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Women in business face challenges

Barb Stevens knows what it takes to succeed with a business and family life. Stevens has worked at SabreTEC in Calgary for the past seven years, becoming a partner and trade manager four years ago and president this past spring. Stevens, who lives in Okotoks and has lived in the foothills area for about 30 years, was no stranger to owning a business.

“I always enjoyed digging in and getting it to grow,” Stevens said.

She owned a retail business called Cameo Rose in High River for one year, then did jewelry home shows in Okotoks and High River area for three years. Stevens has been a single mom for 14 years and has two sons, now 19 and 16.

“When they were smaller, it was harder because I wanted to balance business and family,” Stevens said. “I didn’t want them in daycare all the time so I took my kids to work a lot.”

After a couple of years of owning retail businesses, Stevens found herself faced with choices.

“I had to make a choice because my home life wasn’t what I felt it should be. My business was thriving, but something was out of balance,” Stevens said. “I felt torn between my business and my home.”

She then decided to downsize and take on a partner in the retail business which freed up time for her. She then worked various jobs such as babysitting and housecleaning to help make ends meet.

Stevens had been working at the Better Business Bureau for a year when her eldest son was diagnosed with diabetes, which resulted in an additional financial strain, but luckily there was a benefit plan there. A year later, she was offered a position with SabreTEC, a one-year-old company in the new bartering business. The job didn’t offer a medical plan and also meant a 20-minute further commute. Stevens negotiated for the position for six weeks.

“It was a big risk and it turned out to be the best thing I’ve ever done,” Stevens said.

She said she’s needed to be good at balancing and multi-tasking. She said balancing her business and family couldn’t have been done without a great support system.

“I definitely created a support system in my neighbourhood and had three people with keys to my home just in case something wasn’t going right,” Stevens said.

“I think as women we’re a little more cautious. Don’t let too much caution scare you to take the risk.”

Although the number of women who own home-based businesses is unavailable due to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, approximately a third of all business licenses in Okotoks are for home-based businesses.

Deborah Bailer knows firsthand how hard it is to juggle a business and family life. After opening Twice Upon a Time in Okotoks on Nov. 3, 2004, she found herself working six days a week. Bailer, who has a five-year-old son and a two-year-old daughter, says the first six to seven months of operating the new business were the hardest on family life.

“My son has said he does not like my store anymore because it takes away mommy time and that's hard,” said Bailer, who also works part-time in advertising. “It was hard on my kids, family and home. My husband was very supportive and great friends helped out at the store.”

She said it was a fantastic feeling to hire two staff members to help with the workload.

This is the first time Bailer has owned a business and her first experience in retail as she comes from a sales and marketing background. She says that being a woman in business has a unique set of challenges.

“I find the biggest challenge as a woman is juggling the business and home life,” Bailer said, adding that while she has a supportive husband, she's still 90 per cent responsible for their home. “Women in business always have challenges to overcome in terms of professionalism and how far they want to take it.”

She said that women also seem to assess their success rate differently than men.

“I assess my accomplishments on the balance of being a woman in business along with being a successful and proud mother, not on dollar figures,” Bailer said.

She said she also feels she has to be more assertive than men in the workplace.

“You need to make sure your positive attributes are always on,” Bailer said.

She said her biggest fear was not succeeding, but after six months of thinking about opening the store, she decided to move ahead.

“It came down to, if I don't try it, I won't know if I'll fail or succeed,” Bailer said. “Looking forward to success overpowered my fear of failure.”

She said that organization is one of the biggest skills required in opening a new business.

“When I'm disorganized at the beginning of the day, it trickles into my business and home life,” Bailer said. “I love being my own boss. You choose where you want your success to come from and it's measured by you completely.”

While Bailer said women measure their business success differently from men, Beth Kish believes men and women are similar when it comes to operating their own business. She said she doesn't see any differences in challenges she faces as a woman in business versus men, noting that men in business would face similar challenges.

Kish started her business career by opening a home-based interior design business 10 years ago.

She then opened a storefront business about six years ago, taking on a partner and changing the name, but keeping the type of business the same. Her business, Simple Solution Design Studio, is now in downtown Okotoks.

“It was a natural progression. It's more fun and you see more faces,” Kish said. “As my kids got older, I had a little more freedom.”

Kish said that downsides to having a storefront is there's more overhead, utility costs and set hours, but that the benefits are gaining business from people who pop in off the street.

“You feel a larger part of the community when you open a store,” Kish said. “You meet more people and tend to get more involved in community events and are very aware of events such as the parade, Light Up Okotoks and tailgate sales.”

She said for her the best part is meeting people. She offers this tip for residents considering taking the leap and starting their own business: “Be sure you're doing something you love to do and you're guaranteed success. If you love what you do, then it's not work.”