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Catherine Brownlee

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When I was asked to serve as Canada’s ambassador for Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, I said yes without hesitating.

Building Nexus Exhibits taught me something I share with every client: how you show up visually shapes whether people stop, look, and remember you. The same is true for women in business. Too many brilliant founders stay invisible.

On November 19, women entrepreneurs around the world will be celebrated, and I want Canada to show up loud and proud.

Over the next four weeks, I’ll be sharing the stories of Canadian women building something remarkable, plus lessons from 30 years of helping brands stand out.

Who’s a woman entrepreneur in your world who deserves the spotlight? Tag her below. 👇

#WomensEntrepreneurshipDay #wedocanada #WomenInBusiness #CanadianEntrepreneurs #VisualBranding https://wedocanada.ca/summits/cities

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It was a fun restaurant opening celebration on Saturday afternoon at Tipsie, a sister restaurant to The Eden Inglewood.
Good vibes were in the air with a wonderful group of foodie friends gathered for a menu sampling and tasty cocktails.
Thank you to Calgary business leader Jan Eden for organizing the gathering to celebrate this new culinary venture. Congratulations to restaurant co-owner Robert Eden and team!
Tipsie is located adjacent to the Plaza Theatre in Kensington at 1131 Kensington Road N.W.

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If taking a day off means answering messages all day, you haven’t really taken a day off.

It’s hard to hand over work when your name and reputation are attached to it. “I’ll just do it myself” can feel like the safest option.

Start smaller. Pick one routine decision. Explain what a good result looks like, set clear limits and agree on when someone needs to call you. Review the first few together.

You don’t have to lower your standards to stop being involved in everything.

Save this for the next time you catch yourself thinking, “It’s faster if I do it.”

What’s the one task you find hardest to hand over?

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The smaller price on the quote can distract you from what each unit costs.

For a Calgary shop or service business buying repeat supplies, start with the same specification and unit. A box, roll and case are not interchangeable.

Paste permitted quote details into Claude and try this prompt.

“Compare these packs using only the supplied details. Show item, specification, pack price, quantity, unit, currency, calculation and price per unit. Flag missing information or incompatible specifications. Keep shipping, tax and discounts separate. Do not invent conversion factors or recommend a purchase.”

Check the arithmetic yourself. Then confirm fees, storage space and how much you will actually use. The lower unit price can still mean buying stock you do not need.

Save this for your next supplier order.

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An office day should offer more than a different desk.

If you’re asking your Calgary team to commute more often, be clear about what that time together will improve.

Hands-on training. A decision that needs the right people in the room. A problem you can solve together.

Plan the day around that work. Then ask your team whether it delivered.

What makes an office day worth the commute for you?

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Would you hire your own team for the business you’re becoming?

Before posting another AI role, find out who could grow into it. Give them training, time and a real task to prove it.

Who on your team deserves that chance?

#AIAlberta #AlbertaBusiness #FutureOfWork

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Ever looked at a staff schedule, seen two people working and assumed the front desk was covered?

Then you realize they’re both taking lunch at noon.

It’s a small detail that’s surprisingly easy to miss.

Before sending out next week’s schedule, try running a quick coverage check with ChatGPT. Give it an approved copy with staff IDs, shift times, breaks and how many people each area needs. Ask it to flag any gaps and show how it worked them out.

You’ll still need to double-check who’s actually available to cover, but it’s one more way to catch mistakes before they become someone else’s problem.

The example in the slides is fictional.

What causes more scheduling headaches in your business, overlapping breaks or last-minute changes?

#AICalgary #CalgaryBusiness #SmallBusiness #PracticalAI

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Before you screenshot that AI recommendation, read what it says about your business.

Right service? Right city? Right currency?

A glowing recommendation for something you don’t actually offer leaves your team explaining the mistake.

Getting mentioned is encouraging. We’d want to know whether it brings the right customer through the door.

Has AI ever got your business wrong? 😑

#CanadianBusiness #AISearch #BusinessMarketing

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“Can you just approve this?”

If that question follows you through the day, look at what your team is actually allowed to decide.

You might have handed over the work while keeping every decision attached to your name.

For a Calgary service business, a starting point could be letting a coordinator move appointments within agreed availability. Anything that changes the price or a promise to the customer still comes back to you.

Choose someone with the capacity and training. Explain the boundaries. Review what happened.

This isn’t about disappearing or handing off every sensitive decision. It’s about making one routine part of the business work without another interruption.

What’s the repeat approval you’d most like to stop handling?

#CalgaryBusiness #YYCBusiness #Entrepreneurship #BusinessLeadership

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AI can finish a draft in seconds and still leave you with the same amount of work.

That’s the part worth measuring.

Across Alberta, whether the job is a quote, report, customer reply or internal plan, don’t time the first answer. Time everything that happens before the work is actually done: context, checking, corrections, approvals and getting it into the right system.

If the full job gets shorter without quality slipping, that’s useful AI.

If it doesn’t, the work may have just moved.

Where has AI genuinely saved you time, and where has it created a different kind of work?

#AIAlberta #AlbertaBusiness #PracticalAI #FutureOfWork

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YYC Business Events | October 5 to 9

It’s fall in Calgary, and we’re heading into a great season full of awesome events around town. Check out these ones coming up next week!

→ Exmerce Speed Networking | Calgary 📍 SunnyCider Bar and Kitchen

→ Founders Coffee 📍 Red’s Diner Kensington

→ Craft a Compelling Problem Statement & Value Proposition 📍 University of Calgary

→ 2027 Economic Outlook 📍 BMO Centre

→ 2027 Pre-Roll Symposium 📍 BMO Centre

→ Canada FinTech Symposium 2026 📍 BMO Centre

→ Sales 201: Go-To-Market Strategy & Building a Sales Pipeline 📍 Platform Innovation Centre

→ Networking is the New Black 📍 Calgary

→ Power Stage: A Conversation with Nancy Adie 📍 aspiHer

→ Mining in Canada: Taxes and Trade 📍 Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

→ Calgary Entrepreneur Networking Event 📍 Greta Bar

Calgary Networking | YYC Business Owners | YYC Business Events

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