Balancing work and family life is never easy. Even in “normal times,” no one has more on their list than working moms. According to Statistics Canada, most women start their day with their “first shift” outside the home. That’s their day job. Then they come back to begin their “second shift” at home. Despite the majority of households now relying on dual incomes to support their families, many women are still (as in the past) shouldering the lion’s share of unpaid work. This includes housework, caregiving to both children and ageing parents while providing broader family and community enrichment. It’s a recipe for burnout.
Now, throw the pandemic into the mix. More women than men exited the labour force (by choice, necessity or employment changes). Following a tumultuous first wave of the pandemic, 3 million Canadians suddenly found themselves out of work. While the economy has recovered somewhat since then, most of the jobs filled recently have gone to men. This is primarily due to more women leaving the labour force to oversee homeschooling, a dearth of affordable childcare and a lack of jobs with the flexibility parents need.
THE PANDEMIC’S SHE-CESSION
A new understanding of the pandemic’s effect on employment is becoming clearer as time goes on.
The she-cession in Canada is real and it could take years to fix it if we follow the same routines as in the past.
Fortunately, there may be another way forward for some working moms. Taina Suomela, Principal Consultant and Founder of Leslieville Digital, shares how an enriching new option has developed for her. Taina started her career in generalized marketing roles and shifted into digital media for a decade. During the last five years, she’s broadened her expertise into CRM and email, helping top companies across North America evolve email marketing into connected cross-channel digital strategies.
After struggling with balancing the heavy demands of agency work with caring for a young child, Taina branched out on her own as a marketing consultant last Fall. At Leslieville Digital, she helps successful small and medium businesses (SMBs) transform their digital marketing operations and customer experiences to grow their businesses cost-efficiently. Not only is her business growing from a strong referral network, she’s found a new stride that meets her and her family’s goals better than ever.
POWERING HER FUTURE WITH EARNED INSIGHTS
Having a breadth of experience in the digital space for nearly 20 years enables Taina’s insights to be impactful. The one thing that’s consistent across all the channels, targets and projects is the importance of understanding your audience deeply. This includes who you’re talking to and what their needs and drivers are.
It’s critical to be able to engage a target audience on an emotional level first. Making that connection is fundamental.
Of course, then you layer on top the best practices that get people’s attention. But, if you misunderstand your audience, then the rest of it is a lot of time and energy wasted.
REFLECTING ON HER RECENT EXPERIENCE
For the past 6 months, it’s been fast and furious, reports Taina. It’s been an interesting situation in that the launch of Leslieville Digital was something that evolved organically over time. It wasn’t something that she woke up one morning and said, “I’m gonna start a business.” It was more out of a need she kept hearing from her network of SMBs. They really needed senior-level marketing expertise from someone who understands different channels, various tactics and who can enable connections.
This consultative approach is a mindset she’s held for most of her career. For current clients, it’s about connecting and prioritizing ideas to create a roadmap to help them figure out what’s worth investing in. For most SMBs, digital marketing is confusing and complex so owners don’t know where to start. Fortunately, that’s a role Taina has played for many of her clients over time.
As an independent consultant, there’s a lot more freedom in the work that Taina’s able to do.
There’s other benefits for clients as well. Since Taina’s now a neutral third party, she’s not beholden to the agency-approved channels or approaches. She can now recommend the best tools, partners, strategies and ideas that suit their individual needs and budgets. Plus, the ability to build partnerships with other experts and deliver that team to her clients is both exciting and fun. And it’s needed now more than ever. For SMBs, they often don’t have the ability to hire a CMO (or even a traditional agency). Yet, most have had to pivot aggressively to digital tactics to stay afloat. This entirely new world has been daunting for many SMBs. Fortunately for them, there are lots of available marketers out there today who are ready to help.
