Tannice Goddard, a recent Hamilton transplant, demonstrates the multiple entrepreneurship drive that is a growing trend among women business owners. The talented and knowledgeable freelance book designer also runs a yoga business with a focus on classes for the over 40 set and those younger that need a class to allow “time to integrate” the postures within the body.
We had a chance to catch up with Tannice, and find out more about her business journey:
How did you end up with careers in both book design and yoga?
I was already freelancing for General (Stoddart) Publishing, before I left Toronto and moved to Cobourg. In Cobourg, I found myself drawing maps by hand for Comfort Inns across the country. At the same time, my partner Jorge and I operated a small art gallery and wellness centre there. While in that space, I invited a woman to do a morning of yoga for some friends and me. Afterwards I was so taken with the class, I asked her where she learned yoga. Three weeks later, I was enrolled in the Esther Myer’s 2-year teacher training. It was all for me, I was never thinking I would actually teach a class. After a year of training, we were told we had to videotape ourselves teaching yoga and my friends by then had talked me into starting a class — the only one in the town at the time.
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Why did you decide to go out on your own rather than continue to pursue a position within a company? I liked the freedom and flexibility of freelancing, working as close to my own rhythms as possible. It gave me the opportunity of integrating the yoga classes around my work. Perfect for my body! It also gave me the opportunity to have a variety of different types of work ,which allowed me to learn to do many different things such as signage, illustration, annual reports, medical brochures, books on law, newsletters, movie theatre posters, subway posters, etc. — until I became more of a designer of books.
What do you like about living in Hamilton? After having lived 25 years in populations of 15,000 and smaller, family reasons brought us to Hamilton. It was a big change. I love the diversity, the architecture, the friendly people I meet, the energy of young people with their new ideas and enthusiasm, and the resources available. Recently, driving back and entering the city after visiting people in Port Hope, I realized that Hamilton had become my home.
Any advice to women starting their own business? It would be nice to have a financial cushion in place or a plan before you take off on your own. Things don’t always line up like that though. I trusted my gut and my heart at the time, and the right opportunities seemed to line up with it. I met amazing people that supported my work and helped me meet others. And the quality of my work was of utmost importance to me. That is, I really was working for my client and giving them what they were asking for — and hopefully more. It is about helping others along your way and that is what they remember.
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