Turning Passion into Possibility: How YWCA PowerUp Helps Women Build Businesses
Many dreams are put on the backburner because the practicalities of life get in the way. Building a business around a passion is one such dream. It can be intimidating but YWCA PowerUp helps women build a business from the ground up, step by step.
Susan and Daniella are two YWCA PowerUp graduates from different backgrounds with the same drive to start something they once didn't think was achievable. Susan spent more than three decades in leadership, consulting and post-secondary education before launching her first business after retirement. Daniella, a designer and solo parent originally from Brazil, turned to entrepreneurship while rebuilding her life after a separation and raising her children on her own.
Through YWCA BC's PowerUp program, both women found the structure, accountability and encouragement they needed to move their ideas forward.
A Family Legacy
Originally from Vancouver, Susan spent 25 years in leadership roles and studied entrepreneurship during her MBA. She always had the idea of starting her own business.
"I focused on entrepreneurship because I always wanted to have my own business, my own little store where I could sweep the steps and have amazing things. I was going to have a knitwear store," Susan explains.
For various reasons, including career and family commitments, her plans for business ownership remained on hold. After retiring, she decided it was time to revisit the idea.
"If not now, when?" she says.
Familiar with the work of YWCA BC from referring people to its programs, Susan decided to enroll in one herself. Having had a lifelong interest in textiles, Susan saw a natural opportunity in selling her crafts, particularly vintage lampshades, a talent that runs in the family.
"The inspiration for the business and the name was my mom, June Lois. She created lampshades. I thought what a wonderful way to honour my mom and everything she gave me."
YWCA PowerUp helped Susan move forward with her vision, supported by the instructors and other participants.
"I think if I had to do it on my own, it would be lonely. I don't know whether I'd actually have gotten to where I am right now, which is a fully completed business plan."
Her business, June Lois Handcrafted Lampshades, has already been showcased at several craft fairs and Susan has plans to continue building the business online and hopefully, eventually open a brick-and-mortar store with a step to sweep in the future.
Finding Joy Through Adversity
Daniella relocated to Vancouver from Brazil 16 years ago with her former partner. She built a career in design and web development, but after her separation, the challenges of solo parenting put a strain on her career.
At a particularly difficult point in her life, she connected with the YWCA.
"I felt really alone," she recalls.
Over the next several years, she participated in multiple YWCA programs, including the Single Mothers' Support Groups, Pathways to Leadership, workshops and community events and most recently, PowerUp.
"I'm a super fan of the YWCA because everybody that I connected with was great and amazing with me. I had such a good experience and I can never leave," she says.
The idea for her business, The Joy in You, grew out of her experiences as both a parent and a designer. Through educational tools and characters, she hopes to help children understand and manage their emotions, build confidence and develop healthy coping skills.
The idea was inspired by watching her own children navigate complex feelings and by reflecting on an upbringing where emotional well-being was rarely discussed.
"I think it's so important to know how to help them with their emotions because they don't know what they are feeling."
Despite their different backgrounds, both women say PowerUp helped them transform their ideas into practical business plans.
For Susan, the program provided accountability and peer feedback. For Daniella, it offered structure and helped bring focus to her creative ideas.
"When you put it on paper, when, how and why, it makes a total difference," Daniella says.
Susan agrees that practical guidance played a critical role.
"It's like holding up a mirror to yourself," she says, describing the value of feedback from fellow participants.
Both women found that turning an idea into a business was easier with guidance, accountability and community, which they found through YWCA PowerUp.
Inspired by this story? YWCA PowerUp is one of several employment programs offered by YWCA BC. Make a donation today to help more people access life-changing opportunities.
