Cat Canada

You quit a job, jumped into a portfolio career, and launched a business without a super strategized plan, and then realized thousands of women were doing something similar, completely alone. Take us back to that moment of leaving. What were you actually feeling, and when did you realize your story wasn't just yours?

I was feeling tired and moving toward frustration, but mostly, I was confident that I could do this work on my own for clients I choose and start building both a career and life that felt more in my control. I launched Re:Brand almost immediately after quitting, and found myself surrounded by women who were seeking each other, and a career that worked for them instead of the other way around, just like me. It was unnerving to realize my lived experience wasn't uniquely mine. And it was comforting, for the exact same reason.

You have built your whole philosophy around the idea that a pivot is not a failure, it's a rebrand. As a mother building a business, how has that reframe shown up in your own life, and what has motherhood specifically asked you to rebrand about yourself?

Motherhood asked me to rebrand ambition itself. I was always the one staying late, answering emails early, available at all hours. Then kids came into the picture and not only is that not possible, it wasn't how I wanted to show up as a mom. Now, my ambition looks like kindergarten pickup three days a week, stacked up against client calls, on my own timeline instead of someone else's. That's the whole rebrand, honestly: let go of the "having it together," and stop parking your ambition in the garage when you get home.

Read the full feature in the September 2026 issue.