Find Your People

Devastating news…  Kate Spade passes away of apparent suicide.

As I hustle in my Moxie Trades world, I am in constant reflection of my values. I have struggled with a (not severe) type of depression and anxiety – I have only been in that dark place a couple of times and that was 3 years ago with the divorce from my sister, niece and two nephews. In addition to my family break-up, this amazing empire at Moxie Trades can certainly kick my ass at times. My saving grace has been my life-saver Traci Trimble who coached me out of darkness with coping skills. I now take what I call my daily happy pill and…. I studied Robin Sharma and affirmed my values and intentions. They have been tested but life is easier with these rules I live by.
I bought Frankie her first Kate Spade purse and wallet last week for her 13th Birthday. Sad that Kate’s daughter is 13 at the time of her passing. For any of you suffering… please do not. Please seek immediate help.
1. Know your values – everything else can take a running leap off a tall bridge. (Family, friends, career, legacy, health, adventure, spirituality, and economics)
2. prioritize these values
3. assign rules to them
4. assign mentors to them (alive or dead)
5. Surround yourself with love and nothing else.
6. Find your people – your Traci, your Angela, your Catherine, your Tanya, your Jackie… your….. people, your 911.

Take the Moxie Pledge For a Chance to Win $1000 Moxie Trades Grant

Support for women in businessThe founder of Moxie Trades slayed a Dragon on CBC, wore pink work boots, stripped down on TV, and ten years later is daring women to take on their own fearless adventures. Marissa McTasney launches the Moxie Pledge and a chance to win grant for tackling fearless initiatives.

Marissa McTasney; Founder and CEO of Moxie Trades celebrates the Original Pink Work Boot’s ten year anniversary by observing March 27th as National Day of Moxie – daring women to find and celebrate their “inner moxie”, or the ability to face fear with spirit and courage.2017-03-22_11-05-26

Moxie women can take the pledge confirming their inner moxie by visiting www.moxieday.com and enter for a chance to win $1,000 grant towards their goal of facing their individual fearless adventures.

Moxie Trades, the maker of the now infamous pink work boot “Betsy”, had humble beginnings as a small Canadian startup. They said it would never work, but “they” were wrong. Through her distribution partner TT Group, Moxie Trades now ships worldwide and can be found in over 500 retail outlets across North America.

McTasney famously ditched her high heels for work boots and she’s been knocking down walls and pounding the pavement with Moxie Trades ever since. McTasney even stripped down on the set of The Naked Entrepreneurhosted by Sean Wise which can be seen on the Oprah Network this month. Her latest activities include marching with the Women’s March Global Team and she strives to highlight the importance of economic prosperity for women.

“Our company has never been about the work boots; it’s always been about the women who wear them” says McTasney; Chief Work Boot Wearer.

With every purchase of the 10th Anniversary Special Edition Pink Work Boot, Moxie shoppers receive a Raglan Shirt and Key chain to mark the occasion. Ten percent of online sales at www.moxietrades.com for the Pink Promo pack will go towards grants for women who wear work boots.

If you would like more information, please contact Barbara Munshaw email social@moxietrades.com.

About Moxie Trades

Founded in 2006, Moxie Trades began with the goal of providing home renovation services primarily by teams of women. Fate intervened as the brand grew and it direction changed to suit the needs of the market. Through sheer grit and determination, Moxie Trades has evolved into the most recognized brand of safety footwear for women in Canada. We strive to deliver the best product with the best customer service for women who work in the trades. Our products – ranging from work boots to protective eye wear can be found in retailers across North America.

What Do You Need?

If only the words to Justin Bieber’s song started with What do you need? I had to listen to it several times this morning to make sure I heard it right but alas, the words are What do you mean?  But, I’m still a Belieber.
I have not communicated well with our e-blast program.  Here’s why!
The marketing gurus and business financiers of the world have advised me to sell the product. Product first! Women second! Well, NOT on my watch. So I have been lazy to communicate because selling YOU just isn’t my gig. They fail to realize that my business started because I was a tradeswoman who wanted to wear well fitting and cute work boots.
I love the oxymoron of life – showing strength in a tutu.  It has served me well and truly reflects how I feel on the inside.  How I feel is never a secret to anyone; sorry to those who have witnessed my passionate pleas to make a change. If it weren’t for the tutu and the pink, people might be scared.
I have been fortunate to work with a Federal Minister as part of a panel to help determine tools needed for women to be successful in business.  I toured a second time across Canada with StartUp Canada and met with thousands of entrepreneurs.
In business, I have had the shit kicked out of me.  For the love of moxie! A gift I have been blessed and honoured with.  If only I knew the gift it would be nine years ago.
Without our pink work boot, I would not have had a voice to make a change. I do not whisper for my voice will not be heard.  I can be controversial, passionate, (a good forgiving word to describe a tiraid) and stubborn.
Now… THIS is who we are and the vision behind the brand of 
Moxie Trades:
As neighbours, supporters gather to support my cause, we celebrate and shoot the 2016 catalogue in my hometown.  How gorgeous right?
Then, the idea came to inspire the next generation of women.  Thank you to my gorgeous daughter and her fearless and moxie friends. I will protect these spirits as my life depends on it.
These two photoshoots and the girls inspired the Got Moxie Challenge where we will create a program to inspire young women and donate bursaries and grants. Please join our movement #IGOTMOXIE
Now, we have quarterly contests at Moxie where we give $1000+ in cash and prizes away to a woman with Moxie.

Monthly, we give away Auction Packs to be used to raise funds for various causes we believe in.  We call it our Pink Pack! (Not many left for 2016.)

We also have our 2016 Moxie Trades Calendar.  Each month, we choose a charity or cause to promote.  The “cause” receives $250.00 toward their charity + they received 25 calendars to sell for additional fund-raising. Each charity also received a promo code to be used on our website.  With this promo code 10% of all sales (not profits but total sales) goes to the charity.  We have already donated $500+ in 2016.

Here’s a snapshot of January;
we showcased Moxie Calendar Girl,
Angela Tristram; an entrepreneur who started
Whistle Inc. – linking skilled trades employers with skilled trades employees.

 

After nine years in the business, we continue to receive requests like “Help me find a job in the trades” to “How do I clean my pink work boots” or “I want to hire a painter, do you know anyone?”
Our work boots pay for us to do the above which is WHY we are in business, but
How can we best serve you and what do you expect from 
Moxie Trades?

From a Moxie Trades Work Boot Brand Perspective, please tell me what you need:

  • a type of work boot?  (we are developing NOW for 2017)
  • have a specific feature or style you are looking for?
  • want us to re-instate the Tradeswoman Directory?   I created this directory so I could find other women in the trades to work with. (yes, I can still swing a hammer)?
  • BLOGS – want us to talk about Safety or DIY Projects?

Other than product info and deals, how can we best serve YOU?

From an Entrepreneurship point of view, what do you need:

  • resources?
  • contacts?
  • advice?  what specifics?
Please email me or reply to this blog.  I want to do good work, not a lot of work and don’t want to be busy to be busy.  I’d rather be useful.
Email me directly and share your thoughts!  marissa@moxietrades.com
I challenge you… if we are not contributing, what the hell are we doing?  Let’s get out there and make a difference.
Do one thing or everything you can think of. It’s progress either way.

 

It’s Not Personal, It’s Just Business!

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It’s not personal, it’s just business.
Really? I’m not buying it for one second.  Never have and never will.

I started Moxie Trades in 2006.  In 2008, I appeared on Dragons’ Den.  In 2009, I totally lost who I was.  I won retailers, lost retailers.  Won business partners, lost business partners.  Hired staff, fired staff.  Lost money and lost money. Obviously, I struggled and survived Moxie Trades as I’m still ticking away in my Moxie footwear world.

At the time, Trump’s opening line on the Apprentice was “it’s not personal, it’s just business.” Huh?

As an entrepreneur, if it’s not personal, what is it?  I have cried, thrown temper tantrums and been emotionally depleted. Financially… my personal finances took big hits as we re-mortgaged our home AGAIN.  I hired staff that were cheap and incompetent as I could not afford to hire the best.  I feared taking someone away from a stable job to join my shaky start-up.  As a result of an unskilled team, the 250 hours of staffing I paid for every week was a waste.  I would get up at 4am, go into the office or work from home, then off to meetings, have dinner with my family and back to the office until 1 or 2am to finish up the work that my team was not able to complete.  I tried to coach and created system after system to catch mistakes but I failed miserably. I could never understand how I could get it done and they couldn’t.  To this day, I feel like I was robbed of money and time.

Personally, my life was on the brink of complete deterioration.  I don’t know how we hung on; it must be love.

I gained an education; it’s been expensive but I have experience that I am grateful for.

I have traveled the world; China, Germany, France, England, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Bali, Singapore, Thailand, Hawaii and many other states in the USA.  I know Canada from coast to coast and love every city in our awesome country.  I worked with a Federal Minister in 2014 and enjoyed another tour across Canada this fall with StartUp Canada.

Today, I am in Sosua, Dominican Republic.  I get up early before my babies and my husband.  I wake up, hearing the ocean waves hitting our beach that is steps away.  I make my morning coffee and work away on the veranda.  This week is about planning and writing.

Screen Shot 2015-12-28 at 9.16.32 AMIt couldn’t be more personal than this.  My business has afforded me the opportunity to travel the world, fail big, live wholeheartedly, meet the best people on the planet and work from the beach.  It’s pretty personal.  I believe that if it’s not personal, then you won’t be able to stick through it.  The privileges of entrepreneurship are gifted to those who have made it personal and stayed in the game long enough.

For the next 12 weeks, I will be sharing my insights and my recommendations to get you into a place of personal success. My tricks and tips for starting up and staying up, happy and peacefully.

 Hope you join me.

New Canadians are coming….

My note to the team of people who helped provide boots for the Syrian Refugees coming to Canada.
“I wanted to send everyone a note to say Thank-you.  You all dropped everything and prioritized these orders so that we get to say that we were a small part of something significant.
I was greeted into Tootsies stores by a team members that said, we got a note that “you could take whatever you wanted.”  A girl’s dream walking into a shoe store!
TTG, my distributor who keeps me in business, hustled to pick orders and pack ’em but I knew you would because you are totally awesome.
Neil Melnick expedited inventory lists and had people driving to ship orders within minutes so that we could complete the orders.  Neil also ran from store to store and called other suppliers so we had access to more inventory when and if we get that big order for the rest of the refugees that are coming home to Canada.
Late Wednesday, we received a note that we were short 22 pairs so back to TTG I went yesterday morning.  My daughter and her friend said they were coming with me, they are both 10.  What a great lesson on compassion and being Canadian that we were able to teach them.  And now, they will always remember “When the Syrians came and the 4am drive to deliver boots for them.”  Sara’s Mom also pointed out that two business women are working hard and together to make this happen.  So… The girls now have a business plan and want to give all their money to charity.  (I pointed out that money is good and we need to make profit first.)  However, all in all – amazing lessons learned by 2 inspired and tired kids.
Jody, thank you for calling me.  I am so blessed to know “the woman the government calls when 25,000 refugees are coming to Canada.”  Thank you
We all know, we are in business to make money but not many get to experience these magical moments.  These moments are not lost on me and are in fact, my driving force but you all probably knew that already.
Thank you everyone for staying with me and supporting me.  I totally get to enjoy the perks and privileges of being an entrepreneur and staying in the game long enough to enjoy the good stuff.
I am really grateful!!
Thank you and Happy Friday!”
Marissa

The Elephant In The Room

Being a social responsible business ownerLiterally, I have this beautiful painting of an elephant. As many events in my life the day this elephant came into my life was significant.

One of the groups I have connected with is Ladies Who Lunch Ottawa (LWL.) It’s for super-connectors, philanthropists and women in business. One of the posts that flew through by LWL newsfeed one day was about Bob Parsons; CEO, Founder of GoDaddy. He went on a $50,000 expedition to Africa. The report highlighted how he helped a community by murdering an elephant who was visiting nightly with his family and eating the crops. Hero Bob thought his good deed would include night vision goggles, guns and a plan of attack. Hero Bob killed the elephant and a community of people became savages and ripped the dead carcass apart. Continue reading

Startup Canada Podcast Show – Finding Your Moxie with Marissa McTasney

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“Dream big, think the impossible, love passionately, and give generously.”

Below is what Start Up Canada wrote about an upcoming podcast I did with them that is being released today ( Sept. 29th, 2015).

“Dream big, think the impossible, love passionately, and give generously.” This is the mantra Marissa McTasney created for herself. When McTasney started Moxie Trades, she didn’t have the skills, knowledge, experience or even a mentor. All she had was an opportunity. She dove in head-first, quickly landing a big contract with Home Depot and made a deal with Brett Wilson from Dragons’ Den. Now Moxie Trades is a successful handy-women apparel line that can be found in large retail stores across North America. Continue reading

Suck It Up Buttercup… OR Not!

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Suck it up Buttercup… or not?

Yep… that’s the advice I’m given all the time.
You are busy – so what!
You have a family – so what!
You are running a company – so what!
You have bills to pay – so what!
All of these comments end with an exclamation mark, not a question. But it’s the question mark that really matters.

I have found that over the years, there have been many sleepless nights, 4am wake-ups with a pounding heart and a stomach that aches with anxiety. I’m a hustler. I love working. I love being an entrepreneur. I will always be busy and productive. However the price for my Type A personality is that it can be overwhelming at times. That alone has been my biggest challenge and struggle as a lone entrepreneur. Continue reading

Know More About The Most Adored Business Woman in Canada

Who encouraged and supported her and their support finally paid off. With the crucial support of her well-wishers and her hard slog, she finally lived her dream by creating Pink Womens Steel Toe Work Boots

Welcome to Marissamctasney.com, the official website and blog of Marissa McTasney. The founder and Chief Work Boot Wearer of Moxie Trades Ltd, Marissa McTasney is renowned for creating the original Pink Work Boot especially for women. Apart from being a dedicated wife and a mother, Marissa is the most adored and appreciated businesswomen in Canada who has given her everything to establish Moxie Trades Ltd.
Marissa McTasney started the trend of Pink Womens Safety Boots Canada and now it has become the first choice of every daring and hardworking women all across the US and Canada. She wanted something different from that of traditional men work boots and thus, she came up with a brilliant idea of pink work boots that could keep women safe and sound on the inside and out yet looked girly. Continue reading