A special IWD message from Catherine Lavoie

To the businesswomen, entrepreneurs and MOMTREPRENEURS.

“I’ve been inspired by various women and I’d love to thank them for helping me move beyond the stereotypes and follow my dreams! On this international women’s day, choose yourselves! #Breakthebias 

@MartineTurcotte @KarineMoses @VéroniqueCloutier, @OdyGiroux, @MartineSaulnier, @ChloéBoissonnault @IsabelleHudon @MarlèneSimard @IsabelleFoisy @JocelyneMorrissette  and my friend @AnnieAnglehart 

To me, becoming an entrepreneur is choosing freedom. I made the choice to have a career and to move to a new city so I could follow my dreams in order to launch a business as a mother of two. We have the freedom to achieve our dreams, respect ourselves and in turn help, influence and inspire others. For international women’s day, I invite you to join me in sharing your story to break the bias. 

As a businesswoman in a male-dominated industry, I’ve juggled with a variety of stereotypes; be it my physical appearance or my emotional nature, my self-esteem was shaken repeatedly but I’ve never played the victim. I rose above it. ‘I am the master of my destiny, as we say at ActionCOACH. Thanks to mentors, coaches and authentic women, I’ve been inspired and uplifted. I have zeroed in on my strength, emotional intelligence, and made it work for me.

Let’s be proud of our differences, of who we are and of our backgrounds and values. Those are the things that make us stand out from the crowd. My sensitivity made me who I am and it’s thanks to that little voice deep inside, my intuition, that I have the courage, the confidence, and the determination to take action and achieve the freedom I was dreaming of.“

Join me and #breakthebias

Catherine Lavoie

Certified Business Coach and owner of ActionCoach Performance

QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL :

Catherine is a certified business coach and owner of ActionCoach Performance, a franchise operating in the Greater Montreal area. She holds an MBA in International Marketing from Laval University and the University of Tampa Bay, Florida.

During her studies, Catherine started a staffing management company, worked in telecommunications and was a lecturer for the bachelor’s program in Management at Laval University. She was the recipient of MBA of the year in 2005, thanks to

her multiple professional accomplishments and academic results.

VISION AND CREATIVITY, STRUCTURE AND RESULTS :

For the past 20 years, Catherine has held positions in strategy and management, sales, marketing, promotions, digital and operations in Quebec City and Montreal. During her career, she has implemented a CRM (customer database) throughout a chain of retailers and led multiplatform marketing and media creativity teams, from strategy to campaign execution. In 2011 and 2018 respectively, she developed and implemented a digital content and social media management strategy for radio stations in Quebec City and then in Montreal; ENERGY, RED, CHOM, VIRGIN, CJAD and TSN 690.

Finally, Catherine was able to put her passion to good use in management, human resources management and operations during a mandate entrusted to implement digital transformation in the department. She also provided analysis and implementation of systems and procedures, technological tools and overall workflow. She was able to achieve greater operational efficiency within the company by systematizing routine while humanizing exceptions.

HUMAN AND GENUINE LEADER :

Catherine has managed several teams of up to 75 employees on a provincial scale, which has allowed her to showcase her leadership skills. His colleagues and partners greatly appreciate her social skills, her genuine and humanistic approach, as well as her straightforward communication skills. PASSION + INVOLVEMENT = MOTIVATION; these are the right values for team building. She is a woman of action, focused on results. Her energy is contagious, which brings a good dose of motivation to the people who work alongside her.

ACTIVE AND INVOLVED WOMAN :

In her personal life, Catherine is a very active woman. She likes to work out regularly and perform sports such as golf, volleyball and skiing. She is also very involved with her children in their practice of multiple activities. She continues to perfect her knowledge by reading books and listening to videos of inspiring personalities!