Fennella Bruce makes transition from television to entrepreneurship and captures Businesswoman of the Year Award
November 8, 2022
Just to be nominated for entrepreneurial excellence was a major accomplishment for Fennella Bruce who left her full-time job four years to start a business.
Imagine her surprise when she was announced as the Businesswoman of the Year at the inaugural Women Empowerment Awards (WEA) on September 21.
“I went in there thinking I was going to have a nice dinner, enjoy the ceremony and do some networking,” she said. “It never even crossed my mind that I should prepare an acceptance speech because I really did not think I was going to win. I was blown away.”
It is understandable why the honour surprised Bruce.
The other finalists were Christine Faulhaber who launched an award-winning public relations and digital marketing agency in 2001 and is recognized as one of Canada’s top female entrepreneurs, and Mary Jean Tully who is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of a company that has been on the cutting edge of luxury travel for many years.
“You could comprehend why I was speechless when I heard my name because these are women who have been in business for many years and are doing very well,” said Bruce. “This means a lot, particularly since it comes from outside my community.”
In 2018, she took the risk to leave television and become an entrepreneur.
Starting as a CTV National News Editorial Assistant two decades ago, she wrote for Citytv’s Breakfast Television and was a CityNews writer and senior writer and Citytv’s first Black female news producer.
“I have always had the entrepreneurial spirit in me and I was doing things on the side,” said Bruce who produced CTV’s Canada AM national news for seven years. “I wanted to give it a shot. My kids are pretty much grown and don’t need me as much, so I felt like this was the opportunity to start my own business.”
She admits there were fears she had to overcome at the start.
“Of course, I was nervous because I was putting myself out there,” noted Bruce who is on the board of Dr. Roz’s Healing Place. “I was working for me and putting myself out in the open for people to judge me and my work. However, it has been a very good four years for me. There are learning curves and bumps along the way, but I have had the support of family, friends and colleagues in the industry that have been my biggest cheerleaders. I work hard and it has paid off with this recognition.”
Enlisting a job coach helped Bruce with the transition.
“He helped me to focus,” she said. “I hit the ceiling in what I was doing as a producer and there was not much of a challenge anymore. I didn’t want to continue to be a news producer for another 10 years and I certainly didn’t want to get into senior management. I felt a bit restricted in the things I could do. We talked about the skills I have that are marketable, what I enjoy doing and what is my comfort level in terms of leaving a job and having a backup plan. The conversations revolved around those things that would make me feel comfortable to say I am ready to take the plunge. The one thing I knew is that I have the support of my parents and brother. Also, I did not burn bridges and I felt comfortable that I would be able to approach one of my previous employers if things didn’t work out.”
FKB Media Solutions is a media consulting company that ‘finds solutions for media problems’.
“I do a lot of public relations for non-profit organizations, livestream and television production and conduct media training,” said the former Canadian Association of Black Journalists President who completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto and graduate degree in journalism at Toronto Metropolitan University. “I am putting in this company the skills I have amassed over the years.”
Deloitte Canada Future of Work Executive Director Zabeen Hirji presented the award to Bruce.
“I was proud to present this award that recognizes her dedication in achieving phenomenal success in business and how she continues to drive her business forward while fostering female entrepreneurship,” added Hirji who is the Executive in Residence at the Simon Fraser University Beedie School of Business.
Fennella Bruce was the recipient of the WEA Businesswoman of the Year Award (Photo contributed)
Bruce, who recently launched a production company, sits on the Women in Film & Television (Toronto) Charity Foundation Board and is a member of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences.
Also honoured at the first WEA ceremony were Trust 15 Youth Community Support Organization founder Marcia Brown and creative director Ashley McKenzie-Barnes.
Brown was the recipient of the $10,000 Mantella Corporation BIPOC Entrepreneur Grant Award.
“I am so blessed that many can see the passion I have in my heart for young people,” said Brown. “I don’t want their dreams to be taken away from them. I want their voices to be heard.”
The WEA was created to celebrate women leaders and entrepreneurs.
