Brianne McDaniel is a Regional Ambassador for WeBC and the owner of Far & Wide, a gift and home décor store featuring carefully curated items of women-led, and Canadian-based businesses.
Being a business owner was not something Brianne had planned. After a fateful skiing accident, she was unable to continue on her career path, so she shifted her time and energy towards her family as well as working as a wedding photographer. This eventually led her to encounter an old friend, which later turned out to be the first step toward establishing her business in the Kamloops community.
Eager to support other women who stumbled into entrepreneurship, Brianne joined WeBC as Regional Ambassador based in Kamloops in March 2022.
“Kamloops is a really unique area for small businesses,” Brianne explains. “We have a population of just over 100,000 but it still feels like a small town sometimes.”
As a business owner, Brianne is passionate about connecting women in business to the supports that can help them to overcome the challenges that come with life as an entrepreneur.
“Being a woman entrepreneur felt a little lonely for me in the beginning, ” Brianna confesses. “However, I noticed a strong uptick in businesses opening all around Kamloops, and we’re so excited to be part of that movement.”
As Kamloops’ small business community grows, so does the need to support up-and-coming women entrepreneurs. “Kamloops is right at the cusp of something great. As Regional Ambassador, I want to make sure that all the new businesses that open are well represented with women. We offer new perspectives on employment and business opportunities,” Brianne shares. “The more that I can contribute to supporting growth for women, the better!”
Women business owners often face unique challenges on their path towards entrepreneurship. Mentorship programs, such as the ones offered by WeBC, enable relationships that can serve as a source of support in navigating life as a woman entrepreneur.
“There are so many things that I wish I knew when I started that I’m excited to share with other women business owners,” Brianne says. “You don’t have to do it alone, you don’t have to teach yourself everything. There is a great network of women out there who understand the problems unique to you and your business that are eager to support you.”
WeBC supports women business owners at every stage of their small business journey. WeBC’s unique Business Loan program focuses on overall business viability, not just financial ratios, so this allows WeBC to approve loans to women who may not fit into the traditional lending box.
Since WeBC proactively works with loan clients based on their specific circumstances, and includes free advisory services, training and mentoring with their loan, the WeBC repayment rate in recent years has been over 96 percent.
WeBC has provided thousands of women business owners with loans, expertise, mentoring, networking, and skills training to help their businesses grow and thrive. Thanks to new funding just announced, WeBC will soon offer a new growth-focused mentorship program for women in business for five years or more. Additionally, WeBC offers programs to encourage women to develop a growth mindset early on to better leverage financing and networks in later stages of business.
Find out more about the ways in which WeBC offers support for women in business at we-bc.ca/what-we-offer.
WeBC (formerly Women’s Enterprise Centre) is a not-for-profit that has been supporting women business owners across the province since 1995. Working with regional partners, they’ve provided thousands of entrepreneurs with business loans and expertise, training, resources, and peer network support to help businesses grow and thrive. Learn more at
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