International Women's Day is held on March 8th every year. It's a day when we celebrate the amazing social, cultural, economic and political achievements of women – while also campaigning for greater progress towards gender equality.

We decided to take this opportunity to highlight just a few of the many amazing women from the ‘Digital Main Street' community!

The Prudent

Pam Reynolds

As the owner of ‘Reynolds & Associates‘ and an active member of the Jamaican Canadian Association and president of the ‘Caribbean Canadian Seniors' group, Pam has always been someone to embrace personal and professional growth.

As a small business owner Pam understand the importance of “balance in all things.” She recognizes the need to unplug from work, enrich your life through travel, and seek out meaningful community connections. This is the bedrock of senior groups like hers, with special consideration given to the isolation that seniors can often be faced with from all walks of life, much like the small business owner.

The tools, resources, and 1 on 1 consulting offered by DMS continue to empower Pam to set and reach new goals. “Our squad member was very knowledgable, and professional,” she says “He was there when I needed him most.”

Originally Pam was concerned about exploring POS options for her business, however after a 1 on 1 session with our service squad member she discovered that there were a number of ways for her to continue to improve her business through digital transformation. 

“We knew that we needed a website,” Pam explains “but we weren’t thinking about things like SEO, backlinks, keywords, analytics etc…”

She has also become very interest in attending events hosted by DMS as well as our friends at Enterprise Toronto. “One thing that I want to learn more about is social media,” She explains “It's the next big step for me.” 

The Tireless

Viive Tork 

Viive is an interior designer with a decorated history of volunteer service and other community-focused commitments, though you won't hear her boast about it unless pressed to do so.

Beyond her work as a BIA board member, Viive is an enthusiastic member of the Canadian Estonian community,  assistant coordinator for estdocs film festival for over 10 years, an Ontario volunteerism reward recipient, a meals on wheels coordinator for 1/2 a decade, and a facilitator at ‘Forest University‘ – a total language emersion program including lecturers form all over the world are just a few of the areas she has devoted her personal time to. All while running her retail shop ‘Vii Designs‘ and mentoring young women in design. She was also recently honoured to give a featured talk at ‘Women who rock' –a monthly event featuring inspirational stories by women who are taking on life with gusto, at merchants of green coffee.

Although Viive's business had some online presence, she was eager to step up her game in any way possible. Our squad member was able to assist Viive with setting up a Shopify e-commerce store online, something she felt “incredibly important” as a significant number of in-store purchasing decisions are now strongly affected by online influence, and online sales continue to also rise.

The squad was also able to assist with reviewing her social media channels, streamlining strategy, and other beneficial efficiency tweaks.

“DMS supports small business in a lot of ways you may not even anticipate,” says Viive “Even getting some guidance on how to take the best product shots can make a huge impact on the perception of your brand.”

The Facilitator

Lola Macanowicz

Lola is active in her business community as the chair of The Village of Islington BIA Board of Directors. Being involved in the birth of all 28 murals in The Village of Islington is one of her proudest accomplishments. It was this love of community and people that motivated her to create VIBE Centre, a boutique business centre in the Village of Islington. Being a long established entrepreneur with a passion for helping others grow their business, the VIBE Centre is truly a labour of love, vision and community.

VIBE offers a unique, creative atmosphere to conduct business, with an additional focus on seminars that provide value to their community. Everything from 'empowering & encouraging women to take an active role in their financial future.' to ‘Pitch with Posture' 

Lola was so thrilled with what the DMS program had to offer the community, that she even invited one of our squad members to speak at a few of their event sessions. “My experience with DMS was two-fold, as both a BIA board member, and a founder of a local business center,” she explains “DMS was a Catalyst for kickstarting our social media strategy… Before we were very fragmented. The squad was instrumental in getting us started.”

The squad was able to help Lola create a Google my business listing including a Google 360 photo. 

“The Face to face connection with our community had such a positive impact, and really helped small business owners to become more social media savvy,” She says “What I really enjoyed most about the DMS experience was the way they adapted not only to the businesses but also individual needs with a focus on imparting knowledge, and providing beneficial resources.

VIBE was already somewhat established online but the squad “helped to fine tune and take everything to the next level” says Lola “I would say that DMS program was a huge success in the Village of Islington.” 

The Campaigner

Lucila Machado

Lu began her career in the marketing world of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Along the way she found herself drawn to Toronto, Canada where she started out as a DMS service squad member, later advancing to become our esteemed squad coordinator, and volunteer community mentor.

Her coworkers describe her expertise, passion and ‘in field' experience as the perfect mix of skills and knowledge for her demanding role.

“Lu is a people-centered creator with a focus on possibilities and a contagious enthusiasm for new ideas, people and activities. She is Energetic, warm, and passionate.”

The squad continues to benefit from Lucila's extensive knowledge of marketing and management practices including the Six Sigma method, amidst the DMS provincial expansion.

Most days you can find her in the office planning a squad blitz, developing the DMS playbook, and nurturing existing community relationships, while others are spent in the field connecting directly with small business owners, and feeling all the more revitalized for it. 

“Lu has been a part of the driving force behind DMS from the very beginning and we feel so grateful to have her on our team!”

How We Pursue #BalanceForBetter

The DMS team is proud to support inclusive hiring practices internally and is committed to continuing to support and empower women in the small business community, through the free tools and resources we provide, in light of digital transformation and all of the challenges that arise with it.

A balanced world is a better world. How can you help forge a more gender-balanced world? Celebrate women's achievement. Raise awareness against bias. Take action for equality. Get everything you need to run a successful International Women's Day right here.

#IWD2019 #balanceforbetter