The Courage to Begin: Five Business Lessons from the Women Building Riverview

This International Women's Day, the Town of Riverview is proud to celebrate 15 local entrepreneurs who shared their stories, the risks they took, the challenges they faced, and the lessons they learned about building meaningful businesses in our community.

Their businesses are woven into the fabric of Riverview: creating local jobs, providing essential services, and helping shape who we are as we grow. Their paths are different, but their experiences point to five lessons for anyone starting or growing a business.

Successful businesses rarely begin with perfect timing — they begin with action.

For Amber-Lee Gautreau of Bright White Dental Hygiene Clinic, opening her practice was about improving access to care in her community. What started as a small home-based service has grown into a full-time clinic serving a wider population.

At JEM Beauty Salon, co-owners Jenna Neil and Maddie Fram built their business by focusing on connection in a crowded industry. Their advice: trust your vision, start with what you can manage, and stay consistent.

When Mary Anne C. Catipon opened award-winning Tambayan Café, she focused on turning vision into action, even while navigating leases, construction, and inspections.

Dr. Jennifer Sinclair followed a similar approach when creating Bloom Health and Wellness Studio and Corporate Canvas Workspace. Rather than waiting for opportunity, she created the spaces she wanted to see in her community.

Listen to Your Customers — and Solve Real Problems

At Just Fit Fitness & Just Move Health Studio, Julie Solbak created a space for people who never felt comfortable in traditional gyms. Her focus is belonging over aesthetics, and through the process redefining what strength looks like for Riverview residents.

Lynn Colepaugh of Cyber PR Army Solutions saw a different kind of gap - not in storefronts, but in strategy. As digital marketing grew increasingly technical and expensive, she built an agency focused on demystifying the process for organizations across Atlantic Canada, helping teams translate vision into measurable growth.

For Shelly Leger of Simply for Life, success comes from meeting people where they are, particularly women navigating complex health transitions. Her work is rooted in trust, built one conversation at a time.

Build Relationships, Not Just Transactions

Entrepreneurship is often described in the language of hustle and grind. Riverview's women leaders describe something different.

Jennifer Arseneau of Mind Full Elements Counselling Services built her practice around empathy. She believes in bringing attentive, compassionate mental health support to residents who need it, and feels that sensitivity is not a liability, but a professional strength.

For Vicky Desrosiers of LuvPaws Grooming, Bakery & Supplies Inc., love of animals is at the centre of her business model. While large retailers compete on price, she competes on care, quality, and long-term relationships. Her biggest reward is doing work she loves every single day.

Sylvia Furlaga of Sylvia's Natural Way Skin Care built her business while learning English, relying on attentiveness and connection beyond language — earning trust one conversation at a time.

Know Your Purpose

For Meredith G. Bateman of Meredith Bateman Law, entrepreneurship is about intentionally choosing who you want to serve and how you want to show up for them. “Be yourself,” she says. “Don’t try to be what you think others expect just to make people happy.”

For Ji Hyang Ryu of Ji Hyang Ryu Art Studio, entrepreneurship has always been about clarity of purpose. She built her studio while learning the everyday realities of running a business like hiring reliable staff to balancing creative work with operations. Every challenge, she says, becomes a lesson that strengthens her career.

At Alison Dawn Voice & Music, Alison Dawn Campbell returned home after training in Toronto with a clear mission: deliver high-calibre arts education locally, and ensure that young Riverview talent has access to serious opportunity without leaving home.

Build Something That Lasts

At Megan McKinley Photography, a personal love of photography after the birth of her daughter grew into a 15-year career built on capturing milestones for families across the community. What began as a mother’s desire to freeze fleeting family moments became a business centered on emotional connection, trust, and preserving memories that matter long after the moment has passed.

And at Homestead Restaurant, one of the longest-running and most beloved Riverview restaurants, Linda Godfrey continues a tradition of hospitality that brings people together generation after generation.

Why International Women's Day Matters in Our Community

Across these conversations, one theme is clear: progress is collective.

None of these women waited to feel fearless. They began. They adapted. They kept going.

Riverview is stronger because of them.

Support Local. Shop Riverview

We encourage all residents to visit, share, and support these businesses. Find them in our community and tag us when you do. Follow the Town of Riverview on social media or join our mailing list for more stories celebrating the people who make our community thrive.