Page 54 - INSIGHT MAGAZINE_Neat

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Leaving a Legacy – Women in Business

The business provided a steady income When I became a teenager in 1976, the
for my siblings and me throughout high leading edge of the baby boom generation
school. But the greater outcomes were the was approaching 30 years old.
lessons we learned in entrepreneurship
and business management from our The young women of that
mother. Today, it surprises my mother generation entered the
when we describe her as an entrepreneur. workforce and stayed.
She never intended to start a business. It
just kind of happened. They broke barriers in entrepreneurship
and business leadership that previously
The legacy, however, of her accidental had excluded women. Their actions and
entrepreneurship is seen in the careers leadership permanently changed our
and families of her children and business environments for the better.
grandchildren. We take for granted today the principles
As I contemplated what I, a In our basement shop we learned of equity in hiring practices, gender pay
60-year-old man, should write teamwork, work ethic, production equity, anti-harassment protections and
processes, supply chain management,
on the theme of “Women in quality control, customer service, parental leave, to name a few of the
societal and employment changes that

Business,” I reflected on the first cashflow, and much, much more. We have occurred in the last 50 years, thanks

businesswoman I can identify learned the discipline of meeting our in large part to the leadership of women.
in my life; my mother, and the production and delivery deadlines As a father of daughters in their 20’s
without neglecting schoolwork or missing
lessons and legacy I gained out on sports and social activities. embarking on their own career journeys,
from her. I am grateful they can choose whatever
they want to be and do because of the
My mother, Dolina, left her job as a school work of women (and men) who prepared
teacher to be a homemaker when she the way before them.
married in 1962. This was the norm for
young married women at the time. She My mother’s legacy as a small business
was also a craft artist who needed picture entrepreneur in now reaching the third
frames for her work. generation of our family. Imagine the
legacy that today’s women in business,
My father, Bruce, was a high school our neighbours, and friends, will leave
woodshop teacher who had the skills for their families and our community
and tools to make the picture frames. It generations into the future.
wasn’t long before a few picture frames
for my mother became many picture
frames for the other women in the artists
groups she attended. Thus, a picture
frame manufacturing business was born
in our basement.
My brother and sisters and I worked in My siblings and I each pursued our own
this family business. We started with career and family paths enriched by the
packaging and labeling the picture frames lessons learned during our teen years in
that my father manufactured and then the family business led by our mother. Our
within a few years, as we got old enough children, her grandchildren, are inheriting
to safely operate the saws and other that legacy too, as they embark on their
equipment, we were promoted to all of careers and build their families. About the author:
the manufacturing and shipping jobs. Murray Smith is the president and
My mother was the general manager As we celebrate the accomplishments owner of Blue Canoe Consulting.
and business development driver. My women in business in our community He helps people and organizations

father stepped back from operations but today it is worth reflecting on the improve outcomes by clarifying vision,
continued to provide technical expertise inherited legacy we enjoy, that has been developing stategy and training
and support to the business. handed down by previous generations of leaders to enable growth and success.
enterprising women.

54 Winter 2024 www.cambridgechamber.com