International Women’s Day isn’t until next week but the celebration began early with the annual Quinte International Women’s Day event on Thursday.
The ceremony had to be virtual this year but four women involved in entrepreneurship in the Quinte Region were still able to share their stories.
The event was hosted by the Small Business Centre and Trenval.
Each of the speakers spoke about the challenges they’ve faced over the years and shared their own words of wisdom.
Stephanie Pignoli, owner of Furball’s Choice spoke about how she began her business after losing her job in 2013 and knowing that whatever she did next would need to involve her passion for animals.
“I can thank the bumps in the road for shaping Furball’s Choice into the company that it is today and the potholes for changing me into the resilient, hard-headed, motivated entrepreneur that I am today at 29 years old. Running a business is not an easy task and success is never guaranteed. The only guarantee is that opportunities for success will end if you choose to give up.”
Antonia Zambri, has been involved in several business ventures over the years but has spent the last five years as Senior Retail Manager at Donini Chocolate in Belleville.
She urged those in attendance to embrace whatever challenges they face.
“Choose to use your energy, your confidence, your imagination, your passion, your ambition and positive mindset to create initiative, to motivate, to create opportunity and inspire others and to persevere and ultimately find satisfaction, success and fullfilment.”
Sarah Hutchinson, co-owner of We Thrive Wellness Centre says her entrepreneurial experience was born from challenge, namely the trials she faced after having children.
Her advice: successful entrepreneurs surround themselves with people who inspire them.
“I mean that’s in your personal life and in your professional life. Those people will keep you moving forward towards a direction that is inspiring. So, I mean, I have been so lucky. Every day I get to get up and go to work in a place where all of the humans who work there inspire me and keep me moving forward.”
Caroline Granger of The Grange of Prince Edward Vineyards & Estate Winery told the the group her business began 20 years ago when she returned to her family farm with three young children and needed a way to earn a living and be able to keep the farm.
Granger, who has also been involved for several years with agencies helping victims of abuse, says we should all choose to be the change that we want to see.
“We know that when women lead, they help to craft just futures and create more dynamic conversations. We need to make sure that we turn our attention all the time to making sure that we understand that nobody can move forward if their basic needs aren’t met.”
International Women’s Day is Monday, March 8.
The theme of this year’s Day is “Choose to Challenge.”
