Spotlight Series: From Entrepreneur to Advisor - Penny Tremblay
For Penny Tremblay, entrepreneurship has been the foundation of her career since she was 19 years old and working in direct sales. Fast forward to the present, Tremblay runs her own successful business called the Tremblay Leadership Center: Play Nice in the Sandbox with Penny Tremblay.
“I am an expert in workplace relationships, so, when people ask me what I do, I tell them I teach people how to play nice in the sandbox at work and help them fix broken relationships when they do not,” says Tremblay. “I work on conflict resolution, leadership training, strategic planning, and holding people accountable.”
When Tremblay started her leadership business, she received help from the PARO Centre for Women’s Enterprise (PARO). As someone who looked up to her business advisor and always prioritized advising women on business strategy, Tremblay wanted to become an advisor herself.
“One day, I asked my advisor how I could get her job, and she said there was an opening and told me to apply,” says Tremblay. “The rest is history.”
For five years, Tremblay has been a part-time business advisor with PARO. Her experiences as an entrepreneur give her stories and examples that are not textbook answers, they are learned experiences of successes and failures from her own business.
“The most rewarding part of being an advisor is knowing that I am helping women find confidence, self-worth, and capabilities in themselves that they were not able to see before,” says Tremblay.
Susan Jaehn-Kreibaum, Owner of Empty Nest Bed and Breakfast, has been a client of Tremblay’s since March of 2020.
“Penny is a great advisor because she is able to communicate her ideas in a very clear and concise way,” says Jaehn-Kreibaum. “She is a great listener, and her feedback is constructive, empowering, and actionable.”
Jaehan-Kreibaum says her bed and breakfast business continues to grow because of Tremblay’s guidance and advice.
“I am honoured to have the opportunity to work with women in big and small businesses and see the diversity of their challenges, but also the similarities of the problems that women face,” says Tremblay.
Penny’s Podcast recommendations for a fellow advisor: