Nita Agustin is an Indonesian Chinese licensed clinical counsellor based in Burnaby, B.C., who proudly provides guidance and support to gender- and neurodiverse teens and young adults who are curious about living as their most confident selves. 

The path that led Nita to start her own business wasn’t a linear one. As she explains, “Having my own business was a culmination of years spent wondering why I can’t fit into a box. I felt like I spent enough time in the first 30 somewhat years of my life finding places and pockets of community where I fit in. Later on, I learnt that there’s a vast difference between fitting in and belonging. I needed to do certain things in those workplaces in order to fit in. Nowadays, I’m able to show up as myself. It’s been tremendously liberating.

It's been transformative for me to be able to work with folks who are internally motivated to make shifts in their lives. It means a lot to partake in and witness the many shifts that happen as we work together. I want to make an impact in people's lives and it's been very rewarding to have the opportunity to do so through my work.” 

Giving back and helping others shine has enabled Nita to build a business that’s truly rewarding, but getting to the place she is now hasn’t come without its challenges. 

“Comparing myself to others, accessing funding, and developing a sense of direction are the greatest challenges I’ve had to overcome. One of the hardest, invisible hurdles is trusting the process, which means not comparing myself to other practitioners in the field. In the beginning, I started off by [trying to reflect] what other counsellors were doing. I felt like this was a reasonable starting point. But soon enough, I realized that I was doomed to fail if I were to copy and paste their decisions and mindset. After I [started making] decisions based on my gut, purpose, and my own end game, I’ve seen my practice flourish in ways I never thought possible.” 

Nita realized there’s no blueprint or step-by-step manual for building a business, and believes that knowing your values is critical to making decisions and maintaining your sense of direction. She’s also found it extremely helpful to have a small and supportive network who she can reach out to when she needs to soundboard ideas. 

Like so many entrepreneurs, securing funding and building her business with a limited budget has been particularly challenging. 

“I see resource allocation and budgeting as [the factors that] would help move the needle in my business the most. But each decision is not black and white. There might be a time when it makes more sense to bleed money in the short term in order to propel longer term growth. Sometimes I may need to make lifestyle adjustments in order to support my overarching goal. At the same time, I also don’t want to be a starving entrepreneur. I’ve needed to be very intentional about my decisions and plan strategically.”

Visit Website

Read More

Ky Sargeant is an EDI Consultant & Facilitator who created Ky Sargeant Consulting to combine her love for language and performing arts with her understanding of empirical research for effective inclusion efforts. 

As she explains, “Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion are often viewed either as superficial ‘feel good' exercises, or as cold, calculative systems. I believe the truth lives somewhere in the middle. Engaging in any kind of work for social good requires you to build genuine connections with people, while also recognizing the larger structures that shape our behaviour. I strive to inspire my clients to find the joy in making progress on EDI, and then provide the research-backed tools needed to make it happen.”

Ky started doing grassroots student activism in 2018, which eventually led to the UBC Business School's Senior Dean of EDI offering her a job as her research assistant. 

“In my three years supporting the school and doing research, I learned that over the last 40 years, the way we've done EDI work may have caused more harm than good. There's a lot of challenges people don't think about, but one that really stuck with me is the fear that many feel towards the term ‘EDI.’ People often see ‘EDI’ and worry about being a bad person or saying the wrong thing, which is a huge barrier to learning. As someone with years of performing arts experience in poetry and comedy, I found myself uniquely positioned to turn a typically fearful learning experience into something enjoyable and inspiring. The amazing response I had to my work while I was still a student made me realize that there was a big need for this in the business world, which led me to starting the practice I have now.” 

For Ky, marketing her business has been one of the greatest challenges she’s faced as an entrepreneur. 

“I spend a lot more time focusing on improving my work than I do talking about it. While I love the fact that virtually all my clients come from organic referrals, I often wonder if it will be enough if I don't start marketing myself more conventionally. I think a large part of this comes from my fear of taking space as a transgender woman. There is so much hostility and danger involved with being a publically known trans woman, that I feel held back from doing more in order to protect myself. I also worry a lot about not representing my community well enough. There are so few trans women in the business world that I'm always wary of how people will see my actions as a reflection of others, so I strive to show up in space with a lot of intentionality, which means I need to be more careful of how I manage my energy.”

Visit Website

Read More

Erin Laye is the entrepreneur behind Erin Laye Photography, a portrait photography business that’s based in Campbell River, B.C. With the goal of helping women look and feel their best in their photoshoots, she also started her own podcast called Beyond The Pose: By Erin Laye Photography, which offers helpful tips and tricks to those who want to go into any photoshoot feeling confident and prepared.

From a young age, Erin was eager to contribute to her community, connect with people, and make a difference. Once she received her diploma in professional photography and had the chance to work alongside amazing photographers, she realized she could give back while pursuing her passion by helping people appreciate the unique beauty they possess.

As she explains, “[Finding] the opportunity to use my skills to help and create opportunities for others keeps me going.”

Erin’s giving nature has continued to lead her down the entrepreneurial path. She recently launched her second venture, Smart Landlord Solutions. “This business was inspired by the crash course I went on as a new landlord who is a young woman. I want to help other new and existing landlords learn from my mistakes and provide systems and coaching so that they don’t have to do it all alone.”

For Erin, finding a supportive community has been one of the greatest challenges she’s encountered while starting and growing her businesses. “I have often found it isolating to be a business owner, especially with multi-passions, as a lot of people can’t relate. I was recently paired with a Mentor through The Forum Mentor Program Presented by The Scotiabank Women Initiative® with the goal of starting a new online business. I’m very excited to see how this can help me in my journey!” 

Visit Website

Read More

Brittney Ashley is the proud Founder of Creative Dynamics Virtual Services, a company that is redefining the scope of virtual assistance by providing hands-on "done-for-you" support and business coaching that helps entrepreneurs build and scale.

Brittney, a certified business coach and imposter syndrome coach, wants to help entrepreneurs overcome limiting beliefs and strive towards their goals with confidence. She and the Creative Dynamics team are there to provide practical virtual assistance and guidance.

While Brittney specializes in overcoming imposter syndrome, it’s something she used to struggle with herself—and is what led her down the path she’s on now. As she explains, “Despite my extensive experience and qualifications, I grappled with self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy. Through mentorship, self-compassion and continuous learning, I conquered these doubts and emerged stronger. I became an imposter syndrome coach to help others navigate similar challenges.” 

Like many entrepreneurs, Brittney has also found it especially challenging to overcome pricing structure resistance. “Despite the undeniable value and quality of our services, persuading potential clients of their worth has proven to be a formidable task. I know this challenge resonates with many women in business, and I'm dedicated to confronting it directly.” 

Having experienced toxic work environments first-hand before starting her business, Brittney was driven to create a truly supportive, nurturing, and creative space where fellow entrepreneurs can thrive without having to side-step negative pressure—helping people find success and happiness both inside and outside of the business world. 

Brittney is also the host of “Breaking Norms, Building Dreams”, a radio show with a listenership of 200,000 that reminds individuals of their worth and dismantles societal norms that hold them back.

Visit Website

Read More

Ami McKay, Founder of PURE Design Inc., first got involved with The Forum in 2008 as a mentee: “I appreciated it so much and wished that it was something I could have had when I was younger. So after about five years when I felt like I had enough life experience, I decided to give back as a mentor the way that other women had supported me.” 

Looking back on her time as a mentee, she says “It was great to have an ear to talk about my struggles as an entrepreneur. This supportive environment impacted me in a positive way through my highs and lows as a business owner.” Now as a mentor, she finds she continues to benefit from the experience while giving back. Not only does it remind her of her own accomplishments and the wisdom she has to share, but she’s found it’s strengthened her ability to lead in her own company. 

“I encourage any woman to join as there is so much to gain as both a mentee and as a mentor. In the olden days, we mentored the younger generations, passed down knowledge and support, and it is missing in our culture today. It’s very fundamental for us women to connect with other women, to be guided and to guide. Don’t forget to ask for help! Even I still need a mentor today as my business grows and changes,” she says.

Visit Website

Read More

After taking a two-year pause from her business to grow her family, Adobea Foli, Founder and CEO of StartGrowPivot Advisory Inc., which is now Adobea Foli Consulting, was ready to relaunch. She pushed forward and was starting to see momentum, but between running her business, raising a family, and working a full-time job, she felt she was starting to burn out. Armed with plenty of ideas but minimal time and resources to follow through with them, she decided to seek out a mentor who could share some advice.

She found that support through The Forum Mentor Program Presented by The Scotiabank Women Initiative® to be invaluable, as she was able to share ideas, gain fresh perspectives, and then prioritize tasks that would lead to revenue generation while balancing time constraints. 

As Adobea explains, “The most impactful lesson from my mentor has been the art of letting go and focusing on a few crucial goals. I wrestled with many ideas and passions, aiming to pursue them all to grow my business. I was offering various services, from workshops to coaching content creation to courses. With the help of my mentor, I realized that my message needed to be more precise to make a more significant impact. They helped me shift my perspective, take a step back, and assess what wasn’t working for me.”

Visit Website

Read More

Veronica Li, Registered Clinical Counsellor, and Stephanie Dang, Registered Dietician, are the founders behind CAYA (Come As You Are) Health Centre. They created the multidisciplinary medical and allied health clinic to support all women, trans, and non-binary individuals–who’ve received an overall lower quality of healthcare, less access to services, and as a result, worse health outcomes. 

They started the clinic when they were just 30 years old–but took the risk in building a business that they knew would bridge an important gap and provide quality care that is trauma-informed, sex-positive, weight neutral, and gender-affirming. 

When launching CAYA Health Centre, Veronica and Stephanie encountered several barriers. As they explain, “We were continuously told that this had not been done before and that there was no manual to start this type of clinic. It was challenging to get answers and we had to take a trial-and-error approach. We learned a lot from these experiences and hope to one day share these experiences with others so that this type of healthcare will be more accessible to all across the province. Another barrier we encountered was the public's lack of trust in the system. There is a feeling of desperation and urgency for healthcare amongst British Columbians and as we were setting up this clinic, we wanted to ensure that we had thought about each individual patient and client experience. We wanted to rebuild their trust in healthcare–but knew that we couldn’t do it alone. We relied heavily on our community for wisdom and support as we navigated through our opening and continued growth.” 

While dedicating themselves to the wellbeing of their own patients, Veronica and Stephanie worked hard to overcome the challenge of starting a business while balancing all of the work involved in setting up a clinic–from seeking funding to managing business regulations and administration. Though it hasn’t been easy, they have no regrets: They say “it's definitely been worth it to bring these services to a much-needed population and work towards a more equitable healthcare system.”

Visit Website

Read More

When Deborah Bastow, Founder of TANcouver, first moved from Ireland to Vancouver, B.C., she was shocked to see that it was nearly impossible to find sunless tan lotions in stores. Knowing that skin cancer is the most common form of cancer, and also the most preventable, she decided to take matters into her own hands and opened her own spray tan salon. 

As Deborah explains, “My mission is to promote the use of sunless products to combat skin cancer, prevent premature aging, and help people feel great about themselves. After only two years, Tancouver won the Consumer Choice Awards’ top spray tan salon in Vancouver and has gained over 500 five-star reviews. I’ve also created my own line of self tanner, became qualified in mole detection, and now educate other estheticians on how to become spray tan artists and voice the dangers of UV tanning.” 

Deborah’s unwavering drive to increase the availability of sunless tanning options comes from a place of great loss. She says, “I lost my family but I found myself. My brother and father passed away from cancer, and my sister has had breast cancer twice. Due to this, many years ago we had to get genetic testing to see why all of my family were becoming ill. It turns out we have a rare gene that is affected through UV. All of this has shaped my passion in becoming THE CHANGE in a city where really no one was a spray tan artist, or ever knew quite how natural spray tans (done right) can be. There is nothing more harmful or dangerous to our skin than UV. Every person who comes to me and tells me because of me they are now using SPF, are more mindful of their sun exposure, and are embracing sunless tanning makes me feel like this is truly what I was supposed to do in my life.”

To build upon her success, Deborah has enrolled in The Forum E-Series Presented by RBC, and aims to activate and access wisdom, community, and financial capital to achieve continued growth and success.

Visit Website

Read More