YEDaily: Grace Yvonne Attard

Grace Yvonne Attard is the creator and owner of e-Spot, a home for entrepreneurs to grow themselves and their businesses. Grace’s magnetic personality and influential leadership have shaped a community that is fresh, vulnerable and authentic to the core. It started on a vision board, manifested into a vibrant space and developed into a community where the motto is ”We believe we can.” Want to be part of the club? Keep reading….

Elevator Pitch
e-Spot helps entrepreneurs show up, lead big and do good. We support the entrepreneurial journey through the belief that you must take care of yourself to take care of your business.

We provide a physical space that breeds infectious energy and positivity and we execute programs that take business and personal development to a deeper and more conscious level.

Why did you start your business, what was the inspiration?
It all started 4 years ago when I created a vision board. On it, I remember a quote that said, “if you are an entrepreneur, then you are in the club.”  I knew that one day, I had to create a place for people like me, small business owners, to belong to and feel part of a community. I remember feeling so alone, like nobody in the world gave two hoots about MY business, or MY clients or how I was doing and I desperately wanted to be with other people who wanted to learn about themselves, change and grow.

Since then I have run a coaching and consulting practice for entrepreneurs called enSpire Coaching Inc. and what I’ve seen is this: entrepreneurs everywhere, everyday, crave a space, a community, a ‘club’ to belong to, just like I did. In fact, it’s actually a huge gap in our communities.

 So the goal of e-Spot is to fill that gap. We are a spot that will help entrepreneurs excel, where we can help make entrepreneurial dreams come true…a club to belong to, at last!

What is the best part of what you do on a day-to-day basis? The most challenging part?
The best part of my day is witnessing growth and transformation within the e-Spot community. I thrive and am inspired by the courage required to make sustainable shifts in the lives of entrepreneurs. I am constantly in awe of people who leap into the unknown in their own leadership journey and am grateful and proud that we are able to encourage leadership in the ways that we do at e-Spot.

The most challenging part of my day is the constant choice I need to make around balancing my personal coaching business with growing e-Spot and being an engaged and present single mom of my two teenage girls. I have created such abundance in my life in so many areas and sometimes its hard to juggle it all. 

Where do you see your business going in 5 years?
In 5 years I see e-Spot supporting entrepreneurs everywhere. Our concept and culture will be present and fully functioning in communities across Ontario. Our online community will support any entrepreneur at any stage by providing leadership and development programs. e-Spot will provide a virtual place to connect, share and evolve with like-minded individuals who are taking on the entrepreneurial journey.

What does success look like to you?
It’s simply happiness and authenticity.  Success means that I get to impact the happiness and authenticity levels of all those around me – my family, my loved ones, my clients, our e-Spot community. Success is measured differently for everyone. For me, it’s about living in full happiness and choosing a life that is in full integrity of who we really are.

What is the most memorable milestone in your career?
Changing my name from Yvonne Attard, to Grace Yvonne Attard. I completed an inspirational and life changing vision exercise that left me fully believing I needed to take the next step in my life as “Grace”. So I did.

Do you have any advice for other young professionals?
It’s not just what you know but how you lead.  Management of a business and having the skills to serve a client is not enough. You need to lead with a clear vision, a compelling purpose and a supportive community to thrive and make a difference.

Do you support any charities? If so, which one(s) and why is that important to you?
We currently house two not-for-profits at e-Spot, CYAN (Community Youth in Action Network) and H2O 4 All. H2O 4 All builds sustainable water resources and I am heading to Africa in August for the Uganda Hospital Clean Water Project. Everyone in the world deserves access to safe, clean water.

My children are also singers and I am proud to be the Vice-Chair of their choir, The Oakville Children’s Choir. I am so grateful for the life I am able to lead and this is my way of giving back.

What is Notable to you? 
Anything fresh, new and outside the box…and Seth Godin.  

Blackberry, iPhone, Android, or Other? 
iPhone!!!

How do you keep active, energetic, and vibrant?
Yoga and tennis keep me fit. Singing brings me vibrancy and my dreams keep me energetic and push me to keep living a big life.