www.femmed.com

1. What does a typical Thursday look like for you, starting from when you wake up – to heading to bed?

Rise and shine around 6:15, put on my workout clothes, grab half a banana and then my dog, check email on the way out and head for a walk for about an hour.  At 7:30 I wake up my 3 kids, hop in the shower while they get themselves dressed, and we all meet for breakfast in the kitchen.   At 8:00 I’m in the car en route for carpool pick-ups and then drop off at school.  I pick up a coffee on my way home and I’m at my home office desk and ready to work by 8:30.   

My day is filled with email, phone calls, writing and reading, and face-to-face meetings.  I usually eat lunch at my desk to maximize my work time and productivity.  The kids are home around 4:30 and that’s when I turn back into a mom!  Snacks and homework around the kitchen table, discussions about the day and getting dinner organized fill up the next 2 hours.  Once homework is done, and lunches and knapsacks are readied for the following day, I head back to my office for another few hours of work.  My home office (on our main floor) lets me be in touch both on the business front and the home front. 

9:30 is bedtime for the kids and another chance to sit with each of them for a few minutes before they fall asleep.  My husband and I try to catch up before I crawl into bed with a good novel — I usually nod off halfway through the second page! 

2. What was your first job out of school?

I graduated from U of T in May of 1987, and landed a job as a Sales Assistant on the Equity Trading floor of Merrill Lynch Canada in June of that year.  I was there for 10 years, working my way up the ranks as the years went on.  It was at Merrill that I got hooked on the excitement of the capital markets which ultimately led to a 20 year career in the investment banking world. 

3. What are the 3 skills you require most to do your job well?

I’m not sure that it’s a skill, likely more of a gift, but I’d say the most valuable quality I have as it relates to business is my intuition.  I have always trusted my gut and so far it has not steered me wrong.  Second to that would be my highly organizational (anal!) and multi-tasking personality.  I’ve got 100 balls in the air at any given time and I’ve got to manage to keep them afloat to drive my business forward.  And lastly, and most importantly, I have found the secret formula to a healthy work-life balance.   

4. What do you love most about your career?

I love the fact that I’m helping women to take control of their health, and to learn about the benefits of natural medicine.  I’ve lived, and strongly believe in, the “healthy lifestyle” and it makes me feel great to be able to share my learning. 

5. Do you have any warnings?

I would never let myself be persuaded to create a product that I wouldn’t take myself.  I have “me” at the heart of everything I do.  If it’s not good enough for me, it won’t fly. 

6. If you could try a different career on for a year, what would it be?

If it were feasible, I would love to spend a year teaching medical students about the benefits of natural medicine with an emphasis on prevention.  I believe strongly that there is a very important role for traditional allopathic medicine; however I believe even more strongly that Western principals must meet Eastern principals to provide the ultimate in health care for our society.  This “integrative” approach is where we are headed, but we are still miles apart.