A Winning Story

It’s a dream-like story of an expectant mother who was filled with creative ideas. (Not your typical pregnancy.) Add lots of hard work, a supportive family, a commitment to spreading the word about her nomination and maybe a little bit of luck, and at the end, our heroine becomes the winner of the 2009 SavvyMom Mom Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
Whose story, you ask? It’s the story of Shirley Broback, founder of Laughing Belly Productions, the producer of the Vancouver Island Baby Fair shows. (Shirley’s had a big week because the Victoria show just took place this weekend.) If the number of votes Shirley received for this award is any indication, the Vancouver Island Baby Fair, which sets out to celebrate the growing family, must be a much-loved institution for those interested in pregnancy, birth, babies, toddlers, preschoolers, and beyond. And since many of the exhibitors at Shirley’s shows are mom entrepreneurs too, she’s created a way for lots of Vancouver Island mom-run businesses to showcase themselves to their target audience and grow their businesses too.

Taking advantage of her background in event planning, sales and the perinatal field, Shirley established the company as a way to be able to work from home and be closer to her two children. With the success of her first shows came growth, and she had to hire an assistant producer—her husband! So now she’s really living the dream of being at the helm of a successful family-operated company, with all the flexibility she needs to be able to help out at her children’s school when she wants to. And we say congratulations to her—the 2009 SavvyMom Mom Entrepreneur of the Year.