Debbie Bolton was able to take lessons learned from her mom, Marie Nixon, while growing up in Weyburn and has translated them into co-founding an international company, Norwex, and encourages women of all ages to consider pursuing their dreams.
In a Zoom interview from her office in Dallas, Texas, Bolton told her story and provided advice for women who are considering a career in business, whether with a company or on their own.
Growing up as one of seven children, her mom was a manager of the A&W restaurant in Weyburn before opening her own fast-food place, Mr. Burger, located near where Perfect Inns and McDonalds are today. Working for her mom at the A&W gave Debbie her first work experience as a teenager.
Debbie attended Haig School and the Weyburn Junior High, and then graduated from high school from Western Christian College when it was located at North Weyburn.
“My greatest mentor and still my greatest encourager is my mother, who is 88 years old and still lives in Weyburn”, Bolton said, adding that a big lesson she learned was, “we don’t just do business together, we do life together. I learned how important it is to impact people and how important relationships and community are, and she taught me that.”
Her mom, who raised her family single-handedly, also had other entrepreneurial ventures going as she sold Tupperware and Partylite also.
“I was always attracted to direct sales, and the reason I was is I got see how women could work from their homes and still build amazing careers,” she explained. “When I co-founded Norwex here in Canada, the reason I chose that product line is we were way ahead of our time, but I saw how people could clean their homes while radically reducing chemicals, and that was so intriguing for me.”
With limited funds, Debbie joined with a Norwegian company (founded by Bjorn Nicolaisen), with her co-founder Gerd Dorschuk, a Norwegian lady who came out of retirement to help start up the company here in North America.
“We worked from my dining room table for the first few months. I started hiring people and we just kept growing the company headquartered in Canada, shipping everything across Canada and into the United States,” added Bolton, noting the company grew to where today they are located in 15 countries.
“I just believe in what this company could do, and I still do, we’re still growing,” she said, noting she had a dream since she was very young about being part of a global mission.
“I was always that type of girl who had dreams; dreams that have always scared me. I really believe in what I’m able to show women and share that if your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough. I tell them that you can do it, and how important it is to find your calling in life. I think I show women that your job is what you get paid for, but your calling is what you were made for,” said Bolton adding she is able to serve as a mentor to women to help them discover their purpose.
“For women of every age, it’s so important to know your identity,” she explained, using the example of needing her own passport to travel to different countries, as this shows people in other countries what her identity is. As women discover what their identity is, it helps empower them to follow their own dreams, not borrowed ones from someone else.
“It’s so important to be a person of value who values other people, and every day look for an opportunity to value others,” said Bolton.
She added that before a person goes after their dreams, just like it’s important to know one’s identity, it’s crucial to determine first, “what do you stand for? What are your non-negotiables in life? For that will help pave the way for who you become.”
These personal values are important, she added, not so much that she lives them out perfectly, but because she has seen what happens if you don’t live by any personal principles or values.
“You establish your line in the sand, as I like to call it. My personal core values are faith, family, integrity, trust and respect,” she said, noting these underline every decision that she makes in her life and in business.
Bolton often gets questions from women about business, such as how to make a dream become reality, or how to keep a business going once it’s established.
In regard to the latter, she said many people hope to establish a dynasty, but to her it’s important to leave a legacy, and this was one of the important lessons taught by her mother.
Another point she would make is that dreams can only come true when you have total commitment to that dream.
Asked what impact COVID has had on the business, Bolton said she had to learn how to pivot and to use the means available, such as social media.
This was a major change for her, as she noted that when the lockdowns went into place a year ago (including bans on travelling), her travel agent had to cancel many domestic and international flights she had booked in.
Through new technology, like the use of Zoom and related apps, she said she’s been able to meet far more people in other countries than she would’ve been able to in person.
“What I’ve seen is the advantage of what this has taught me after all these years, that I can pivot, I can embrace and I can stay relevant and be that person who wants to impact the world, and I’ve just found a different way to do it,” said Bolton.
She added that the company has experienced growth as well as herself personally through this year of COVID.
“I’ve had to grow up a lot in the past year,” she said.
