Influencing families

Kootenay Business magazine recognized four West Kootenay businesswomen with its second annual Influential Women in Business awards. Here we speak to Sabrina Baker of Bumblebee Toys, an online store based in Nelson, B.C.

KB: Do you know why you were nominated?
Baker: My friends and customers—and my two children—love my products and my business. I work hard, I’m really persistent and I’m really good at marketing, particularly social media marketing. People appreciate that my products are eco-friendly and natural, and I have a lot of unusual things.

KB: What does this recognition mean to you, and why?
Baker: At first I felt that I wasn’t worthy of getting the award, but the feedback I’ve had has reminded me of the value of what I’m doing. Certainly, I’m running a business and I have to make it work financially, but my equal motivation is to bring better products into the lives of children. People can identify with me. As a small business in a small town, it’s easy to feel tiny and not influential, but it seems that people are noticing and appreciating my efforts.

KB: In your mind, what are the characteristics of an influential woman?
Baker: I think that to succeed—to be influential—we have to be super persistent, determined, and OK with having some failures, because that’s how you get stronger. Creativity is really important, too, as is a passion about running the administration of the business as well as the production side.

A lot of people get excited about getting into their own business and they plunge right in, without writing a business plan. Big mistake. Writing your business plan will wake you up to what it will take to get started, and the responsibilities you’ll face every day.