Success, Reinvention, and the Road to Glimmer

The Farm Girl Who Loved Building Things

Receiving BC Business' Women of the Year award was an incredible honour.

But in the days since the event, I've found myself thinking less about the award itself and more about the road that led me there.

Awards tend to capture a single moment. What they don't show are the years behind the moment — the hard work, the failures, the pivots, the people who believed in you, and the countless lessons learned along the way.

For me, that journey started long before Glimmer Wine ever existed.

The Farm Girl Who Loved Building Things

I grew up on a dairy farm in rural Ontario.

Recently, my husband visited my hometown and asked one of our childhood neighbours what I wanted to be when I grew up.

Without hesitation he laughed and said:

"Jane always wanted to build something, sell something, and make something happen."

He’s not wrong.

Our road had maybe two cars drive by each day. I couldn't even have a garage sale because there simply wasn't enough traffic.

Yet somehow I was fascinated by business from an early age.

My parents immigrated from Switzerland to Canada to build a life and run a dairy farm. My mom taught me that if you're going to build something, you care deeply about every detail. My dad could fix anything, build anything and organize everything.

Growing up with Swiss parents, organization wasn't a trend. It was simply how we lived.

Looking back, every client who has ever hired Organized Jane is because of lessons I learned at home.

Learning How Businesses Really Work

Most people are surprised when they learn that before Organized Jane and Glimmer, I spent more than a decade in construction materials.

I ran concrete plants and pipe facilities before moving into international consulting work in Switzerland.

It wasn't glamorous.

It was operations.

Numbers.

Systems.

Leadership.

Problem-solving.

I learned how businesses actually work behind the scenes.

I learned how to read financial statements, improve operations, manage teams and navigate challenges when things didn't go according to plan.

Most importantly, I learned that successful businesses are rarely built through luck.

They're built through consistency.

That lesson still guides me every day.

Reinvention Is a Superpower

Like most entrepreneurs, my journey hasn't followed a straight line.

I've launched businesses that didn't work.

I've changed directions.

I've rebuilt my confidence more than once.

And some of the biggest lessons I've learned didn't happen inside a business at all.

The IVF journey.

Becoming a mother to twins at 43.

Learning how to balance ambition with family.

Those experiences changed me.

For a long time, I believed resilience meant pushing harder.

Today I see it differently.

I think resilience is often about being willing to reinvent yourself.

Some chapters are meant to end.

Some dreams evolve.

Sometimes what feels like a setback is actually preparing you for the opportunity that's coming next.

Many of the moments I struggled through ended up becoming the foundation for the next chapter of my life.

Why We Built Glimmer

A few years ago, I started noticing something interesting.

Friends, colleagues and customers were changing the way they thought about alcohol.

People still wanted to celebrate.

They still wanted beautiful experiences.

They still wanted the ritual of sharing a glass with friends.

But many were looking for something different.

I saw an opportunity.

Alongside Marina Billinghurst and Janet Helou, we set out to build a premium non-alcoholic sparkling wine that people would genuinely choose because they loved the experience.

Not because it was alcohol-free.

Because it was exceptional.

From day one, Glimmer was about creating something worthy of life's celebrations.

Today, seeing Glimmer on restaurant menus, in retailers and in people's homes across Canada still feels surreal.

And we're just getting started.

Nobody Builds Alone

One thing I kept coming back to while reflecting on this award is how many people helped me get here.

My parents.

My mentors.

My team.

My investors.

My friends.

And my husband, Farid.

At the W North conference this year, Joanna Griffiths from Knix was asked what played the biggest role in helping her achieve her dreams.

Her answer was simple:

Support.

That resonated deeply with me.

Building businesses takes work.

A lot of work.

But having people who believe in you can change everything.

Farid has supported every crazy idea, every pivot and every ambitious goal I've chased.

And watching him become a father to Lily and Walter has been one of the greatest joys of my life.

Looking Ahead

When I think about the little girl growing up on a dairy farm in rural Ontario, I could never have imagined the road ahead.

What I did know, even then, was that I loved building things.

I loved creating opportunities.

I loved making things happen.

That part hasn't changed.

Today, that same passion drives me as I continue building Glimmer, supporting entrepreneurs through Organized Jane and helping others create businesses and lives they love.

And if there's one lesson I've learned along the way, it's this:

The setbacks matter.

The pivots matter.

The reinventions matter.

Because sometimes the things that almost break you become the very foundation of what comes next.

Cheers,

Jane