MAD LOVE MONDAY - Tara Dragon | Work Evolution

We go Q&A style with Tara Dragon, founder of Work Evolution AKA the place to consult with regarding flexible employment opportunities in Edmonton and area. We are so on board with her vision about flexible work opportunities as the new employee standard. Finally, a consulting firm for employers and employees to benefit from with a unique twist we l-o-v-e.

1. What is your Business all about?

I am the founder of Work Evolution and we are connecting the best employers with professionals seeking flexible employment. I am very passionate about helping professionals find meaningful work that utilizes their skills, education and talents while respecting the boundaries that they need for work-life balance. To do this, we are also changing the way that organizations think about employees and helping break down some of their barriers to accepting and/or hiring a flexible worker.

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2. What inspired you to start your own business?

I recently had a career in IM/IT and was a partner in a boutique consulting firm. I returned to work six months after my son was born and found work and roles that allowed me to balance time at home with time in the office and also gave me enough flexibility to attend my son’s activities and appointments when I wanted.

Looking around at one of my peer groups – professional women with young families – I saw that many were not able to find a balance that worked for them. Some asked their employers for flexible arrangements and were denied, forcing them to make a decision about what to do. Options that they reviewed included returning to the same role and same circumstances, not returning at all, or returning to a different role with more flexibility (sometimes in a different organization). Some of the factors that were frequently under consideration were: cost of child care, ability to spend time with their family, income, opportunity to use their experience/education, and their ability to stay in a job they considered meaningful. At the end of the day, the decisions were very important, extremely personal and often very stressful.

Rather than convert everyone to IM/IT careers (which can be very flexible), I decided to tackle the problem a different way and found that the model was appealing to parents of young families (they don’t want to be away from their kids all day, every day), folks approaching retirement (they often want to ease into transition with a flexible “bridge” job), and millennials (they want to have jobs that support all of their other interests and passions).

3. Do you have a go to quote / motto?

If you do the right things, the right things get done.

4. What’s a personal goal of yours to accomplish? (time frame?)

My personal goal for 2018 is to be more active and involved in the lives of those closest to me. I had a stressful work project in 2017 that reduced the amount of time that I had to connect with people. This year I want and  need to work at strengthening those relationships again now that I have left the consulting world.

5. Why do you love being an entrepreneur?

FLEXIBILITY! (Pun intended!) I love that I can work anywhere and at anytime. (E.g., I can take my son to gymnastics during the day and put in a few hours of work in the evening.) I also love to see the excitement and buzz around something that I am building.

6. What’s your best boss babe moment? (First moment of reassurance).

My best moments since launching Work Evolution have been the emails and notes from people that I don’t even know. I expect my family and besties to love my idea, but it’s extra-special when a stranger does!  For example, I received this on LinkedIn, “…I was just browsing on LinkedIn and somehow stumbled on your article and story about flexible work. Thank you for what you are doing to help others find flexibility in their careers. As an HR Professional, I have seen how this has affected colleagues of mine and understand how flexibility impacts me personally. It makes me sad to see that so many employers are so rigid in their belief that you can only do work within the confines of their offices. Kudos and all the best to you in this venture. I'm a fan…”

7. Work-life Balance: What you do you do to destress? What is your must-have moment of the day (me time)?

I wake up at 4:50am every week day and get in a 60-minute workout before the household wakes up. I also use this time to watch my guilty-pleasure shows: The Bachelor, Nashville, Grey’s and Dr. Phil.

8. What are you looking to learn from other YEGBOSSBABES in the community?

I would love to learn more about how other YEGBOSSBABES are achieving their work-life balance. I would also love to learn more about how I can support them through the services offered by Work Evolution and find any and all opportunities to collaborate.

Interested in being featured? contact us at yegbossbabes@gmail.com

MAD LOVE MONDAY - Laurel Redfern | Redfern Creative

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We go Q&A Style with Laurel Redfern, the owner of Redfern Creative.

1. What is your business? Why that field/service/product?

70% of my business is Graphic Design services, specializing in print.

My clients are generally small to medium sized businesses that don't necessarily require a full time designer on staff, but can recognize and appreciate the importance of branding and professional design. Templates and "online" designers simply don't produce a high quality finished product and it's noticeable.

I absolutely love designing catalogues and brochures but that's not all I design. Advertising (magazines, billboards, digital), logo design, flyers, event branding (posters, invites), signs, menus and stationary are my bread and butter. Really, any form of visual branding is what I do best and I will happily defend the position that print is not dead! Clients and customers still like to have tangible things to remember a conversation by, so why not make it beautiful? A glossy product book featuring your best sellers, a fancy wooden business card to leave behind or a thought inspiring ad in an industry magazine are all sure to impress.

The other 30% of my business is Calligraphy. This has been a passion of mine for years and I sell both original artwork and prints through my website. I currently offer a line of greeting cards as well and hope to expand into some different products in the future. I may even try teaching if I can work up the courage! Calligraphy is my love and keeps me creative, inspired and focused.

Everything I do is driven by my desire to create. I have always been fascinated by the idea of creativity, where it comes from and how to foster it.

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2. What inspired you to start your own business?

I had been working full time as a Graphic Artist for 13 years. Although I loved my job and appreciated the steady income and benefits, I was becoming complacent and getting less satisfaction from the role. It would have been very easy to stay there but the years were flying by and I needed to do something to get my passion back.

3. What is a personal goal of yours?

"I own my business. My business doesn't own me" That quote sums up my goal pretty perfectly. In this first year, I am ready and willing to give this everything I've got to make it succeed. Once I get there, I simply want 8 hours of work to do a day. The freedom to work on something I love inside my little tiny trailer in the mountains is really all I'm going for here. Although this answer might seem underwhelming, it took me a while to accept this idea and I want others to know it's a perfectly fine goal! Goals of global success are ok too ;)

4. What's your best Boss Babe moment? First moment of reassurance?

I had someone request a quote from me on a project I knew I could do an awesome job on. I presented a fair quote based on my applicable experience and was met with "your rate is too high". This isn't the first time this has happened and in the past I would have considered dropping my rate or maybe not even responding. It happened to be the day after the epic Oprah speech though so I just explained my rate. I also noted you could easily find designers that charge far less than me and many that charge more. I spoke to my level of skill with confidence and respectfully left it at that. Guess who called me back and gave me the job? I needed this reminder and maybe some of you do too. Stand your ground, speak confidently and know your worth... then impress the hell out of them because you CAN.

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5. What are you hoping to learn from other Boss Babes in the community?

When I browse Instagram and @yegbossbabes, it's always for inspiration. Before I decided to venture off into my own business, I had no idea this community existed. There is such a massive group of amazing, inspiring and resilient women in the city. In my own experiences, they've always been more than willing to offer advice and suggestions. When I'm feeling crazy for leaving a steady job, just seeing other women doing it makes me think... "hey, maybe I can do this"

Interested in being featured? email us at yegbossbabes@gmail.com 

MAD LOVE MONDAY - Camille Wallach | Mobile Massage YEG

We go Q&A Style with Camille Wallach, the owner of Mobile Massage YEG. Her unique business provides in home and workplace massage around the greater Edmonton area. With over 12 years experience, Camille has worked in chiropractic and physical therapy clinics and decided to start her own business 3 years ago. Camille has seen huge growth expanding her team to 7 therapists providing massage therapy to Edmonton, Sherwood Park, St. Albert, Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc and Beaumont. Her goal to expand her workplace massage program is very interesting because who wouldn't want a massage at the office?! That's a corporate culture I would be interested in being involved with! I think YEGBOSSBABES corporate culture just shifted... Scroll down to learn more about this local bossbabe!

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What inspired you to start your own business?

The idea for mobile massage came from a couple different areas. I was working at a physical therapy clinic on the north side of Edmonton, they had a sister clinic in the south that didn’t have massage. The physios at the clinic would always ask where to refer, eventually I started doing mobile in the south. I had also interviewed at a company that offered their employees massage therapy in the workplace. I didn’t get the job, but that I was inspired me to pursue the workplace side of my company. This company offered this service to their employees, and that sparked the idea that other companies would like to do the same.

Our goal for Mobile Massage YEG is to provide quality massage therapy with convenience.

Do you have a go to quote / motto?

Always build quality relationships. I strive to build great trusting relationships with my clients and other business owners within the city.

What’s a personal goal of yours to accomplish? (time frame?)

A personal goal of mine is become a better public speaker. I have struggled most of my life being shy, recently have found myself having to do more presentations - That is something I am working on this year.

Do you have a professional goal or set of goals for your business?

I have massive goals for MMYEG. This year we are focusing on our workplace wellness program, helping companies incorporate massage therapy in their corporate culture.  We are also partnering with some hotels in the area and looking to expand that as well.

With the In- Home massage therapy we are looking to expand out into Spruce Grove, Stoney Plain and St. Albert, bringing on a therapist for each of these areas.

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Why do you love being an entrepreneur?

I love being an entrepreneur for many reasons. First of all I am working for my future. I can do as much or as little as I want, depending on the goals I want to reach. There is usually little stagnancy with growing a company, I’m always learning new things on how to expand my company.

Did you ever have a time where you wanted to give up? How did you overcome that feeling?

There have been multiple times I’ve wanted to give up. I have failed in some ventures I’ve taken with my company. Some things work, some don’t. When I think about giving up, that feeling doesn’t last long. I just remember I would never be OK working for someone else or working a 9-5.

What’s your best boss babe moment? (First moment of reassurance).

Last year I was nominated for Best Massage Therapist in YEG in YEGFitness Magazine. That brought a lot of credibility in the health community. I was also nominated again this year which felt really great!

What platform do you find most success / interaction from? (IE. Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook).

I find that Instagram has been the best! I get a few clients a month from this platform.

Work-life Balance: What do you do to destress? What is your must-have moment of the day (me time)?

Self care is a big priority for me. Practice what you preach! I get massages twice a month and see a chiropractor and acupuncturist once a month and Physio when needed. Yin Yoga classes twice a month, should be doing it once a week…I also journal daily and do 20 mins of meditation.

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Interested in being featured? email us at yegbossbabes@gmail.com