Member Spotlight: Darcy Boucher

Darcy, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

My name is Darcy Boucher. I am a wife, a mother – soon to be to two. I’m five months pregnant currently, and I have a 16 month old at home. So thankful the video is halfway up so you don’t see my big belly!

I’m also a veteran, I was in the Canadian Armed Forces as a reservist for 14 years, I just recently released. And of course, above all, I’m an entrepreneur. I’ve been in business since 2013. 

What is an achievement that you’re very proud of in your life? 

My business is one just starting it, but also staying with it for so long. We’re about to celebrate our 10th anniversary in 2023. Most businesses don’t last beyond the first couple of years. 

My business is Bowda Creative Communications. We’re an independent digital marketing agency, w’ere women owned, we’re women operated. 

We offer social media management and strategy, graphic design – anything marketing or communications related. 

What’s a piece of advice you can offer to other people who would like to follow in your path?

Some advice I would offer to anyone who wants to follow on my path would be honestly: start before you’re ready. 

Imperfect action is better than perfect inaction. I’m going into my 10th year, and when I reflect back, I was young, I was keen, I was invincible when I started my business. I really don’t know if I would have what’s needed to start it today. Start before you’re ready, nothing’s ever going to be perfect. 

You’re going to grow as you go. And another similar thought to that is, if you’re not embarrassed by the first version of your logo, then you started too late. Right? So don’t be shy to make mistakes, don’t not take the risk. 

What’s kept you feeling driven during those more difficult times? Or the harder parts of your entrepreneurship? 

My market was business to business, so I work with clients. I work with various nonprofits, organizations, associations, businesses across the country. We strictly work with Canadian clients, we don’t really have any interest in expanding to the US or other countries.

I’m working with peers, I’m working with my local businesses, I’m working with services I use, and I’ve always been very inspired by an entrepreneur. I never thought I’d be an entrepreneur myself – I was raised in a military family, I never really knew it was an option. 

But I always found their journey so inspiring, you know, the fact that you saw a gap in the world and you thought you could do something better. And you did it. I think that’s really inspiring. And they inspire me every single day. 

What made you decide to pursue your business in the first place? 

Well, I was going to be a public affairs officer in the military, full time. That was always the goal, because my family was military. And it’s a stable, secure job.  

But I went to university to obtain my degree first. And what had always been my interest is marketing, communications, PR. 

I had an injury. I actually fractured my heel, which is a very difficult thing to do, it’s way worse than just breaking your foot, so I didn’t walk for over six months. And then I had to do rehab, I still have issues with it today. 

So while I couldn’t walk, I was still young and keen and enthusiastic. I didn’t see it as a hindrance, or a hurdle to work. Now, this was the time of the rise of social media, and I had just graduated. 

I saw this market and this gap in these amazing new two-way communication tools that were emerging. And I’m like, I don’t have to physically be somewhere to manage these well for somebody, right? So we’ve always been remote, before it was even a thing. 

Injury is really what propelled me to try this, I had nothing to lose at that point. I couldn’t work in a traditional agency setting because physically I couldn’t keep up. So I tried it, and 10 years later, I’m still here. 

But honestly, the number one hurdle is just shifting my mindset to being an entrepreneur, who could start my own business…why not? I grew up never thinking or being taught that I could be an entrepreneur, that was even an option.

That’s an amazing story! And what did you use to help you with that mindset shift? 

Oh, my rebellious nature, I don’t know!

I was at a point in my life where I didn’t have anything to lose. I had just graduated, couldn’t walk. Everyone says that being in a low point of your life, the best things typically come out of it, because you’re forced to get really scrappy and do things that you might not otherwise. 

I didn’t have anything to lose at that point. Whereas now I have a mortgage, I have two students, my two kids. I have a husband, I have dogs, I have mouths to feed. So maybe I don’t want to take that chance now. 

Whereas back then it was just me. And I was comfortable taking that risk and taking that chance on myself.

Is there a particular message you’d like to share with other women entrepreneurs? 

I would share that I just kind of “Think Like a Man” whenever I get nervous about things, or even like doing this interview. Like a cobbler who doesn’t have his own shoes, I am terrible at my own marketing. So even doing something like this interview, it’s not something I would typically do. 

But I can be like the man who jumped at a chance to promote himself and his business. I just have to tell myself to get out of my own way sometimes, and don’t let my insecurities dictate the path I go on. 

One more: If you’re starting a business for a good reason, and you’re passionate about what you’re doing, don’t doubt what you’re doing . Don’t compare yourself to anyone else. For years, I never thought my business was worthy of promoting because we’re “just a service based business”. 

I work with a lot of really amazing entrepreneurs and businesses that are doing really cool things. They’re the sexy, new innovative tech companies, while I don’t have a product. I’m just a service, I’m helping them. But in reality, we are what can make them sexy and sell. My business is just as important. 

Your business is necessary. And it’s important, and it’s worth promoting and talking about as well.

What made you sign up for the Canadian Women’s Chamber of Commerce?

I signed up for the Women’s from the Chamber of Commerce because I really saw the amazing work you were doing in your advocating for women entrepreneurs. Advocating for women, that’s something that’s important to me. 

That’s why my business is women-owned, women-operated. I’m really passionate about supporting women – in life in general and specifically in business. 

And you guys are doing amazing work, and I just had to be a part of that. 

What areas of expertise?… generally and in your business? 

We really focus on social media management and strategy and design. So the strategy aspect is really what we enjoy.  Social media is really what we enjoy, as well, organic social media. 

The thing about social media is when it’s done well, it looks easy. So, so while the tools are free, you need someone who knows how to use them and leverage them for you and your brand. That’s really what we focus on. 

I have a great team of women designers. We have copywriters. We have social media managers. 

I have a really great group of women so we really curate the team and the talent around the task or project at hand. Since we’re remote first, I’m the only full time employee but I have a team of subcontractors that allows me to really tailor the team to the project.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Connect with Darcy at www.bowdacreative.com

Watch The Interview On CanWCC’s YouTube Channel