Since high school, I knew I had a knack for social causes and wanted to make a career out of advocating for environmental and social justice. While I thought I was going to end up working in environmental advocacy, this summer I picked up the skills to attain this goal as a businesswoman and entrepreneur.
During my spring 2015 Enterprise Co-op (E Co-op) term with the Conrad Centre, I launched my venture, whyVOTE – a social media platform where young Canadians can learn about current policy issues and compare their views with friends. While the aim of whyVOTE is to motivate young people to vote, it also collects data on the youth opinion which can impact high-level decisions.
Entering E Co-op was intimidating due to the uncertainty in timelines, deliverables, and benchmarks for success. Yet I have never been more engaged and challenged to grow with my work.
Here are some of the major takeaways from my experience so far:
Planning takes time and creativity
You become the brain, and the brain has a lot of responsibility.
At the beginning, it was intimidating to be unsure whether my ideas could come to fruition. I had no clue how to begin to build a web application, not having any technical or user experience design expertise. I also felt anxious about whether others would like the idea. What if no one wants to share his or her political views? What if policy-influencers really don’t care about having insight on young people?
A glimpse at the whyVOTE platform.
Although I consult my team, I’ve realized that there is no one but myself to make the difficult decisions and determine the best course of action. I’ve learned not only to plan my own work but also the work of two full-time team members and many volunteers.
Difficult conversations are inevitable
As a new venture, obtaining customers and gaining traction requires participation in as many networking opportunities as possible. While I’ve had practice conducting interviews at my previous co-op jobs, one of the hardest parts of running a startup is having to do all the sales, relationship-building, and networking on behalf of the business.
Despite these challenges, the experience that I’ve gained from running this venture full-time has been incredible. It has been extremely empowering to see others’ involvement and support for whyVOTE—from students who have reached out to volunteer as well as active users of the Facebook group.
Solving real problems is powerful
I have learned to appreciate the unlimited possibilities that can come with creating a solution to a real problem.
While advocacy in itself can educate, successfully providing something that is both efficient and has monetary value can drive foot traffic and credibility.
The transferrable skills that I’ve taken away from managing whyVOTE— decision-making, project management, problem solving, and leadership—have been invaluable to my personal growth.
Overall, while I am still an advocate at heart, this experience has transformed me to also become a businesswoman, a manager, a sales person, a marketer, a UX designer, and a more well-rounded leader, ready to make an impact on the professional world.
About Mavis
Photo by Helen Feng
About whyVOTE
To stay up-to-date with whyVOTE news, follow @whyVOTE_ on Twitter.