Podcast series to highlight female entrepreneurs

Article content

A new podcast series from investStratford and the Stratford Perth Centre for Business is highlighting the work and stories of five local female entrepreneurs.

Article content

Article content

Recommended Videos

Article content

The podcast, Evolving Entrepreneurship, which was launched last week, is hosted by Centre for Business advisers Holly Mortimer and Janis Auster, and features “candid conversations with local entrepreneurs about the pitfalls, failures and partnerships that have defined their journeys.”

“We have conversations here every day with small business owners, obviously. What we find is that whenever I meet owners, they’re always  talking about feelings of isolation, you know, and (they’re) unsure that they’re the only one going through this? Just those kinds of emotions,” said Mortimer, noting the centre has been looking to build a mentorship-style program for a couple of years.

“I thought there’s a much better way, and that would be through a podcast. That way, we can also, at the same time, shout out Stratford businesses and female leaders in our space and how innovative and interesting they are.”

Article content

The business owners being featured, and the release dates for their episodes, are:

• Feb. 11: Kelly Lindsay, Corner Store Candy Co;
• Feb. 18: Virginia Ehrlich, Acre75;
• Feb. 25: Kelly Ballantyne & Mel Lang, Sirkel Foods;
• March 4: Jacqueline Martin, KampKreek Dairies;
• March 11: Nia Bright, Good Vibrations Rock Shop;

“I think you’ll hear in every single episode . . .  is that these women are all talking about how they’re not out there on their own, even if it appears to be that way. (It’s) how they’re collaborating with their neighbours or other business owners or organizations,” Mortimer said.

“I think it’s a unique ability that a lot of female entrepreneurs have that a lot of other genders don’t often explore,” she added.

Article content

While each of the women featured has her own story to tell, there were two themes that stood out through each of the interviews, Mortimer said.

“The theme that we heard the most that goes through each person that we interview would be imposter syndrome and how, even regardless of how long they’ve been in business (and) how much revenue they’re earning, they all said they feel imposter syndrome at some point in their journey, or currently in their journey. . . . Leadership was another one. Like, how do you lead a team? Are you leading a team? How did you grow your team? And as a woman, what unique angle did you bring to that team-building piece?” she said.

Mortimer, who has worked at the centre for business for around 15 years, has noted a change in the clientele she works with. When she first started at the centre, the majority of clients were male business owners, while it has now evolved to be roughly 70 to 75 per cent female. However, any listener can learn from the podcast regardless of gender, Mortimer noted.

“It’s not so much that this is a women’s podcast – this is a podcast where the leaders that we’re interviewing happen to be women,” she said.

Each episode of Evolving Entrepreneurship can be found at stratfordperthbusiness.ca/podcast or on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music and iHeartRadio.

[email protected]

Article content