16 Key Lessons from the Female Founder Mindset Event

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On the night of Tuesday, September 24, one hundred ladies gathered at the Kind Human Club for an impactful panel discussion on the Female Founder Mindset with four incredible Canadian entrepreneurs.??

Everyone came together for a night of investing in their growth, networking and supporting unique local female-founded food, wellness and apparel companies.

And oh boy, did the panel ever deliver! We’ve done the heavy lifting and have broken down the top insights from the panel discussion for you to dive into below!

1. How to Pitch Perfect?

Dani S Kagan , the co-founder of Mave & Chez, taught us the three tips for a perfect pitch, and then we got to practice with someone new sitting beside us!

• Tip #1: Keep it short and get them hooked immediately!? Do not over-explain or even talk! (Women tend to do this a lot!)
• Tip #2: Remember that the person you are pitching to is the only? other person in the room (focus on them, and you will be much less nervous)

Tip #3: Use keywords and talk about what makes you different! (And be specific and deep)

2. Using Pain as Power?

Jenn Harper of Cheekbone Beauty was vulnerable about losing a family member recently and how his message has stayed with her since to keep going and build the beauty company of her dreams. So, even on tough days, she remembers his message and voice. Jenn also touched on getting sober and mentioned how it was one of the hardest things she’s ever done. However, she believes that getting sober gives you so much power, because if you can overcome that, then what else can’t you overcome? She believes that the struggles in entrepreneurship don’t seem that bad if you compare both situations.

3. Be Your Own Advocate For Your Health

Connie talked on behalf of Three Ships cofounder Laura Burget, who overcame a brain tumour. Laura is a big believer that you know your body best! If something feels off, keep telling your doctor you need tests even if they blow you off (I’ve seen this happen multiple times to myself & people I love.)

4. Some of the best partnerships have come from investor relations

Connie Lo discussed non-traditional partnerships with investors and how important nurturing and keeping these relationships are. You never know what they can turn into something later, two or three years down the road. One of their investors became a big part of their journey and forged a partnership with them, but if they hadn’t nurtured that relationship over time, then the partnership would have never happened.

5. Let Go of Control of How it’s Going to Happen

Have the big dreams & don’t worry about how you will get there.

“What I’ve learned is that myself and Dani (Mave and Chez) are huge dreamers! The sky's the limit. We want to get 1 million women in Mave and Chez in the next 5-7 years and we are just going to do it!”

- Victoria Marshman

6. Use Your Profits For Good

From the start of Cheekbone Beauty, Jenn had always wanted to make her company a social enterprise and use profits for a Cheekbone Beauty Scholarship Fund. Every year since 2021, they have released a new, limited-edition product where 100% of proceeds goes toward the Cheekbone Beauty Scholarship Fund, which supports Indigenous students with their post-secondary education costs, giving them the opportunity to make a change in their lives and reach even higher aspirations.

?7. Make a "NO list on your Phone & Know the Value of Your Time

Connie started recently making a "NO" list on her phone to make room for things that really matter. She was open to saying "YES" to opportunities for many years to grow the Three Ships brand, however now she is careful of what opportunities she says yes, in order to reduce burnout and stay happy. When they first started the brand, her value of time may have been $20/ hour, however now that Three Ships has turned into a top Canadian natural skincare brand, she needs to make sure she is spending her time wisely and doing tasks that are worth more like $500/ hour not $20. So she highly suggests evaluating the daily tasks you are doing, and opportunities you are taking on. Then decide if these activities are worth your time or should be delegated.

8. The Importance of Having a Routine and Prayer

Every morning, you can find Jenn of Cheekbone Beauty saying her prayers. Prayer and faith are a huge part of her life. She even writes down and tracks prayers to see what has come true, and crazy enough, many of her prayers have come true. That is the power of prayer. She also believes in consistency. Putting in the reps and doing the daily activity that moves the needle will get you to the finish line. She also mentioned the importance of daily physical activity, healthy eating, and always putting family first, even if it's hard!

9. Accept that Working With Young Kids Will be at a Different Pace

Dani of Mave & Chez tried burning the midnight oil for months and working at the same pace she worked previously before having her first daughter. However, this pace was simply not working. She could not work the same, and she really didn't want to accept this. However, even if she didn't want to accept the defeat, her body and mind, physically and mentally, could not take it anymore. Now, she has created a new working routine at a different pace and has come to terms with the fact that their company will grow at a different pace.

10. Spiritually is Self Awareness

As Vic of Mave and Chez has gone on her entrepreneurial journey, she's become more and more spiritual, which she believes is learning about your own self-awareness. She discussed liking visualizing over writing down manifestations and to do what manifesting and visualizing activities work best for you. Don't worry about what the experts or other colleagues tell you what to do.

11. Why do you think about something, then you start seeing it everywhere

Connie, co-founder of Three Ships, talks about how to prime your mind to look for opportunities. For example, maybe you really want a Tesla. Since you made that statement, you have started seeing Teslas everywhere. Those Teslas were always there, but you have primed your mind to look for opportunities which can be used in business to help you achieve specific goals and get to where you want to go.

12. The Importance of Financial Literacy

Vic of Mave and Chez discusses how important it was for her to learn how to get a down payment for an investment cottage that she now cash flows on. She can use the cash flow from the property as a pension because she doesn't have a pension as an entrepreneur.

Connie of Three Ships stressed the importance of knowing your P&L statement (profit and loss statement) inside and out and looking at it daily. You want to know down to the ingredients whether you are making money or losing money. Part of being in business is making money, and you want to be aware of your financial situation.

13. Have Q Cards For Each Area of Life

Create Q cards with the following headers you see below.

• Family
• Health
• Business
• Finance

On the back of each one, write down what you want to achieve and what is important for each category. Look at these daily and reassess as needed.

Connie from Three Ships suggested this self-reflection activity.

14. Every founder will have bad investments

Founders discuss hiring someone who looked really good on paper for their brand, but then in reality was really not a good fit and didn't truly understand the brand's budget and overall goals. Hiring is really hard and it's really trial and error.

15. We all need to be a little “delulu”

All the founders agreed on this,

"What we are doing is crazy and we are just keep doing it, and be a little bit delusional."

16. Business Book Recommendations

Also a special thanks for Christina F. for coming to the event with me, meeting Lisa Simone Richards from The Entreprenista League finally in person and The Female Founder Collective for sponsoring an amazing event.

Tell us below what your favourite take away was or if you've read any of these books or heard any of these amazing founders speak before?