3rd annual Winnipeg Women’s Show draws entrepreneurs and shoppers

The Winnipeg Women’s Show returned on International Women’s Day, celebrating female entrepreneurs.

The Winnipeg Women’s Show took over the RBC Convention Centre in Winnipeg over the weekend, showcasing women entrepreneurs, products and services directly impacting women in celebration of International Women’s Day.

Marking its third year, the show’s manager and owner, Dolores Thiessen, remembered the uncertainty she felt at the first event.

“We weren’t sure how well the city would take to a women’s show because there’d never been one,” she said Sunday. “It was so overwhelming with success that we decided to do a second, and now – this is our third show.”

Thiessen said there is a gap in the market where women entrepreneurs have a harder time securing loans to start their businesses compared to men, which led to the show’s focus on showcasing women entrepreneurs.

“There’s plenty of trade shows that are geared towards men. You have the RV show, boat show and the renovation show.

“This is the only trade show, besides maybe the wedding show, that is geared directly for women.”

Chanelle Chalazan from Saskatoon was one of the entrepreneurs at the show. Her business, Chic & Charmed Boutique by Chanelle, offered various jewellery at her stand.

“When we started the company, we had competition in Canada who had their prices four times as high as ours,” she said. “When we sat down, we wanted it to be affordable for everybody, so we took out having a store and employees … So we could keep it affordable for all our clientele.”

Chalazan, 16, shared advice for young women who want to get into entrepreneurship.

“Any ‘no’ or ‘maybe’ – turn it into a ‘yes.’ Look at me, for example – how would you know that this small idea could fit into this big corporation?

“Anything is possible, so dream big and go after it.”