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Salty Boots and Solid Success – A Member’s Tale
by: Beth Parker
It was a cold, dreary Toronto February morning.
My fledgling business
was less than six months old and I arrived early at Fran’s
Restaurant at
Yonge and Eglinton. The first thing I noticed – to my horror
– is that all of
the women were wearing nice shoes.
It was my first CAWEE breakfast meeting and I was sporting salt-covered
snow boots. I felt awkward, out of place and the muffins were stale.
Someone explained to me that the venue had been changed from the
usual downtown location because a “break out” group wanted
a location closer to the north end. In spite of my footwear, I was
introduced to another writer who quickly advised me, “We don’t
need more writers in this group.”
Three things happened after my first, rather dismal introduction
to CAWEE.
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1. The then membership
director and breakfast hostess, Noreen Pigdon, called me afterward
to welcome me and encourage me to join. I was delighted that
someone even remembered me. I felt like I had made at least
one friend in the group (despite my lack of nice shoes).
2. Another member, who sold insurance, invited me for coffee.
She told me about her business and asked what she could do
to help mine. You could have knocked me over with a feather.
I thought to myself, “If this is what a networking group
is all about, count me in!”
3. And lastly, I decided that if I really was determined to
make my business work, I couldn’t let a grumpy writer,
some stale muffins and a wardrobe mal-function get between
me and future success.
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After my second meeting I applied for membership. Within months,
CAWEE breakfasts moved back to the Richtree Market (formerly Movenpick)
and the President at the time, Maxine Westaway, approached me about
contributing my publishing expertise to the newsletter. I joined
the committee headed by Karen Cinq-Mars, and met another (much friendlier
writer), Deb Hume. Acclaim was a print production at that time and
was a complex undertaking to create, print, assemble and mail. We
used Karen’s studio and seemed to spend a lot of time drinking
wine and taking about everything but the newsletter.
A couple years later, now as Acclaim’s editor, I was firmly
entrenched in CAWEE’s network. Deb had landed herself a fabulous
job at a Toronto marketing studio and kindly referred a couple of
her former clients to me. She didn’t know me that well but
from my work on ACCLAIM was confident I could put a sentence together
and meet a deadline.
From that first CAWEE morning at Fran’s, there hasn’t
been a time when CAWEE hasn’t demonstrated the true essence
of networking – “warts and all”. Today, over 70%
of my work can be tracked back to a CAWEE contact or referral. I
continue to encourage both executive women and entrepreneurs to
join CAWEE. In the wild and somewhat unpredictable world of business,
CAWEE has taught me five essential lessons that will continue to
sustain me in the years to come.
• The value of getting involved;
• The tangible benefits of demonstrating your talents in front
of your peers;
• The inexhaustible strength of women to support one another;
• The importance, always, to reach out to new people in a welcoming
manner; and
• The responsibility of each of us to get beyond the minor
roadblocks and make our own success.
 Beth Parker, a Toronto writer and owner of
Words & Solutions has been a member of CAWEE since 2000. She
can be reached at 416-480-1225 or bethparker@sympatico.ca.
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