{"id":697193,"date":"2026-07-17T19:45:43","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T19:45:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/697193\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T19:45:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T19:45:43","slug":"she-built-a-successful-business-on-p-e-i-now-shes-helping-others-do-the-same","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/697193\/","title":{"rendered":"She built a successful business on P.E.I. Now she’s helping others do the same"},"content":{"rendered":"

Back in 2020, Solange Ake was trying to figure out what kind of business she could build in her new home on Prince Edward Island.<\/p>\n

She had moved to P.E.I. from France three years earlier, after growing up in Ivory Coast and studying in Paris.<\/p>\n

One idea kept coming up: parties. For years, Ake had helped friends decorate events like birthdays and weddings.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were very happy with my services and most of them were asking why I didn’t start a business, why I don\u2019t offer my service to more people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

That pushed her to launch a decor company that would later become Distinct Magic Events.<\/p>\n

Island Morning7:51Free workshop helps turn ideas into income<\/p>\n

Entrepreneur and mentor Tia Upshaw, founder of Black Women in Excellence, has supported more than 500 Black women and girls in Nova Scotia over the past six years. She\u2019s now teaming up with experts across the Atlantic region to offer a series of free workshops to help turn ideas into businesses.<\/p>\n

Today, the business has expanded beyond private celebrations to include large corporate events, including some held during the 2023 Canada Winter Games on P.E.I.<\/p>\n

Now that her own business is more established, Ake wants to make the early stages of entrepreneurship easier for other women, especially Black women trying to see whether their ideas can become successful businesses on the Island.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why she has signed on as the P.E.I. representative for Idea to Income, a new Atlantic\u2011wide program run by Black Women in Excellence (BWIE)<\/a>, a Halifax-based non\u2011profit founded by Tia Upshaw.<\/p>\n

Over the past six years, the organization has helped more than 500 women in Nova Scotia launch or grow businesses.<\/p>\n

Upshaw said she kept hearing from women in other Atlantic provinces who had business ideas but couldn\u2019t access the organization\u2019s support because it was based in Halifax or tied to Nova Scotia funding.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of Black women who are in business, or who are thinking about being in business, or just have an idea\u2026 and they don\u2019t know where to go, so that\u2019s why I decided to do it,\u201d Upshaw said of the Idea to Income initiative.<\/p>\n

How it works<\/p>\n

The program will offer workshops for Black women across all four Atlantic provinces, covering core business skills such as marketing, bookkeeping, intellectual property and grant writing.<\/p>\n

It also includes a mental health component.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many women in general are dealing with mental health and burnout in all the pieces that go to starting a business, but no one’s really talking about it, no one’s really supporting them,\u201d Upshaw said.<\/p>\n

\"AOver the past six years, the Halifax-based nonprofit Black Women in Excellence has helped hundreds of women and girls succeed in the business world, says co-founder and CEO Tia Upshaw. (Submitted by Tia Upshaw)<\/p>\n

Another key part of the curriculum is artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to educate the women on using it, the ethics behind it, how it can scale your business,\u201d Upshaw said.<\/p>\n

To make sure the program reflects local realities, BWIE is partnering with entrepreneurs in each Atlantic province.<\/p>\n

On P.E.I., that\u2019s Ake, who said she\u2019s looking forward to meeting aspiring entrepreneurs during an in-person workshop planned in September on P.E.I.<\/p>\n

‘We need to start’<\/p>\n

As a newcomer to P.E.I., Ake said one of her biggest hurdles when starting her business was securing financing as she didn\u2019t have a long financial history in Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t have enough money to start a business, and then the bank didn\u2019t trust me as well, because they didn\u2019t know me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She also didn\u2019t see many business owners who looked like her or shared her experience as a Black, francophone immigrant woman.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t have many mentors, or even, as I said, representation, somebody to go to talk to, and see what kind of challenge you faced when you started your business.\u201d<\/p>\n

WATCH | She was discouraged from starting a business. Now this entrepreneur mentors others:\"\"<\/p>\n

She was discouraged from starting a business. Now this entrepreneur mentors others<\/p>\n

Tia Upshaw, CEO and founder of Blk Women in Excellence, knows what it’s like to face pushback but it’s never stopped her from chasing her dreams and helping others along the way. We met up with the 2024 CBC Black Changemaker at the annual Apple Blossom Festival in Kentville, N.S.<\/p>\n

Language added another challenge.<\/p>\n

French is her first language, so she often had to translate her ideas and pitches into English on the spot. She believes that sometimes affected how people perceived her.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I just work harder to show more of my work, and then at least people can see what I\u2019m able to do, what they can expect from me,\u201d Ake said. \u201cThis is how I started, and people start trusting me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, she hopes her experience can encourage others who are still wondering whether they should take the leap.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are never ready to start a business, because it\u2019s very challenging, but we need to start,\u201d Ake said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey shouldn\u2019t be afraid\u2026 With the right resources, the right tools, they can make it. It\u2019s not easy, but it\u2019s not impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians \u2014 from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community \u2014 check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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