value.” On a road trip fromCalgary to Edmonton at Thanksgivingin 1999, she wrote a business plan. ByNovember she had quit her job, registeredher business name, printed business cardsand started to find clients interested in hercustomized, specialized approach to kneebraces. Her initial monthly sales were$5,000; today, they’re around $83,000.Trade secret Robin combats thestigma that braces are cumbersome bytargeting health care providers and consumers through trade shows and lunch-and-learn sessions. Her message: “A bracecan get you back to your life, and we canmake it look pretty.” Using heat transfers,HiTech has made Spider-Man–themedankle braces, and once the firm decorateda little girl’s brace with butterflies.Lesson learned In 2003, Robintook on a business partner, but theirmanagement styles clashed. After a yearof business counselling, during which theyrealized the arrangement wouldn’t work,McCulloch bought out her partner.Shining moment “I havehad hundreds of clients thank us forkeeping them on the dance floor, orout on the golf course or playing withtheir grandchildren.”People power “Being a good leadertakes practice. Everyone is motivatedby different things: For some, it’s ourdividend structure; for others, it’sflexibility, knowing it’s okay if theyhave to go home to a sick kid.”

Robin McCulloch, W100, top 100 female entrepreneur

Outstanding in her field

W100 ranking #44Margaret SkinnerAge 65Wilkie, SaskatchewanPresident,West Central Pelleting,a producer of customfeed pellets2011 revenue:$10–$15 million; welcomenews to the company’s1,100 shareholders, manyof whom invested beforethe first mill was builtEmployees:24 full-time, three part-time,supporting the mills’24/7 operationWhy we love her:Because she had the visionto save her town and builda future for her community.In the early ’90s, MargaretSkinner was running a grainfarm with her husband, justoutside Wilkie, Sask. It was thesame lifestyle her parents hadenjoyed, but she felt it slippingaway. “Farmers were struggling.The hospital had closeddown, and people wereleaving.” She had an idea tobuild a community-owned feedmill to turn leftovers from grainprocessing into customizedplant-based pellets forlivestock; previously, farmerspaid to have them sent to a millin B.C. Residents got behind theidea and bought shares in orderto get it off the ground. WhileMargaret had “zero businessexperience,” her passion andinstincts made her a naturalbusinesswoman. The originalshares have doubled in valueand the company has builta second mill offering gainfulemployment for residents.Margaret started out as avolunteer, and when shebecame president, she neverpaid herself a huge salary,opting instead for a modest$25 an hour. “It’s the company’searnings and the communityI care about,” says the motherof three sons. “The company islike a fourth child.”Lesson learned In a 2003accident at the second mill, aworker lost her leg above theknee. “We didn’t have a greatunderstanding of safety.It went over our heads. Thatwill always be a big regret.”Power play To diversify itscustomer base, the companyis launching a landscape pelletfor gardeners, made from 100percent plant-based materialsand providing proper nutrientsthrough the various stagesof growth.Defining assets “I havegreat organizational skillsand I’m bossy!”Forward thinking “Whenit’s time for me to go, I will stepaway completely. I’m confidentthe company is strong and cansurvive without me.”

Margaret Skinner , W100, top 100 female entrepreneurStuart Kasdorf/KlixPix.com

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Shipping magnate

W100 ranking #21Madeleine PaquinAge 50MontrealPresident and CEO,Logistec Corporation, aninternational cargo-handlingand environmental siterestoration company2011 revenue:$100–$250 million, 22 percentfrom international sourcesEmployees:800 full-time, 1,412 part-time,with very little turnoverWhy we love her:Because she saw a new futurefor her father’s company andtook it light years ahead.Growing up, Madeleine Paquinwas intrigued by the fascinatinginternational guests who visited herfamily’s home — clients of her father’scargo business. “It seemed like suchan interesting scene,” she recalls.Determined to be part of it, shestudied business in university; sheworked for the company’s shipping agencysubsidiary when shegraduated and became its presidentat 26. “Being young and femalecan be powerful leverage. Woulda prospective client rather meetwith a young, dynamic womanor a 60-year-old man? Usually theformer. But once you’re in the door,you can’t mess it up.” She becamepresident of the entire publiclytraded company in 1996, workingalongside her two sisters. If theirdad, who died in 1989, could seethem now, she says, “he would beabsolutely thrilled that we’re stillhere, building on what he made.”People power“Our companyrequires specialized training notusually found in most academicinstitutions, so we developed ourown internal program throughcourses and job assignments.”Family business Madeleine’shusband died of a brain tumourin 2009: “I learned that there arethings you can’t control. It washorrible, but work, my kids andfriends all got me through it.”Shining moment In 2011, withcargo-handling operations in 24ports, Logistec partnered with a U.S.port authority to offer transportationto the biomass industry. “Puttinga project together and realizingit — there’s no better feeling.Retirement would be boring.”Words of advice “Don’t be afraidto take risks, as long as there’s logicbehind them.” Twenty years ago,the company invested in anenvironmental-cleanup business.It now contributes $100 millionannually to Logistec’s revenues.

Madeleine Paquin, W100, top 100 female entrepreneur

Power driller

W100 ranking #42Laura AranedaAge 42Sussex, New BrunswickPresident,Vic Progressive Diamond Drilling,providing contract drillingfor the mining industry2011 Revenue:$5–$10 million; sales are up21 percent from 2010Employees:Started with four in 1987,growing to more than 100 todayWhy we love her:Because she wasn’t afraid to gounderground and ended up on top.While studying business inuniversity, Laura Araneda askedher dad to take her into one of hismines. “He was a bit surprised thatI’d want to go, you know, becauseI’m a girl. But I come from a longline of miners and grew up withthe lore and the adventure.” Onceunderground, “I was hooked,” shesays. So Laura convinced her dadto let her become a driller’s helperdeep in the mine. “It was cold andwet, and you had to keep movingto stay warm — it was a differentworld. At the end of the shift Iwould drive the tractor up the tunnel,which was an adventure in itself.”She completed her degree andworked her way up in the company,becoming president in 2005.Trade secret “I ask for multipleoffers for each financing deal I do.I don’t assume that one financialinstitution will always give me thebest rate.”Lesson learned In 2009,when the economy tanked, Laurarallied the management team anddeveloped a strategy. “We focusedon our existing customers to helpthem find efficiencies and get goodresults in a very tough market.” Itworked. “Our financials suffered,but not catastrophically as somany other companies’ did.”Forward thinking Laura is thedriving force behind the company’seco-policies, developing equipmentthat minimizes environmentalimpact and adopting less disruptiveexploratory-drilling practices.“Mining has a bad rap. Our goal isto leave no footprint. You shouldn’tbe able to see where we’ve been.”

Laura Araneda, W100, top 100 female entrepreneurMike Capson

Worldwide wordsmith

W100 ranking #89Chandra ClarkeAge 40Chatham, OntarioPresident, Scribendi.com, an online editing and proofreading company2011 revenue: $1–$2 million, more than doubling in the past three years Employees: 19 full-time, 192 part-time, in 60 countries Why we love her: Because she started out in a basement and now her reach is global.As a newspaper editor, Chandra Clarkewas frustrated by the poorly written pressreleases that came across her desk. “Ugh,the bad spelling, horrible grammar — andsometimes they didn’t even make sense!”she says. Marrying the need for editingservices and her love of technology(“I’m a computer geek.”), she developedthe first version of Scribendi.com in herbasement in 1997. Through onlinemarketing and advertising, awarenessand demand grew steadily. “We’ve builta substantial following on both Facebookand Twitter because we got in early andfigured it out.” Today the companyhas clients and remote editors acrossthe globe and reviews more than2.3 million words per week.Turning point When the volume ofrequests grew to the point that Chandracouldn’t do it all herself, she knew shehad to hire support staff — and move outof her basement. “I remember the feelingof moving into actual offices with myname on the door. I kept having ‘Movin’On Up,’ the theme from The Jeffersons,running in my head.”Power play “We provide services 24hours a day. A sleepy student in Scotlandcan upload a term paper to our site at 3a.m. A wide awake editor in Australia willtake the job and have the work proofreadand returned before the student rolls outof bed in the morning.”Words of advice “Don’t bet therent on your business. If you do, you’rein a position of weakness and have toaccept work that isn’t in your game plan.”Family business Being anentrepreneur has allowed Chandra, whois expecting baby number four, to havea flexible lifestyle, which includes homeschoolingher kids with her husband andbusiness partner, Terry Johnson. “Wedo split shifts — he’ll go to the office earlyin the morning and do his thing until 1or 2 p.m. while I’m home doing lessons,and then we’ll swap.”

Chandra Clarke, W100, top 100 female entrepreneur

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Queen of clean

W100 ranking #88Karina BirchAge 37Canmore, AlbertaCo-owner,Rocky Mountain Soap Company, producing100-percent-natural bath and body products2011 revenue: $2–$5 millionEmployees: 50 full-time, 50 part-time, froma single storefront with two employees in 2000Why we love her: Because she knew whatshe wanted and didn’t stop until she got it.While shopping for Christmas presents in 1999,Karina Birch and her boyfriend, Cam Baty, learnedthat the quaint soap shop they often visited wasfor sale. Karina had dabbled in making her owncosmetics, and she and Cam, both business grads,were looking for an opportunity, so they bought theshop. Despite their education, she says, “we werevery green. We had a lot to learn.” Today, they have10 stores in Alberta, British Columbia and Manitoba,as well as a 9,000-square-foot production facilityin Canmore, Alta. (along with a marriage certificateand three children).People power “We train, train, train. ‘Customerservice is an extreme sport’ is one of our corebeliefs. To keep it top of mind, employees tellsuccess stories at the start of each meeting, andwe reward the best ones with a $100 gift card.”Lesson learned “Initially we pursued toomany things, like doing both wholesale and retail.If we’d focused our goals, we could have gotten towhere we are now in half the time.” Over the pastfew years, the company has developed a strategycentred on the creed “Remove toxins from theworld. It gave us focus and re-energized us.”Family business “Cam’s the tactical guy,and I have the vision. We complement but don’tcompete. In the beginning it was tough. We hadto make rules, like if one person doesn’t wantto talk about work at home, we don’t.”Defining assets I’m not smarter thananyone else, I’m just really committed.”Forward thinking Over the next six years,the company plans to launch 25 more stores.And this fall it’s opening a shop in Canmore that’stoxin-free and built from repurposed materials.

Karina Birch, W100, top 100 female entrepreneur

Tech titan

W100 ranking #91Cybele NegrisAge 43VancouverPresident and co-founder,Webnames.ca, aninternet solutions provider 2011 revenue:$2–$5 millionEmployees:22 full-time, 10 part-timeWhy we love her:Because she’s got the techsavvy and the people skills totake her company to the top.In 2000, when the web address suffix .ca became widely availableto all Canadians, Cybele Negrisand her partner jumped on theopportunity and Webnames.cawas born. It grew fast: Employeesbrought sleeping bags to theoffice because they were workingaround the clock to keep up withdemand for domain names. Butthe partners saw that selling webaddresses wouldn’t sustain suchrapid growth. They hit a crossroadsand realized they had to sellor figure out a new way to grow.So they expanded into emailaccounts, web hosting, web designand internet privacy. ”We couldhave sold and made a profit, butwe wanted to build more. And Iactually don’t think I’m employable.I’m too attached to thefulfillment and flexibility beingan entrepreneur gives me.”Philosophy In large red lettersoutside her office door are thewords “Amaze every customerwith exceptional service.”Lesson learned “It’s neverfun to let someone go, but ifthey don’t fit and have no passion,then it’s time for them to moveon. I typically offer payment in lieuof notice so the person can leaveimmediately and not feel awkwardin the office. The exit is alwaysdone with respect and care,so no one feels embarrassed.”Shining moment“I’m proud not just because thenumbers say I should be proud.When people send thank-youemails for the service theyreceived, that’s a hugeindicator of success.”

10 inspiring success stories from top female entrepreneursRoth and Rambert

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