In the movie Julie and Julia there is a scene where Julie gets the courage to write her first blog, with the fear and trepidation that no one will follow her “blogs” and why would anyone even care. At this moment I can surely relate to that feeling as this is my “first blog” . After being encouraged by many to “just get with it”, I’m finally entering the world of blogs. Although I can’t guarantee how often or how many I’ll do—I’m just taking the “one month at a time approach”.Why now? This blog is being written in conjunction with the launch of www.GroYourBiz.com a new and exciting division of my company, Impact Communications Ltd., to meet the needs of women business owners in Canada who want to take their business to the next level. As the Chapter Chair for three Vancouver Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO), I kept on getting calls from women who wanted to join WPO but didn’t qualify yet as they had not reached the million dollar revenue. There was a “missing gap”. I had been contemplating a program for this group of women for over 2 years, but seemed to be “stuck”. But as fate would have it, I got inspired by two great women to be encouraged to do what I have always done best: “help women grow their businesses”. One was a fruitful dinner last December with Lorelle Gilpin, VP, Marketing, Costco Wholesale, and another on a sunny afternoon in June with Joanne Gassman, VP, BMO Bank of Montreal, Vancouver Suburban District. And as they say, the “rest is history”.

With BMO as the Founding and Leading “Partner in Development” and two other trusted advisors—Michelle Pockey, Partner, Fasken Martineau and Debbie Bass, Partner, Meyers Norris Penny, our first chapter has already formed and I’m so looking forward to having the women entrepreneurs achieve the next step that each of them wants for their business—whatever that may be. Stay tuned to hear about their successes!

I would like to hear from you. As a woman business owner, what are your challenges and struggles? What would help you grow? Who do you go to for support and advice? Who do you talk to? What keeps you awake at night?

Barbara Mowat, Founder and President, GroYourBiz.com