Heather Odendaal is an accomplished Canadian entrepreneur, brand builder, and event producer whose experience in corporate environments inspired her to create and co-found WNORTH, a global organization dedicated to the development of women mid-career on a trajectory towards senior executive leadership.
What is WNORTH all about?
In 2015, I set out to build a global community of women supporting one another on their rise to leadership. Today, WNorth is an organization that is providing network, solutions, and tangible actions to women on their leadership journey.
WNorth is the only organization dedicated to the development of women mid-career on a trajectory towards senior executive leadership. Our programs include The Members’ Club (an application-based membership) which provides a 100% Virtual forum for online content and development opportunities including workshops, leadership masterminds, events and courses, and an annual Conference.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company?
I am an event planner by trade, I worked on festivals, events, and even the Winter Olympics before starting my own company in 2010. As with many entrepreneurs, I started the business as a side hustle to my corporate job where I worked in Sales for a Fortune 500 Company.
As I was working in the corporate sector, I went looking for a leadership conference for women who had aspirations for the C-Suite. When I couldn’t find the space, I put on my event planner cap, rolled up my sleeves, and got started on WNorth.
What are your plans for the future, how do you plan to grow this company?
A few years ago, we launched an online, global membership, The Members Club at WNorth. This online tool and resource have served our company very well during the Pandemic as it has allowed our members to stay connected and keep growing. Our goal is to 10x our membership in the next two years with a strong focus on building out more virtual course offerings and continue to build our popular Leadership Mastermind program.
How do you separate yourself from your competitors?
We have always focused on boutique and curated experiences. Our conference has a maximum of 200 people, our dinner events have 24 and our virtual Leadership Masterminds are capped at 6 people. I strongly believe that this approach is what has served us well in our growth and this style of execution will become even more attractive post-pandemic as people look to network in smaller, controlled settings.
What were the top three mistakes you made starting your business, and what did you learn from them?
Doing My Own PR: For years we tried to chunk out some time to drive media and press on our own. I have now been working with an outstanding agency, Lena Rose PR, and it has been a game-changing experience.
Starting the Business without Processes in Place: Over the years, we have now developed and implemented processes in our business but it took much longer than if we had set them up from the get-go.
Not Niching Down Right Away: One of my mentors, Eleanor Beaton, always says “When you claim your niche, the money flows”. When we started our business, we were serving a broader “women in leadership, as we evolved we realized that high potential, mid-management professionals was the market we wanted to hyper-focus on. It has allowed us to be more clear in our messaging.
Tell us a little bit about your marketing process, what has been the most successful form of marketing for you?
As a small business owner, I have had to be creative in marketing our organization with more limited resources. In the case of our Membership and our Conference Attendees, most of our growth has come from referrals and word of mouth. Social media, namely LinkedIn as a professional platform, has been a powerful tool for us in our growth. Strategic partnerships with media companies and newspapers have also allowed us to grow beyond our immediate network.
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
The pandemic completing abolishing in-person events was the biggest challenge we have had to overcome. Our business thrived off of in-person events and conferences, and in March 2020, we had to shift to completely online events. Over the last year, we have developed different virtual programs based on the needs of our membership. We are happy to abandon events and ideas that are no longer serving our audience, you must agile in this new online space.
What are the top 3 online tools and resources you’re currently using to grow your company?
Our Membership Platform is Mighty Networks. It’s a community platform that allows us to host courses, content and manage our memberships.
Our team uses Slack to communicate, we find it greatly reduces the number of emails that land in our inbox and has been critical for our remote team to stay in touch.
We use ClickUp to communicate with our Graphic and Web Designer and are in the process of rolling out as our new Project Management Software. Using it with our designer over the past year and seeing how it has streamlined our process, has convinced me of the importance of a Project Management tool (let’s say I’m a late adopter).
What’s a productivity tip you swear by?
I use a Calendly link to save time while scheduling meetings with others and to time block for meetings (For example: I try to only take meetings 2 days a week)
Can you recommend one book, one podcast, and one online course for entrepreneurs?
Book: The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. I recommend this book as he clearly outlines the vision and strategy for setting up a successful (and nimble) business.
Podcast: The Marie Forleo Podcast, Marie always has some outstanding nuggets of wisdom that she always delivers with a pep in her step!
Course: The Forum is a great resource for women entrepreneurs, I have participated in their mentorship program in the past and this spring I’m enrolled in their Financial Fundamentals program, and it’s free! Here is the link if you want to join me.
If you only had $1000 dollars to start a new business, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?
A few years ago, we began our journey to sponsor a Kenya’s women’s entire university degree through a charity One Girl Can. She will be graduating next year. I would give this $1000 to fund her business software idea which seeks to connect universities bursary money with those in most need around the world.
What helps you stay driven and motivated to keep going in your business?
My desire to affect change and social impact through my work at WNorth is what gets me out of bed every morning. The Pandemic has disproportionately affected women (especially women of colour) in the workforce. I’m determined to make a difference in the happiness of working women around the world.
How can readers get in touch with you?
I love LinkedIn and I spend more time there than on any other social platform. For those who are interested in learning more about WNorth, you can visit our site www.wnorthconnect.com.
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