Women of Inspiration: A bright light creating shade

Caitlin Clow

Contributor

Anne Murphy set her sails in the direction of Revelstoke in 1995 when she was only 21 years old.

Little did the recent dental hygienist graduate realize she’d see a major career shift on the horizon. She spent the next 15 years learning English as her second language and adding experience to her resume before she joined the Shade Sails Canada team with her husband, Brydon.

The Revelstoke based, family-owned business designs and constructs shade structures made of monofilament. The shade sails are available for both personal and commercial use and the material protects from UV.

“When I met my husband, I totally believed in his business and I became pretty obsessed on how to perfect the existing products and produce them here in Canada instead of importing them from Australia as we used to,” she said.

Luckily, she had a thorough understanding of the art of sewing.

“At the age of 15, I took an after-school and weekend job in a sewing shop where I learned to sew,” she said. “It allowed me to be creative. I kept working right through my post-grad education and until I moved to Revelstoke.”

This gift allowed her to easily step into the manufacturing management role she stepped into with her husband’s business.

“The business was already existing for a decade by my husband and his father before I joined,” she explained. “I started the manufacturing side of it and now we have a great production team. I continue to challenge myself and have since been promoted to CFO of the business.”

The shift to chief financial officer was a process, Anne admitted.

“But, I love the clarity of numbers and what they tell you about a business.”

The crew brought their shade sail designs to the Dragon’s Den in 2019 where Vincenzo Guzzo purchased 17.5 per cent of the company for $200,000.

In hindsight, Anne said she wishes she had a better understanding of the financials.

“We weren’t as clear on that as we could have been,” she said.

“We could have presented better, even though our presence there was a television success.”

The Green Bag Company spawned from the family business, recycling remnants of fabrics to keep them out of the landfill.

“We have actually partnered with our fabric supplier and are looking to take the Green Bags global,” Anne said. “They are a great company, Gale Pacific (Coolaroo Bags), and they are working to market the bags on a grand scale.

“They have better capacity than we do,” Anne said, underscoring the working collaboration between companies. “The potential is exciting.”

To those looking to pursue this path, Anne says it’s important to pay attention to the numbers and ask thoughtful questions.

“Learn to accept all types of feedback,” she continued. “And build and maintain your reputation.”

Most importantly, she added: “Don’t expect to be an expert on all things. As you grow, build the team of experts around you.”

Surrounding herself with experts and achieving goals and milestones is what drives Anne, she said. That, and her desire for learning new skills and achieving her potential.

The mother of two said work-life balance continues to be a challenge.

“I believe life is all about balance,” she said. “I often fail because of being so tenacious, but I always strive to maintain that balance.

“Having a good team, clarity of roles and expectations makes it much easier to have a good balance work-life balance,” Anne said. “My husband and I work together but we are total opposite which makes us very much a ‘dynamic duo.’ I truly enjoy working together and honestly, we have very few conflicts.”

Anne said it’s the people she works with day to day that really inspire her. As do her colleagues, business coach and gym pals.

When she and Brydon aren’t working, Anne says she enjoys spending time with her family.

“I love cooking for them and travelling,” she said. “Experiencing different cultures is something I always look forward to.”

Locally, it’s the Nordic Trails and hitting the gym with friends she looks forward to.

To unwind, Anne said, the best medicine is a glass of wine in the kitchen while making a nice home-cooked meal.

“I am a bit of a homebody,” she admitted.

“But I love that and I find it really relaxing.”

Coming up, Anne said she’s looking forward to continued business growth and innovative new products that are soon to be introduced to the market.

“On the personal side, I always enjoy my moments even if that is just dinner time.”

Anne said looking forward to ‘something’ is her key to happiness.

“It doesn’t have to be anything extravagant,” she said.

“Just anticipating something fun with loved ones is all I need!”

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