Moxie Trades Safety Gear
in Healthy Living Magazine

Keep Safe in Style!

Moxie Trades, the maker of the pink work boot, expands its product line and offering to ensure complete safety for women in Canada. From it’s humble beginnings as a small Canadian start up, the company has pivoted to industry leader in safety gear aimed to keep women protected from head to toe, fashionably.
The safety footwear line includes the Moxie Trades icon pink work boot and also some great safety footwear that keeps fashion and safety at the forefront including a metal-free athletic runner, a static-dissipating athletic runner, slip-ons, oxfords and light duty work boots.

Moxie also has a complete line up of apparel including denim overalls, carpenter pants, work pants and more. The company is currently running a nationwide contest for women “with moxie,” in search of Canada’s Moxiest Work Woman. To learn more go to www.facebook.com/MoxieTrades.

To purchase Moxie gear visit your local Marks Work Wearhouse store or visit www.moxietrades.com.

There’s a long-standing story – possibly apocryphal – that circulates among our family about a certain Aunt Edna who, being safety minded, tethered herself with a long rope to the door handle of a car in the driveway before climbing on to the roof to fix an antenna. Shortly after, another family member got in the car and drove off on an errand.

The ending of this yarn is funny, rather than tragic. But it points to one of the most under-reported issues in the area of home renovation and maintenance – how to keep ourselves safe while doing chores and reno work. It’s a message the Canadian Safety Association, a not-for-profit organization that tests and certifies all manner of consumer goods, wants to hammer home (www.csa.ca).

To get off to a safe start, they suggest homeowners always use CSA-approved products and be wary of items with unrecognizable brands names, missing instructions, prices that are “too good to be true” or that contain CSA logos that look even a little bit off. They may be counterfeit.

When it comes to tips, some of the CSA suggestions are so clearly no-brainers that it’s shocking that they even need repeating. Should anyone really need to be told never to clear an obstruction on a running mower? Just keep in mind that doing so can cause injuries or amputation, the result of 16 per cent of accidents involving lawn mowers, according to the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program, which analyzes injuries to people (mainly children) at the emergency rooms of 14 Canadian hospitals.

Look for more information on counterfeit products, and get more general safety tips from www.csasafetytips.com.

In olden times, this article would have been directed more or less exclusively to men. That was before women began not only doing more DIY around the home, but entering the construction trade in numbers. As they did, they often found that safety apparel was not designed with them in mind.

“When it came to footwear, they used to just take a men’s work boot and add extra padding,” says Marissa McTasney, founder of Moxie Trades, which makes safety gear for women. “But men’s and women’s feet have a different shape, so you actually need a different last (form).”

McTasney, who initially built her reputation on a stylish pink work boot for women, has recently expanded her footwear offering to include athletic runners, slip-ons, oxfords and light-duty work boots. More styles will arrive in the fall. I recently tried wearing the lightweight (and surprisingly attractive) Vegas from Moxie ($140) for a full day of reno work. Lo and behold – after seven hours – my feet did not feel like ground beef, or my legs like logs. For more information about the line, go to www.moxietrades.com. For more about McTasney, go to my blog at www.thestar.blogs.com/onthehouse.

It’s not just about comfort, says McTasney. “The wrong gear can get you hurt. I’ve heard, for example, of gloves being too big for a woman and getting snagged in equipment. And if you’re working all day in things that don’t fit properly, there can be repetitive strain problems.”

One of McTasney’s unbreakable rules is to wear safety glasses while working – either on a job site or around the home. She sells CSA-approved safety glasses made with lightweight polycarbonate lens that filter out 99.9 per cent of ultraviolet radiation.

They come with three different types of lens; vermillion, which blocks glare, clear for indoor work, and a mirrored finish that works indoors or out. The first two sell for $20, the latter for $10.

3M also has Tekk Protection safety glasses that have both anti-fog and anti-scratch coating and can be adjusted to fit. A pair sells for about $10 at Lowes www.lowes.ca. It’s a good idea to pick up a few pairs and stash them close to where you may need them – in the tool box, in a closet leading to an attic and in the tool shed. Use mate less-socks as covers to prevent scratches.

McTasney also stresses the importance of keeping the work environment clear, whether it’s the tool room or the backyard. CSA agrees, reminding people that before doing outdoor yard work, the area should be swept for objects that could be tossed by the rotating blades of a mower or string from a trimmer.

It’s never a good idea to breathe in large amounts of dust or particulates, including those produced when sanding drywall and prepping walls for paint. What stops many DIYers from donning a mask is that they can be hot and itchy. That’s less of a problem with 3M’s 8511 particle respirator (about $7 at Lowe’s and Home Hardware www.homehardware.ca), which has a small exhalation valve that keeps the user more comfortable when grinding, sanding, sweeping, or bagging dust. For more info, go to www.3m.ca.

Contact Vicky Sanderson at

vswriter@sympatico.ca and follow her on Twitter @vickysanderson.

Credit: Vicky Sanderson Special to the Star Contact Vicky Sanderson at ; vswriter@sympatico.ca and follow her on Twitter @vickysanderson.

This spring, as DIY women rev up their jigsaws, pull out hand tools and gear up their sanders, they need to do it safety and with style. 

About 50% of Canadians need safety gear for their profession or personal projects, and half of them are women.

Often women have had to resort to mens’ safety gear, but Moxie Trades is making that a thing of the past.

“When I started on one of my first projects, I was shocked when I went looking for pink work boots, or any other work boots made for me, that I couldn’t find them,” says Marissa McTasney founder of Moxie Trades.

“”Since then I’ve made it my mission to create a line of safety gear for women that is 100% certified, made for a woman and has a flare of style.”

“Women deserve the very best quality, the very best fit and the very best style.” 

Moxie Trades and the Calgary Sun have teamed up to provide four prize packs to give away to lucky readers.  Eachcontains a pink hard hat, tool belt and safety glasses ($90 value), plus Black & Decker 12V Max lithium ion drill ($59).

For full line of up Moxie’s safety gear, visit Mark’s Work Wearhouse, the Work Authority or Jobsite Workwear in the Calgary area. 

For more information on the prize or safety tips, go to www.moxietrades.com or www.blackanddecker.com

Moxie Trades Supports Skilled Trades Training From YWCA

We support and want to promote the programs that Niagara YWCA is offering for the Niagara Region.  Offering services and programs unique to women in the St. Catharines area for over 12 years that are geared specifically for women.  They have delivered 40 workshops on site and at community partners’ locations.  Their success has helped over 120 women find employment with area employers.

The YWCA offers research and results on skilled trades:

We’ve been researching and conducting surveys for the past year+ considering opportunities to offer Skilled Trades Training and Career Opportunities for Women. There seemingly was little interest in skilled trades if referring to completed surveys by clients alone *however methodologies implementing change through marketing and promoting skilled trades career options has been positive!

Their research from a survey indicated that there was a high interest in things like welding, electrical skills, painting/decorating, cabinet making, carpentry, plumbing, heavy equipment, linework, landscaping, flooring installation and estimator.

Please feel free to get in touch with Tricia Graves, Job Developer YWCA Niagara.  She can be reached at 905-988-3528, ext 225.  Or email her here!

Gail Prosser Becomes “Canada’s Handiest”

You’ll be able to read it by clicking the Sudbury Star link, but one of our favorite women with Moxie, Gail Prosser, has been called as one of the experts for Canada’s Worst Handyman as one of their experts.

See the Discovery Network for show times!

To find out more about the show and Gail, click here!

All it takes is a bit of moxie!

March 2009

Marissa McTasney tackles the trades industry with style, passion, and determination. She believes in dreaming big, thinking the impossible and loving passionately. A few years ago, she decided to truly embrace her philosophies to find “her thing” – her company, Moxie Trades, is the result. Mompreneur Publisher Kathryn Bechthold recently caught up with Marissa and talked with her about her journey and life as an entrepreneurial mom.

Q: First of all, let me say how much I enjoy your website ! Moxietrades .com is not only an easy way to buy equipment, whether you’re a trades woman or simply the hip gal who takes care of her own home repairs , but it also gives helpful information such as tips on how to hire a tradesperson. I also love the video with Moxie women talking about their home repair abilities. Was this a part of your marketi ng plan fr om the beginning?

A: I started the business as a new tradeswoman in the industry – traded in my high heels in a corporate job for work boots on a job site! My goal was to be hanging from ladders and swinging hammers in people’s homes. Instead, I uncovered a gap in the market for women’s work wear that spanned far beyond the trades industry.

Approximately 50% of the work force in Canada wear work boots, and half of these people are women. This certainly isn’t a niche – this is a gap. I also discovered that women have been suffering in their “male” work boots and clothing. They were uncomfortable and they were getting injured. Personally, I wanted to wear pink work boots. I wanted to be myself on site and not have to prove that I was like a man, could swing a hammer like a man, or make as much money as a man. My goal was to rip a piece of wood with a circular saw in pink work boots.

Q: Why did you start Moxietrades.com?

A: I started the business as Tomboy Trades a couple of years ago. The plan was to have teams of women who would do renovations. While I was building my trades business and attending trades school, my evenings were spent looking for anyone who would make pink work boots for me.

I found my manufacturer in China through a website. Many, many naysayers told me not to do it. But my gut was OK to move forward. My Chinese partners and I worked for months on product development. Once we had samples, I went to the bank to wire over the money. Not only did I have no idea what I was doing and what a TT transfer was, but my local bank was also experiencing wiring to China for the first time.

Everyone thought I’d lost it. I did it anyway. A week later, my precious pink work boots arrived and I was initiated into the manufacturing business. I presented my idea to the President of Home Depot, Annette Verschuren. The boots I sent her fit, and she wore them on a site with media and the CEO of Home Depot. One week before my meeting with Home Depot, I had created my website through a template on GoDaddy.com. Three hundred dollars and five sleepless nights later, I had tomboytrades.com.

After realizing that the business was going to take off and was likely to go global, I re-branded to Moxie Trades. Not everyone responded to Tomboy, so after market research, analysis and simple dictionary surfing, I found moxie – the ability to face fear with courage and spirit. This is every woman. The birth of Moxie Trades was immediately followed by the website rebrand to moxietrades.com.

We started the videos because women kept asking me what the course for construction was like and what it’s like working in the trades. It occurred to me to start a forum for women to share their stories. We have so many women with stories they want to share, and women who want to hear them. Our goal is to bring them together.

Q: What have been some of your major challenges?

A: Major challenges have been abundant. Every day I wake up and say “Today, I don’t want to learn a thing!” In reality, I am hungry for education. Everyone greets a challenge (when they are not the ones going through it) with “It’s a learning experience!” Yes, it is, but c’mon! I don’t want a learning experience every single day of the week.

One challenge is getting your hands on money through the bank, investment companies and investors. Purchase order
financing and factoring are also available options. The one thing I have always done is to only ask for money once I have the purchase orders from the customers. I got a bank loan after I received the order from Home Depot. I partnered with investors after I had business with HBC.

My latest venture and the break I needed came with the Dragons Den TV show. I had done a couple of interviews with CBC TV, and the producers asked me if I would like to participate in auditioning the new dragon. It was a great experience, lots of fun. But my intention was not to be on the real show. After all, I was already in business. After negotiations, I agreed to do the show and bring a team of women with me. I contacted tradeswomen who had purchased our products, women from our online registry, women from The Company of Women, members of CAWIC and instructors from the Burlington Center for Skilled Trades – and they showed up! They were happy, giddy and lifted me up for the pitch. My goal was to be articulate, and it was easy with 35 gorgeous supporters behind me. On the show, I turned down the deal. At the end of the taping, Brett Wilson said, “call me and I’ll help you.” Then, Jim Treliving said the same thing. So I’m walking off the show and have a millionaire and billionaire offering me help. This is the break entrepreneurs need. Yes, luck is preparation meeting opportunity and, yes, I only sleep four hours a night so I do work hard. And yes, we have great products, but everyone needs a break. I called Brett Wilson and we spoke for 45 minutes, shared emails, had breakfast, and finally shook on a deal. Now, I could breathe. This was the first time I felt safe.

I believe there will always be fear and that is what drives me. Once you build staff, make commitments and are in business, there also comes immense responsibility. It’s also not like you have won money; you need to be gracious and respectful with your investor’s money. They have worked hard for it, so you need to take care of it.

Another challenge is retailers who ask for exclusivity. My advice: don’t do it. It’s really difficult for a start-up to offer
exclusivity. Not only do you need to sell enough to cover your costs, but you have tremendous start-up costs so you need a lot of customers. There is also the reality that you may drive your one and only retailer bonkers. You live and die by your “one and only”, but they can do without you. Exclusivity can come in various styles, brands or a particular product, but shouldn’t be everything you have to offer.

Then there are the day-to-day ordeals of running a business. At the beginning, you think forget it, I quit, this is too big for me. Now, I just find another solution. There will always be challenges; strength comes in finding the solution.

Q: What tips would you recommend to a Mompreneur thinking about manufacturing a product ?

A: When it comes to manufacturing a product, I believe it is necessary to find a great manufacturer. I did not need a patent, but if you’re talking about a unique invention, do that as soon as possible. When working with manufacturers, especially those overseas, make sure you keep your investment as small as possible. Work on concept and prototype, just enough to test the market. Don’t buy in to “minimum quantities”. If this is a prototype, they should work with you. Keep looking for that company until you find one that believes in you.

Meet with your potential clients and see what they think. Ask for their advice. I have been asked to review people’s ideas and I have had a few people ask me to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). This means that if I take their idea they can sue me. I will not sign an NDA, nor have I ever asked anyone to sign one for me. There will always be risk in launching a business, but do so with integrity and good will. I am a believer that you have to put it out there. For all of my ideas, I throw them out into the world and someone always grabs on and helps me get to the next place. Always ask – it’s amazing the results.

Q: What has the experience bee n like to manufacture overseas ? What challenges have you faced?

A: There have been a few language barriers, but in any language there are always communication issues. When manufacturing overseas you need to ensure you understand the taxes, duties, shipping costs and warehousing costs before providing prices to your customers.

Q: What have been some of your major successes?

A: There have been many! We are doing business with the largest retailers in Canada. Our company has also put a smile on many women’s faces as they don their pink work boots. It’s not about being pink or a girl – it’s about doing it ourselves. Some women have worn their husband’s tan work boots for decades, so wearing a pair of pink work boots is such a 180 that it’s empowering. Making women happy is our biggest success.

Q: How do you bala nce being a mom and an entrepreneur? What tips would you recommend?

A: I have tried three home daycares, my kids were on waiting lists at two daycares in my area, and my mother and husband have rallied around me for the last couple of years. In our house, it’s team McTasney. After three bad experiences with home daycares, I vowed never again. My biggest struggle was dropping my kids off with people who didn’t love them. Then, there was the rush in the morning, the panic at 5 pm, and then the guilt and dissatisfaction. I used to say to myself, all of this for a pink work boot? But, the lesson I am teaching my children is to follow their dreams and live large.

My business was started because I was looking for a passion. I wrote a book for my kids on my philosophy of life that I want to pass on to them. My philosophy is: Dream Big, Think the Impossible, and Love Passionately. So, is this just about a pink work boot? No, it’s way more than that. It’s my dream, my success and my journey of independence.

My daughter is learning how hard her Mom works, that she is happy, and that she loves her very much. My daughter is three, loves pink and knows how to use a drill (yes, already!) My son, now five years old, is learning how to shake hands, ship a carton to a customer, and doesn’t know the difference between his Mom going to work or his Dad. He also has daily chores and can make his own bed and bring down the laundry.

As for our current daycare scenario, I have tried to make my own life as efficient as possible. We now have a live-in nanny who loves my children. This works well because if I want to have breakfast, eat lunch or take my kids to school, I can. There is no red-tape, no codes to enter or calls to make. I can have my kids whenever I want them.

Also, my daughter attends a play group three afternoons a week at the Montessori school which is attached to my new
office. I was lucky enough to get my hands on an office space in an old mill from the 1850’s. It is a couple of blocks away from home and I can peek in on my little girl while she’s in the class. I certainly don’t have it all figured out, but I have learned the best way to manage my business and my family.

Q: What ’s in the cards for Moxie Trades over the next couple of years?

A: We want to make sure that our Canadian customers are happy, both at the retail level and most importantly at the consumer level. We will continue to grow our business across the border and overseas, but we are in no rush. We want to grow our business successfully in all markets. Most importantly we want to carry on the Moxie mission.

Author: Kathryn Bechthold

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Who says you can’t look good to work hard? Not Marissa McTasney; the Brooklin entrepreneur has successfully launched a line of women’s construction gear in female-friendly pinks, blues, reds and greens.  When Marissa McTasney decided to enter the skilled trades, the first hing she needed was a pair of steel-toed work boots.  Dissatisfied with the assortment of mundane tans and blacks, she tracked down a sales manager to inquire, “Where are the pink boots?”

“I get asked that all the time,” was the sales manager’s reply. 

so why, though McTasney, isn’t someone selling them?  the savvy entrepreneur quikcly capitalized on what she perceived as a hole in the marketplace by introducing a line of women’s construction gear.

She persevered with her pursuit of pink.  She discovered a company in China that would deliver what she wanted.  They sent her a picture and she ordered 30 pairs.

This article is no longer available online. 

Writer: Heather M. O’Connor

Photos by Holly McLellan

The editor-in-chief of Builder/Architect magazine has given me the great honour to be featured in the Women in Construction edition — an honour that to be honest, I feel is premature.  I haven’t struggled with being a tradeswoman.  I haven’t felt discrimination because of my gender.  I haven’t been injured emotionally or physically from being on a work site.  The women before me paved the way and now in only two years, I have been able to celebrate being a woman who wears work boots — mine are pink!

 It has been only two years since I decided to ditch my high heels.  The moment I decided to lose those shoes was a late evening in January as I was surfing the web to find that course.   That course for Women in Construction.  That course I read about in a local paper and cut out and placed somewhere special before I was about to give birth to my son.  I showed the article to my colleague and said, “I’m going to take this course after I have my kids.”  That was on one of my last days of work at my corporate job three years before the evening that changed everything.

My son was two and a half and my daughter was only eight months old.  After writing a book, With Love to my kids on my philosophies of life, Dream Big, Think the Impossible and Love Passionately, I went searching.  What did I really want to be when I grew up? 

I wanted to be a tradeswoman. 

Two kids and one book later, my second maternity leave coming to an end, and on a cold, late night, I found the article.  I found the course. How could I have forgotten?  I cried.  This is what I wanted to do when I grew up.

Explain that to your mother and husband.

After I made the decision, I wanted to convince myself that it was going to be OK.  It was OK to be a tradeswoman.  It was OK to leave a great sales job at one of the best companies in the world.  It was OK to come home dirty every night.  It was going to be OK.

I ran a couple of focus groups to determine the viability of an all-female working crew.   I searched online for hours for women’s construction organizations.  I interviewed women in the trades.   I spoke to men in the industry to see how they felt about it.  To my amazement, they were fine with it.  In fact, they embraced it and thought it was fantastic.

I decided to build a company of tradeswomen.  It would be more than just me.  We would have plumbers, electricians, carpenters, painters and designers. 

Every time I did the research, I learned that women are excited about getting their hands dirty in construction, and that people would hire us.  I created a business plan.

I geared up for my course, Mom moved in to take care of my kids, we re-mortgaged so that I could take the five-month course, and my husband sold a lot of phones for his company to help financially support my new venture.

Do-It-Yourselfer no more, I began a new career as a professional tradeswoman.

On day one in training, my classmates and I ran to the local safety supply store to buy our work boots.  To my sheer disappointment there were no pink work boots, and even worse, I had to buy men’s boots. Considering the research I had already done in determining my future business opportunities, I didn’t understand this dilemma. What were women wearing?  Who was addressing their needs?

After conducting sufficient research, I realized there were many gaps in the industry: 

• We (Canadians) were hiring from abroad to fill our employment gaps in the construction industry.  
• We are not promoting the skilled trades as a viable business opportunity at any education level.  It was being taught as an alternative career choice for the less brilliant in class.  I want it to be a choice, not an alternative.
• Women make up half the work force, including industries where women wear work boots.  These industries include forestry, manufacturing, design, retail and construction. 
• The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board is working to promote safe workplace practices and employers are diligently implementing them.
• Women are key decision makers in their homes, even where they live in a traditional married household.
• Women account for approximately 50% of the purchases made at large hardware retailers.
• Women make up 20% of all home buyers. This number has increased by 50% in the last eight years.

In terms of the products out there for women – they were merely sized-down men’s stuff.  No one was actually catering to this quietly booming phenomenon. 

Immediately, the footprint of my business changed.    I created an online registry for women in the trades.  I wanted to have a listing of like-minded women as a referral base.  If customers wanted to hire a female electrician or refer one, they could find her by accessing the database. 

I completed the course for Women in Skilled Trades and now I know how to build a house (generally speaking.)  I worked for a few months on residential renovations.  Before naming my company, I was greeted by a few prospective clients with a lot of surprise. Not only was I a woman quoting the work, I was also the one doing it.  As a result, I decided to announce my arrival before I got to the door and named the company Tomboy Trades. I used a controversial logo.  I love the logo.

The next division of my business grew too fast and not fast enough.  At night, after my day job, I was working with manufacturing companies overseas to produce work boots for women.  My pair was destined to be pink, but knowing that some wouldn’t be caught dead in pink, I offered four feminine colour pallettes.  We were offering everything except the jeans, from work boots to hard hats.

In the past two years, Tomboy Trades Ltd.  has achieved milestones and successes.  Home Depot launched the line in March 2007 where we continue our partnership with the online division at www.homedepot.ca.    Zellers piloted the line in sixteen stores this past winter and we are looking forward to moving into 100 stores across Canada this summer. 

We are also re-branding.  We want to expand globally and we can’t bring the “tomboy” name with us.  So, after months of ‘tooling around’ names, I re-branded to Moxie Trades. 

Moxie can be defined as the ability to face difficulty with spirit and courage.  The moxie mentality has audacity, backbone, bravery, determination, spunk and tenacity.  I boldly embrace the word as this now defines my every move, thought and deliberate action in my business and my soul.   This is what I hope my kids say their Mom has.

This is the word, I hope that all women can also use to define who they are. 

Moxie Trades is now building business across the globe.  We are establishing a foundation in Canada.  We are slowly introducing our products in the US market through independent retailers and we have recently obtained European certification of our products.

We are expanding our collection to provide women the products they need to be safe, comfortable and stylish.  Our business has moved beyond the gig of our famous Pink Work Boot: Betsy.  Our goal is to provide excellent quality products with the best components.  We cater specifically to the female market.  It’s not an afterthought, it’s our mission.

Please visit our website, www.moxietrades.com.  If you are a tradeswoman, please join our online registry.  If you have any specific on-site requirements or any feedback, please email me at marissa@moxietrades.com.  Your input will allow me to build the business to cater specifically to our market.

I leave you now with only one question: Do you have moxie?

In 2008, Marissa McTasney was awarded the very prestigious award in the “Young Entrepreneur of the Year” category.

This honor was given by the Whitby Chamber of Commerce.

When women are looking to start their own companies, they cansure use company.

That’s what Marissa McTasney – better known as “the pink boot lady” – discovered through all the ups and downs of launching her super successful women’s workwear line Tomboy Trades Ltd. out of her Brooklin, Ont., home last year.

Though it all started with her thinking pink about construction gear, she really needed a helping hand.

She searched high and low for all kinds of resources to get things rolling, and quickly discovered there was no shortage of businessmen willing to throw in their two cents worth.

Luckily, the 33-year-old mother of two met Anne Day, founder of a professional women’s networking group called Company of Women. The ladies’ co-operative has nurtured her career in the cute boot business since Day One with loads of advice, tips and moral support along the way.

“I find with men in business, it’s usually all about the bottom line how much it (the business) is going to cost and how much it’s going to make,” explains McTasney.

“Women care about every aspect of a business, in terms of the type of culture we’re trying to create and the creative side of it.

“We’re just interested in so many different things,” she says.

Although her workwear is made for the female “fix-it” set in pale pink and baby blue hues, McTasney has found herself mainly doing business with men now that she’s playing in the big leagues.

Her signature boots, tool belts, hard hats, shirts and tinted safety glasses are being sold through Home Depot online and in selected Zellers locations. (She recently had to make a difficult decision to rebrand and change the company name to Moxie Trades for a planned expansion outside Canada since the Tomboy name was already taken, although the distinctive Tomboy logo will remain on goods in Canada for the time being.)

“All of my business partners are men. It’s been hard for me to find women to do business with out there,” she notes.

That’s likely going to change down the road with women flexing their entrepreneurial muscle in droves these days. According to RBC Group, women entrepreneurs are one of the fastest growing business segments in Canada.

The number of female-run, incorporated businesses more than doubled during the last decade, with 821,000 self-employed women contributing $18 billion to the Canadian economy.

In fact, Canadian firms run by women create new jobs at four times the rate of the national average, collectively providing more jobs than the Canadian Top 100 companies combined.

Four out of five businesses launched today are started by women. And nearly half of small and mid-sized businesses across the country have at least one female owner.

“The issues are the same, but women have a different attitude about getting things done. We bring different things to the table,” explains Day.

“We’re the multi-taskers, and we’re used to being interrupted and doing all kinds of things at the same time. Men are focused – and probably more successful,” she quips.

Day and her small business Company of Women have “really given me a lot of business advice on a personal level,” notes McTasney. “I’ve also hired women in the group to help with my business.”

It comes as no surprise since Day has made a career out of bringing folks together.

She has headed up several charities and ran a successful consulting practice, Community Connections, in which she worked with community agencies to develop services for children and families. It was actually through the isolation of working alone out of her Oakville digs in that business that led her to start another successful venture, namely Company of Women.

“When I held the first meeting five years ago, I was told 35 people were guaranteed to show,” she recalls.

She couldn’t believe her eyes when 165 women from all over the GTA turned up to attend the meeting at the Oakville Convention Centre.

“It blew me away. I knew I was onto something,” Day says.

The group has about 340 members now and holds monthly meetings plus regular retreats and dinners – even golf clinics – for women in various stages of their professional life, whether they work for themselves or have an employer, or juggle both, or just want to get started.

Many of the members have made sales or landed new clients through the organization. There have also been more practical offshoots of sharing resources. For instance, two of the women in landscape gardening ended up sharing a website to promote their services.

“It’s not just about collecting business cards. It’s about building relationships and supporting each other. A lot of women who are starting out are unsure which direction to take,” says Day.

“We have everyone you can think of (in our membership), from fashion designers to undertakers.”

And every age group is represented. Her daughter Megan Day, 24, happens to be the youngest member and, remarkably, she’s already run a few small businesses of her own, from making and selling baby clothing to graphic design, to her current offbeat venture designing ‘Spirit Stones’ crafts and keepsakes.

“My biggest fear was selling myself, which is what you have to do when you are self-employed. I’m kind of shy but a lot of women have an issue with this,” she says.

“You also need support. Company of Women is like a cheerleading squad,” jokes Megan, who is also on her mom’s payroll part-time, doing administrative duties and planning events.

“I do feel networking isn’t about sales. It’s about building relationships that lead to sales, and you want to build ones that last,” she says.

For McTasney, being a woman launching a business has been a real eye-opener, professionally and personally.

“I never thought I was going to be a feminist, but I feel like waving a flag at the front of the parade,” she says with a laugh.

And she practices what she preaches, having just hired a female fashion intern from Paris who acts as her “mini-me” by doing all the things McTasney used to do but doesn’t have the time for anymore now that her business has exploded.

“It’s not just about pink boots anymore. We’ve established that this gig is working,” she says, noting she’s in discussions with Wal-Mart and has had some interest from other major retailers including Mark’s Work Wearhouse.

From a business that started in her basement and has since moved to a big warehouse with an office in Markham, she’s now looking at not only expanding globally, but adding more practical things to the line, including low-rise and black boots, among other things.

McTasney also does a slew of presentations and speeches to young and aspiring entrepreneurs and has been asked to go on the popular CBC show Dragons’ Den, where entrepreneurs make a pitch for funding from big-time backers. She just had a visit from Canadian actress and TV fix-it lady Mag Ruffman.

Anne Day sums it up simply “I think it’s all about the fact that women want to get control of their lives. And it’s more that we care about each other.”

Credit: Toronto Star; Lisa Wright