Continuing my education after High School was very important to me. I enjoyed reading and writing so it seemed only natural that I should pursue those interests in University. I eventually graduated from the University of Toronto with a B.A. in English Literature.

"time to grow"

If you choose to continue your education after High School use this time to grow and find out more about yourself and others.

After travelling to different country fairs I came up with an idea to make some extra money. I applied for a student venture loan and used the money to buy equipment and supplies to operate a crepe stand. The business was very successful and I continued to operate the crepe stand for three summers while I was still in University.

After I received my degree I started a tutoring service and also volunteered at a local cable company, working as a reporter getting a taste of what it's like to be in the media.

"continuing my education"

I decided to go back to school and applied to the Ryerson School of Journalism but I was denied entry twice. I changed my focus and applied to the Radio and Television program also offered at Ryerson and was accepted on a full scholarship.

I applied for a summer job at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and was hired as an editorial assistant. The job was amazing, I was actually writing pieces and occasionally getting them put on the news.

I learned a great deal from the staff at the CBC but I decided that a career as a reporter was not for me. I gained a position at an organization called "Save The Children" and was asked to contribute to a booklet that would be presented at a United Nations conference on girls rights to development. While doing my research I discovered that girls had many self-esteem issues that affected their development. This sparked my idea to create a magazine that would help to affect the way that young women see themselves, ultimately helping them to believe in their own potential.

"Making the sacrifice"

I was offered an excellent position in Public Relations, at a company located in New York City. I accepted the offer and stayed with the company for 2 years. It came to a point where I had to make a decision whether I would stay in N.Y. and work for someone else or do my own thing - publish and run a magazine for young women. I quit my job in P.R. and took the money that I had saved to start my own magazine.

I developed a research and marketing plan to pitch my idea to different publishers. I also created a mock up of the magazine to act as a visual support to the plan. I also approached the Canadian Magazine Publishers Association and pitched my idea to them, they provided me with information on publishers that I could contact.

I acquired a list of publishers with contact names and telephone numbers. I kept on calling them until they gave me the opportunity to pitch my idea to them. I met with five publishers, none of them could see a market for the magazine. But that didn't stop me from realizing my dream.

"it's only money"

I didn't have a publisher for the magazine, I also didn't have a financial backer. But I knew that I had an excellent idea and I had enough drive and energy to make it happen. My parents who are entrepreneurial in spirit had taught me that money is only as good as what you do with it, so sinking my life savings into the magazine was not going to be a problem.

I am ultimately responsible for the form that the magazine takes on with every issue. I am responsible for promoting the magazine to young women and inviting them to contribute their talents as writers, photographers or artists. I direct the editorial meetings where story ideas and the creative direction for every issue are discussed. I assign articles and deadlines to the writers and make phone calls to follow up on the progress of their stories. I read the articles and give assignments to the artists who will create the illustrations or attach the photographs for each piece. Finally I look over everything before the magazine is sent to the Printer.

Learning how to schedule my time and energy is very important. Also working by deadlines set by the Printer has been learned by trial and error.

"believe in yourself"

The $15,000.00 - $20,000.00 of my savings that I invested in the magazine was made back in 3 months due to the subscription base that I had built. Before I was able to take the magazine from an idea to becoming reality, I had to ask myself the big questions: Am I smart enough? Am I savvy enough? Am I capable of making this work? It was important to my self-esteem and the ultimate success of the magazine that I believed in myself and answered these questions positively.

It didn't occur to me to have a plan B if the magazine didn't become a reality. I truly believe that if you care enough about something it'll work.