Valerie Sluth took her message of entrepreneurship to North Battleford at the third annual Holly & Heels, A Celebration of Women in Business.
The well-attended noon-hour event, held Tuesday last week at the Chapel Gallery, was put on by the Battlefords Chamber of Commerce.
Sluth is founder and CEO of Praxis Consulting, a Regina strategy consulting firm. She noted the importance of entrepreneurship for women, noting the greatest motivator was career flexibility and freedom, but a second reason was the desire to earn a living.
That indicated that women desired to take their destiny into their own hands, she said.
“Entrepreneurship creates the opportunity for women to take control and receive the appropriate rewards for their hard work,” said Sluth.
She also spoke of some of the challenges women still face in building businesses, including continued challenges in accessing capital.
In her remarks in North Battleford, she spoke about her time growing up in Swift Current and the influence involvement in synchronized swimming had in her life.
Sluth stressed the importance of women having support from mentors, and cited the example from her own life of Sandra Roberts, her synchronized swimming coach.
“If it wasn’t for my swimming coach, I wouldn’t be here today. It takes one person,” said Sluth. She explained that it was through that sport that she was able to get to university and get a degree, and later on an MBA.
“To somebody, be that coach, be that one person for that one woman who needs that.”
