Turning a dream into a reality; Canada’s Total Mom Business Pitch and Awards Program

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

You wake up to a baby’s cry,

Your toddler is snuggled up beside you; he/she was not feeling well, so halfway through the night they joined you without you even knowing it.

You struggle to get out of bed, but you know you have to figure out the day, a sick toddler, an upset baby. Sigh! As you begin to sort your world out, you look on your bedroom side table, and see a stack of books, and your journal. There was the idea to start your business, but with so much going on, you haven’t had the time.

You know that this will not be the last time that you stare at those books wishfully; there is just so much to do…

How real is this for some readers? Being an entrepreneur and a parent is a whole other lifestyle, one that should not be trifled with some would say. There is a constant pull of wanting to spend time with your family versus the pull of wanting to run a business that you are proud of. There are so many parent-preneurs who have had to weigh the value of a new business call against their child’s basketball game. Inside you’re like, “Please understand,” but you know the reality; something is going to suffer.

I have some amazing news for the mom-preneurs; maybe it doesn’t have to be all or nothing: you can choose to grow your business a bit slower and take more time out of the office, and I have just the opportunity for that.

Canada’s Total Mom Pitch is an award-winning entrepreneurship, business pitch and awards program produced by Total Mom Inc. They aim to support women in starting and growing profitable and sustainable businesses. Total Mom Inc. is a professional community network that helps ambitious women entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses while juggling motherhood. Established in 2017, Founder & CEO Anna Sinclair started Total Mom Inc. after discovering a need for more valuable support offered to busy moms like her.

Canada’s Total Mom Pitch empowers real women with an ambitious vision to overcome the barriers they face as modern moms in today’s unpredictable economy. The grant and awards program helps Canadian women who are growing their businesses and raising families to access: entrepreneurship support, new opportunities and funding as well as: education, mentorship and community support.

The award-winning initiative has officially launched across the country and is accepting applications to its entrepreneurship program. The program helps applicants see potential gaps in their start-up businesses, giving them an advantage in their business journeys. The program, which pivoted virtually at the beginning of the pandemic, has expanded, and has supported over 6,000 applicants to date.

With the help of: The Scotiabank Women Initiative, Visa, American Express, UPS, VistaPrint, GoDaddy, Export Development Canada (EDC), and the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) Total Mom has garnered the ability to help busy moms access untapped: education, connections and funding.

This year, Total Mom is proud to announce a new two-year partnership with Bell to share the voices and stories of entrepreneurial mothers across the country.

“Total Mom Inc. exists because it’s simply unrealistic to expect women to have to choose between their career and raising a family,” said Anna Sinclair, CEO of Total Mom Inc. “We are dedicated to building an organization that supports working women, and we plan to grow our programs and events and Total Mom Pitch is an exciting program that fuels our dedication to women.”

Canadian moms can submit the vision for their business online via totalmompitch.ca until March 20^th, 2023. Applicants will move through the voting process, where the top 100 small businesses will get put through a business accelerator program and get the opportunity for national media recognition and visibility.

See; not all is lost. Go ahead, pitch that idea, and turn that dream into a reality.