We were lucky to catch up with Sabrina Harding recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Sabrina thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Any thoughts about whether to ask friends and family to support your business. What’s okay in your view?

When I had the idea to start Yellow Plane Branding, I knew I needed support to get this started. I reached out to a longtime friend who is a Stay at home mother, and she jumped at the opportunity to get her creative juices flowing. From the start, she has been there to help design my branding and help me define my voice. She has also helped me with client design requests and artwork execution. she has been my rock through this, and I couldn’t have got this far without her by my side.

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?

As a child, I was fascinated by my seamstress grandmother and adored the outfits she made just for me. Nothing made me feel more special and beautiful.

My love for fashion grew when, as an intern at HBC, I discovered the world of Product Development. Here was a new concept for me, private label lines of clothing being designed in-house. Intrigued, I immediately switched my college major to Fashion Management.

At George Brown College, I learned the foundations I needed to get a new internship and, from there, a job in Fashion. I learned how to source, cost, design, and fit, all while communicating with overseas partners and keeping products on track and on time.

My hard work and tenacity paid off when I was welcomed onto the specialized and prestigious Corporate and Olympics sales team. Here was another new door for me to step through into the world of Corporate Programs and Business to Business.

The tools and skills I’ve accumulated through this journey have shaped who I am today. Having worked in the Promotional Products field for the last 17-plus years, I’ve been fortunate to be part of some fantastic accounts, from the Vancouver Olympics to McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Audi and BMO. With every client, my creativity and out-of-the-box thinking were required to develop a unique assortment that worked for each individual business.

I’m now a Multi-Line rep with a focus on bringing Diverse Suppliers into the world of Promotional Products or Swag. I realized there was a gap for someone with my experience and diversity in the Canadian Market. I wanted to give others an opportunity to get their items in front of some of Canada’s top distributors and I pride myself on being part of my partner’s and client’s team while learning together to fully realize their needs and bringing their dreams into reality.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I wanted to create Yellow Plane Branding because I wanted to be the best in my industry. I wanted to make and see the change I wanted. I wanted to be seen and heard. I thought that being a seller to all was want I wanted. I realized that I didn’t want that.

My focus needed to be on me. My focus needed to be on what was right for my future. When I was having those thought a call came in that changed my focus, and I started to see the change I wanted. I started to see my excitement and drive coming back. I started to see what I should be doing supporting diversity.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The lesson I had to unlearn is “you don’t need to be perfect.” In my early years, I was told to make every document perfect. I was made to believe I had to dress and look a certain way. I was made to believe I had to act a certain way in order to be taken seriously.

Fast forward to the present day, and I’ve learned along the way that you don’t need to be perfect to be taken seriously. You don’t need to dress or act a certain way, either. I’ve found that when you live as your authentic self, people will truly want to support you and see you succeed.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.yellowplane.ca
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yellowplanebranding/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yellowplanebranding
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/yellowplanebranding