The members of Branding TBD in Toronto, from left, Yolanda Dasselaar, Megan Matthews, Lindsay Waugh, Lisa Virgini, Hayley Shay and Daniella Macri.Supplied
In this series, Reimagining Wealth, we explore the evolving definition of wealth in today’s world. We’ll meet Canadians who are thinking beyond traditional measures of success to maximize their happiness and well-being.
Here, we meet Yolanda Dasselaar and Megan Matthews, two self-employed marketing professionals who left corporate jobs several years ago to strike out on their own. In 2022, they assembled a group of like-minded entrepreneurs who meet quarterly to connect, compare notes and stave off the loneliness that can accompany working alone.
“I always call myself ‘the reluctant entrepreneur,’” says Yolanda Dasselaar, a brand strategy consultant in Toronto who went solo nearly seven years ago. “It wasn’t my dream or my vision, but if I’m perfectly transparent, it was to support my family and my community in the way that I wanted. When I pivoted, I had an almost four-year-old and a five-year-old. We were in the thick of it, and [my partner and I] just wanted a different rhythm for our family.”
Both Ms. Dasselaar and Megan Matthews, a brand and PR strategist, had busy corporate careers that involved frequent travel. Ms. Dasselaar spent 17 years with companies including Coca-Cola, Unilever and non-profit World Vision International. Ms. Matthews worked with large public relations organizations in Toronto, New York City and London, U.K., before returning to Toronto.
Both women decided that to have more manageable family lives, they needed a different kind of career, with more flexibility and freedom to control their schedules.
Consulting allowed for that change of pace “while still being able to engage in interesting work and grow professionally,” says Ms. Dasselaar, who works with organizations in sectors including venture capital, fashion, health and non-profit. “It’s been a real opportunity to grow my knowledge of different categories and have some really interesting, meaty challenges along the way.”
For her part, Ms. Matthews took over a brand consulting firm her father had started called Instinct Brand Equity, which helps small- to mid-sized companies be consistent with their brand.
“I was having children and decided that the 14-hour days of PR agency life wasn’t going to work,” she says. “It’s honestly been the most incredible thing, and for so many reasons, I don’t think I would go back to working for someone else.”
However, the move from corporate life to entrepreneurship proved to be a bit lonely, as both women were used to working with larger teams and having people around to bounce ideas off. Having worked together previously, Ms. Dasselaar and Ms. Matthews reconnected as entrepreneurs.
“I was quite nervous about feeling isolated, both professionally as well as socially,” Ms. Dasselaar says. “But that’s where you start to lean in and think, ‘Where do I find those cross-functional collaborators to work with? Where do I find those people to continue to learn from?”
The pair approached four women who were also marketing solopreneurs to form a “personal board of directors.” In 2022, the six members of Branding TBD began meeting quarterly to discuss work life, family life and business opportunities.
“We have recommended each other for business. We’ve supported each other through introductions,” Ms. Matthews says. “We all happen to be parents, [so] we’re running businesses and households, and it’s kind of the perfect way to talk about how those intersect and how to overcome challenges.”
Each woman in the group has a different but complementary marketing expertise, from digital marketing to branding to marketing strategy, she says. They promote one another within their individual networks and tap each other for advice.
“It’s been amazing from a professional [standpoint],” Ms. Matthews says. “We’re almost each other’s publicists, and then offering advice and support on the projects we’re working on without charging each other, although we have worked on paid projects together.”
While all the women have been part of larger professional groups, “this group’s purpose is to be a safe place to be real, authentic and support each other,” says Ms. Dasselaar.
Ms. Matthews adds: “We joke that it’s almost like having a therapist as well, because you can talk about all facets of your life, and these people all get it.”