In a first for the Women’s Empowerment Event (WEE), hosted by Promotional Products Professionals of Canada (PPPC), the annual get-together of female leaders in promotional products went virtual.

The 11th annual conference was originally slated for May 29 and 30 in Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON. But as the COVID-19 pandemic worsened in North America in mid-March, WEE committee members Ann Baiden, CEO and founder of Innovatex Solutions Inc. (asi/231194); Carol DeVille, owner of The Branding Company; Kate Plummer, vice president of sales and marketing at Clearmount (asi/45440); and Katrina Derksen, PPPC’s membership coordinator, made the tough decision to cancel this year’s in-person event. About two months later, they announced registration for a virtual gathering on Zoom on May 29, which welcomed almost 80 women.

WEE committee members hosted this year’s virtual event.

The session began with a presentation from Jennifer Schrafft, a speaker, facilitator and leadership coach at Toronto-based Jen Schrafft Consulting, on the necessary mindset shift to weather the uncertainty and change during these next few months.

“The big question now is, ‘What do we do next?’ ” Schrafft said. “There’s no going back to normal, and we also can’t just sit and wait for something to happen.”

While it’s natural to get stuck in a mental rut during a stressful situation, Schrafft said the mindset entrepreneurs choose to have, whether it’s focused on growth or it’s fixed, can affect how they’ll come out of this situation.

“This is a chance to stop and think about what’s happening and position yourself for growth,” she told the attendees. “Your ability isn’t limited, but your mindset could limit you. A fixed mindset says, ‘It won’t work,’ or ‘Things aren’t what they used to be.’ You close off and shut down. But with a growth mindset, you see opportunity.”

Learn to recognize and shift your mindset when it starts to close down. “You need to be hungry for challenge, growth and learning,” said Schrafft. “Don’t say to yourself, ‘I’m just not the type of person who’s good at this.’ If you label and dismiss yourself, you won’t grow. Maybe you’re diversifying, offering better client care or distributing products differently moving forward. Whatever you’re being intentional about will shape your mindset – be aware of it and what your thoughts are. Thinking differently helps you act differently.”

Attendees were also placed into breakout rooms to discuss how they’re addressing industry changes brought on by the pandemic. Patty Weisdorf, senior account executive at Cotton Candy (asi/169186), said they’re preparing for a new normal – including PPE and personal health and safety products – with which promo will help in a big way moving forward. “We’re going to be doing more personal care items and shipping them to homes,” she said. “It’s going to be the personal side of promo. We keep adding new types of products.” Laurie Gibbs, account manager at Debco (asi/48885), part of HPG (asi/61966), said they’re gearing up to help companies let customers know they’re open for business again as well as protect the health of employees and clients in their physical locations. “There are so many creative minds in this industry,” she said. “We’ll have to figure out different sales approaches, but it’s going to be exciting.”

Baiden of Innovatex said she and her fellow committee members realized they couldn’t skip WEE completely this year, especially with the uncertainty and stress of these past months. “It was important not to let the year pass at a time when we need each other most,” she said. “I love that we were able to offer support through both education and friendships. I didn’t think it was possible to have the same energy and excitement through WiFi, but these women have superpowers and made it happen.”

DeVille at The Branding Company said the success of the virtual event continues to motivate the team as they prepare for next year’s get-together. “It was truly evident through the passion, communication and the number of attendees from across Canada and the U.S. that it was successful,” she said. “It was so nice to see some new faces as well as our seasoned and passionate year-over-year attendees. The ladies shared, they were excited, they celebrated, and collectively and passionately, they’re all looking forward to the future. The dynamics and energy were so powerful and the feedback over social media and thank you messages have enlightened us as we plan for WEE 2021.”

The next event is scheduled for May 28 and 29, 2021 in Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON. For more information on WEE, contact PPPC’s Katrina Derksen at katrina@pppc.ca and go to wee.pppc.ca.