It is always a great pleasure to talk to Elaine Slatter and hear her wisdom, experience and expertise on corporate leadership as well as entrepreneurship – particularly relating to women and how they can thrive. Today not only will be be talking about women’s entrepreneurial skills but also about creating women’s leadership communities and how incredibly supportive and successful they can be.

We will be discussing:

• What is happening with women’s entrepreneurship at the moment, and any changes over the last few years.
• The strengths and qualities needed to become a successful women entrepreneur and how they compare with those needed for leadership.
• Creating and participating in women’s leadership communities. What they do, how they can help and the great fun they can be (as well as helping increase success).
• The different vision and culture of different countries and how we need to adapt to take these into account in our business.

More about Elaine:

Never one to take the easy path, Elaine Slatter left the UK at 19 to pursue adventure in Canada.  Not satisfied with staying in the admin pool and with a burning desire for a career, she started taking university courses on a part-time basis while at the same time raising two children.

A graduate of McMaster University in Hamilton and Sheridan College, Oakville, Ontario, Elaine has an extensive corporate resume spanning over 30 years of experience in the manufacturing, retail and distribution sectors.   This experience includes product launches, branding, trade show execution, IT projects, website development, e-commerce websites, international customer service set up and bonded warehouse experience.  Elaine was CEO of the Canadian operations for a US manufacturer.  In this capacity, she was responsible for sales, finance, customer service, marketing, warehousing operations and the bottom line.

Life can throw unexpected curves. Elaine was the reluctant owner of retail business after the death of her husband.  During a three year period Elaine managed to run this business and package it for sale, while still continuing to work in an executive position for a global welding manufacturer.

After leaving the corporate sector, Elaine became the founder and CEO of XL Consulting Group.  This consultancy is a small business advisory, specializing in entrepreneurial startups and businesses that are not experiencing their full potential. Clients can engage XL Consulting to improve their business strategies, plan for growth or business loans or execute marketing optimization in both the traditional and social channels.  Branding and website development are key pillars we use to help small businesses grow their market presence.

Some of Elaine’s other links:

• Website: https://independentwomeninleadership.com/
• Meetup community.  https://www.meetup.com/Independent-WOMEN-IN-LEADERSHIP/
• Fabulous Fempreneurship Podcast: https://fabfempreneurship.com/podcasts/