In Her Words: Kendall Ansell
January 06, 2022
Sharing the stories of women entrepreneurs can play a crucial role to help lenders better understand the realities of their clients. Our "In Her Words" articles features insipiring women entrepreneurs who agreed to tell us more about their professionnal journeys with the hope that it can help crack open conversations between lenders and women entrepreneurs. Leading Lenders is proud to present to you Kendall Ansell, principal and founder of Belle Construction. We invite you to visit the following link to learn more about Kendall and all the amazing work of the Belle Construction' team: https://belleconstruction.ca/
1. What motivated you to want to become an entrepreneur? I could see there was inequality in the industry and a way to approach that was to offer up an alternative, which is what we did with Belle Construction. In addition to this, I had a passion for creating beautiful homes and was able to combine the two in creating a new business.
2. You are BC’s first female-led construction team; why did you decide to work in construction? Talk to us a bit about your journey as an entrepreneur and how you got to this point in your career.My father was a contractor, so I grew up on a lot of projects and that ultimately shaped my future career from the initial inspiration. I studied architectural drafting and then interior design and started my own interior design business. From there I loved creating homes and making people happy through their space, construction was the natural transition to begin a business. I knew there was gender disparity in the trades which is what inspired Belle Construction’s goals.
3. Did you face any barriers with starting a business in a non-traditional industry?I had a lot of people question why I would be doing this in construction. Questions that came up often were “Why would I choose to work with women etc.”, “Why would I make things difficult for myself right out of the gate?”. Since starting the company, all the questioning and hesitation from others has just been proven wrong with how amazing it is to have a female team in construction.
4. In your experience, what has been the most significant barriers encountered by women entrepreneurs when accessing business financing?Women often don’t know their self worth or have insecurities around their worth based on societal pressures and existing inequalities in the workplace. Because of that, they don’t ask for what they need or communicate their needs as confidently as men do. Hopefully with time, more women can see their worth and feel confident to ask for what they need.
5. Let’s discuss your experiences with accessing business financing. Did you have a negative experience? What challenges did you face and how did that impact you as a woman entrepreneur starting your business? What were some positive takeaways or experiences you had with accessing business financing?I was basically always told that financing for a start up business was non-existent. I found that even trying to open a bank account was difficult. Because things were so hard it never really felt like a safe space to even ask questions.
6. In your opinion, how can a lender better support a woman entrepreneur starting a business? A lender should allow, and create a safe space to ask questions, be open for feedback and provide a platform that people can actually relate to.
7. Having access to mentors and networks is often cited as being a major challenge for women entrepreneurs. Did you have a mentor or network when starting your business? Tell us more about those experiences.I attended quite a few networking events which helped me find a group of people I would say were my mentors. I also hired a business coach, which was very helpful. I had a business coach for the first 10 of 11 years of business. It is worth every penny!
8. Do you have a story you would like to share with us about your journey/experience as a women entrepreneur in your field of work?I have many stories I could share! I would say that the challenges I faced when I began my business to the challenges now are totally different. Age played a huge factor in the first 5 years of business and now isn't even considered. I think being a woman entrepreneur means finding your voice, developing a thick skin for the bad times, and allowing your heart to open for the good times. It's exhausting but rewarding.
9. Your career is admirable in the work and dedication you put into your craft. Why is having more women in the trades important to you personally but also to the industry in general?For me, it was important to see more women feel comfortable going to their dream job and creating a safe work environment was something I really needed to be a part of.
Having more women in construction is a huge benefit to the industry. Females in construction have incredible attentiveness, the ability to pull an idea off the paper and make it a reality, as well as being flexible to meet the changing needs of a project. These are the type of workers we want in construction, so the more women the better!
10. Please share with us the amazing work you are doing to support women wanting to pursue a career in the trades.A few things we are doing to support women who are pursuing careers in the trades are spreading awareness and educating that it is possible, contrary to the existing narrative about trades.
We recently went to court to receive an exemption from having to hire men so we could have a safe space for other genders. This exemption makes it so it is non-discriminatory as it is to protect the other workers.
We have also harnessed the power of the media to educate people on the gender gap in construction and bring much more attention to the issue.
11. Lastly, based on your experience, what is one final piece of advice or message that you want to share with lenders and/or women entrepreneurs for the future?Do not let anyone tell you that you can’t achieve it. If you make clear goals, believe you can accomplish them, and work hard then you are more likely to have it come true.
Are you a women entrepreneur with a story to share or do you know a women entrepreneur who has one? Have you faced barriers when accessing business financing? Was it a seamless process? We believe that all stories can help in breaking down barriers for women entrepreneurs.
Reach out via social media or through info@leadinglenders.ca and a member of the project team will be in touch.
1. What motivated you to want to become an entrepreneur? I could see there was inequality in the industry and a way to approach that was to offer up an alternative, which is what we did with Belle Construction. In addition to this, I had a passion for creating beautiful homes and was able to combine the two in creating a new business.
2. You are BC’s first female-led construction team; why did you decide to work in construction? Talk to us a bit about your journey as an entrepreneur and how you got to this point in your career.My father was a contractor, so I grew up on a lot of projects and that ultimately shaped my future career from the initial inspiration. I studied architectural drafting and then interior design and started my own interior design business. From there I loved creating homes and making people happy through their space, construction was the natural transition to begin a business. I knew there was gender disparity in the trades which is what inspired Belle Construction’s goals.
3. Did you face any barriers with starting a business in a non-traditional industry?I had a lot of people question why I would be doing this in construction. Questions that came up often were “Why would I choose to work with women etc.”, “Why would I make things difficult for myself right out of the gate?”. Since starting the company, all the questioning and hesitation from others has just been proven wrong with how amazing it is to have a female team in construction.
4. In your experience, what has been the most significant barriers encountered by women entrepreneurs when accessing business financing?Women often don’t know their self worth or have insecurities around their worth based on societal pressures and existing inequalities in the workplace. Because of that, they don’t ask for what they need or communicate their needs as confidently as men do. Hopefully with time, more women can see their worth and feel confident to ask for what they need.
5. Let’s discuss your experiences with accessing business financing. Did you have a negative experience? What challenges did you face and how did that impact you as a woman entrepreneur starting your business? What were some positive takeaways or experiences you had with accessing business financing?I was basically always told that financing for a start up business was non-existent. I found that even trying to open a bank account was difficult. Because things were so hard it never really felt like a safe space to even ask questions.
6. In your opinion, how can a lender better support a woman entrepreneur starting a business? A lender should allow, and create a safe space to ask questions, be open for feedback and provide a platform that people can actually relate to.
7. Having access to mentors and networks is often cited as being a major challenge for women entrepreneurs. Did you have a mentor or network when starting your business? Tell us more about those experiences.I attended quite a few networking events which helped me find a group of people I would say were my mentors. I also hired a business coach, which was very helpful. I had a business coach for the first 10 of 11 years of business. It is worth every penny!
8. Do you have a story you would like to share with us about your journey/experience as a women entrepreneur in your field of work?I have many stories I could share! I would say that the challenges I faced when I began my business to the challenges now are totally different. Age played a huge factor in the first 5 years of business and now isn't even considered. I think being a woman entrepreneur means finding your voice, developing a thick skin for the bad times, and allowing your heart to open for the good times. It's exhausting but rewarding.
9. Your career is admirable in the work and dedication you put into your craft. Why is having more women in the trades important to you personally but also to the industry in general?For me, it was important to see more women feel comfortable going to their dream job and creating a safe work environment was something I really needed to be a part of.
Having more women in construction is a huge benefit to the industry. Females in construction have incredible attentiveness, the ability to pull an idea off the paper and make it a reality, as well as being flexible to meet the changing needs of a project. These are the type of workers we want in construction, so the more women the better!
10. Please share with us the amazing work you are doing to support women wanting to pursue a career in the trades.A few things we are doing to support women who are pursuing careers in the trades are spreading awareness and educating that it is possible, contrary to the existing narrative about trades.
We recently went to court to receive an exemption from having to hire men so we could have a safe space for other genders. This exemption makes it so it is non-discriminatory as it is to protect the other workers.
We have also harnessed the power of the media to educate people on the gender gap in construction and bring much more attention to the issue.
11. Lastly, based on your experience, what is one final piece of advice or message that you want to share with lenders and/or women entrepreneurs for the future?Do not let anyone tell you that you can’t achieve it. If you make clear goals, believe you can accomplish them, and work hard then you are more likely to have it come true.
Are you a women entrepreneur with a story to share or do you know a women entrepreneur who has one? Have you faced barriers when accessing business financing? Was it a seamless process? We believe that all stories can help in breaking down barriers for women entrepreneurs.
Reach out via social media or through info@leadinglenders.ca and a member of the project team will be in touch.
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