#Powerwives is a monthly column where we feature women who inspire us. Marital status is completely irrelevant. The title is inspired by our founders November 2013 Toronto Life cover story. This month’s #powerwife is Jacqueline Dinsmore.
Jacqueline Dinsmore was a corporate/securities lawyer before satisfying her creative side by launching Luvali Convertibles/Flapjacks, a company that focuses on reversible and convertible products for women and children. Jacqueline has been named Top Mompreneur by Mompreneur Magazine and appeared in Forbes Magazine alongside Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama. Her company has been featured numerous times in press including The Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, OK Weekly, US Weekly, Woman’s World, USA Today, and Woman’s Day. Jacqueline’s products have been featured in swag bags for the Emmys and the Oscars, and can be found in over 2,600 stores in North America in over 20 countries worldwide. Jacqueline is also part owner of Cognition LLP, a revolutionary law firm that makes corporate lawyers financially accessible to the entrepreneurial community.
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Name: Jacqueline Dinsmore
Title: President, Flapjacks
Handles across social media: LuvaliOnline (Facebook), luvalionline (Twitter)
Who is in your tribe? (family members, friends, partners)
Mom, dad, hubby. Sometimes we recruit my kids against their will.
What does a typical day look like for you?
There is no such thing as a typical day in my world. A thousand balls in the air, hoping none of them drop. I like to stay up late and sleep late if I can, but the sleeping late never happens. My day consists of lots of emails, lots of interaction with people, places, and things and tons of new opportunities and strategies to think about.
What’s in your clutch?
Lipgloss, lots of receipts, water, notes from my kids, parking tickets, and a protein bar.
Five things you can’t live without?
My family, my friends, my faith, cheese, and hair clips (I wear my hair up way too often!)
Who is your hero?
My mom. She has faced incredible medical adversity and has risen above to be an amazing business partner, mom, and friend.
What are you reading?
The Gratitude Principle by Dan Sullivan, and The Husband’s Secret (because we all need a little trash sometimes.)
How did you get your start?
My mom was going on a cruise and needed a solution to too many handbags in her suitcase… and our convertible women’s products were born! My son wouldn’t wear a sunhat, but would if we gave him a choice of character to wear (lion or monkey?)… Flapjacks was born!
Tell us about a time you were challenged and you learned a lesson:
I tend to trust people too quickly out of the gate. Our very first shipment of product was to arrive from China, but my sourcing agent completely disappeared. My husband and I flew to China to inspect the shipment. It was great- nothing to worry about. The factory was beautiful, the workers were friendly and the product looked amazing. We received it three months later and all was good. However, we received a call from that factory. They told me news that utterly shocked me. Our entire factory visit had been staged. Our sourcing agent didn’t want us to see the “real” factory (for fear of cutting him out) so a fake factory was paid $2000US to fake the visit. Although the product didn’t suffer, that betrayal of trust could never be forgotten. Our sourcing agent was fired, our factory was fired and we started again. A lesson quickly learned. If something doesn’t smell right, it usually is rotten.
What inspires you?
I am inspired by risk. Seeing someone start something new, put their all into it, just letting go of the edge of the pool and not knowing if they will sink or swim. It’s inspiring, motivating, and like a Hollywood blockbuster!
What are you excited about right now?
My two amazing businesses: Cognition and Flapjacks.
How do you unwind?
Watching movies in my basement that was just renovated by HGTV.
Most interesting people to follow on social media?
Jimmy Fallon, John Lee Dumas,Maria Forleo, and Bryan Baeumler
Personal mantra?
Do what you love, love what you do.
Advice for women trying to get to where you are?
Here is one of my most favourite quotes of all time:
“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle: when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.”
What it means? Don’t stop running, trying, working, building, pushing (lightly), focusing, giving, learning, and creating – if you build it, they will come.
