We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Callee Kuiack. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Callee below.

Callee, appreciate you joining us today. Do you manage your own social media?

I have always been a firm believer in managing my own social media account. The main reason being; no one is going to care about how my businesses is presented as much as I am. On top of that, I believe customers/people follow my business because they genuinely like my personal style and aesthetic. If I am not showing up on social media personally, I believe it disengages my audience. People want to see ME. They want to buy from ME. Not someone else who’s managing my account.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a mother of two, Isla & Jack, milspouse to a Canadian Armed Forces member, Andrew, owner of West On Main and co-owner of Ottawa Valley Apparel.

I began my love for local shops when I was 14 years old (my very first job was at a women’s clothing boutique) and have worked for many locally owned businesses since. This experience has fuelled my passion for small business and has guided me on my journey thus far.

We are a women’s Trendwear Boutique. Meaning you can open our website at any point and find on-trend pieces combined with timeless style. Being an hour and half away from the closest city, West On Main was created to bring the latest and greatest in fashion trends and brands to our local community.
What sets us apart is our welcoming environment and exceptional customer service. We prioritize connection over conversion and truly believe in creating lasting relationships that will lead to conversion overtime.

Over the years we have prioritized ordering from brands that offer a more diverse size selection. Size diversity has become one of our main focuses in business. We want every customer, regardless of shape or size be able to confidently shop our boutique in-store or online. We proudly stock sizes ranging from XS-3X.

I am most proud of the leader I have become. I have created and continue to provide a work environment that delivers on loads of personal/professional support, opportunity and growth. Having worked in a million different environments and for a variety of leaders, I have gained valuable insight into what works and what doesn’t. I then put in the time to ensure my core values align with my leadership role. When making difficult decisions or faced with challenging situations I lean heavily on what resonates most with my core ethics and allow that to guide my reactions and decisions.
There is a lot of negative talk/experiences surrounding female led environments and I have made it my goal to change that. But that means it starts with me – I have to lead by example. I have to hold myself to the standards I wish to be followed.
What I want followers/fans/customers to know is what we preach on social media – women supporting women that it’s not just for show. I work hard every day to practice what I preach.

Any advice for managing a team?

Some days it feels more like my role in my company is to manage people and not so much the selling of goods. I find it an immense responsibility managing not only my personal/professional life but the personal/professional lives of my team as well.
Every decision I make, I make understanding the affects it will have on the lives of my team.

I think that has been one of my greatest lessons in business, Many times in my life I have found myself working for vacant owners. Meaning when I show up every day, they are only showing up occasionally. I found it very hard knowing that I was bending over backwards for not only an owner who wasn’t there to witness and appreciate it but who was also living a lavish life off my profitability while I was stuck making minimum wage with minimal wage increases throughout the year. I didn’t need daily expressions of appreciation but I will say, when I did get it, I worked 5x harder because of it.
That was a very frustrating time for me.
I believe that is what also drove me to entrepreneurship. Not only was it providing me with a chance to create an environment that I wanted to be a part of but also to provide that for others.

I firmly believe that lends to maintaining high morale.
My staff is always thanking me for their employment and for the environment. That means so much to me. That makes me feel more accomplished than any financial gain I have experienced.

I want to lead by example and that requires my presence. It would be naive for me to expect my team to show up and work hard for me if I am not there doing the same.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Funding a business can daunting. I know many programs and loans exist for start up costs. Luckily enough my husband and I had a chunk of savings set aside and at the time – no plan for it. I knew it was my chance!
I took every last penny of our personal savings and invested it in inventory and infrastructure to start the business.
It was a lot of pressure – but maybe less pressure knowing that if it didn’t work out that we would be back to square one as oppose to putting my family into debt.

When asked this question from fellow entrepreneurs it is my greatest piece of advice. Keep in mind I was well into my 30’s when I started my business.
Our children were 1+ and I had paid off my educational debt and we were in the right phase of life to be taking a risk.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.westonmain.ca
• Instagram: @shopwestonmain
• Facebook: @shopwestonmain
• Other: Pinterest – West On Main

Image Credits
Autumn Liggett Photo Janalla Photography