Vancouver Island business strategist launches a working conference built around the decisions entrepreneurs keep putting off.

LADYSMITH, BC – After 25 years working with entrepreneurs, Pam Ivey has heard the same sentence hundreds of times.

“I’m busier than I’ve ever been, but I’m not making the money I thought I’d be making by now.”

Ivey has spent her career sitting across the table from business owners, and she’s noticed something Statistics Canada can’t measure. The businesses that struggle most are rarely short on effort. They’re struggling with the decisions that shape what comes next.

“Most business owners don’t fail because they aren’t working hard enough,” she says. “They struggle because they’re making a series of small decisions without ever stepping back to ask whether they’re building the right business.”

She calls it the Proximity Problem.

“The closer you are to your own business, the harder it is to see which decision matters most.”

“I’ve watched business owners spend months trying to solve the wrong problem,” says Ivey.

“They’ll fix the marketing when the real issue is pricing. They’ll hire when the real issue is capacity. They’ll launch another offer when they should be simplifying the ones they already have. From the inside, it’s almost impossible to diagnose accurately. You’re simply too close to it.”

Ivey believes the gap between working hard and working on the right thing is one of the biggest reasons businesses stall.

“The biggest opportunities I’ve seen in business rarely came from doing more,” she says.

“They came from making one important decision. Pricing. Hiring. Capacity. Systems. Which offers to keep and which to let go. Those are the decisions that shape a business over time, and they’re also the decisions that get pushed aside because everyone is busy.”

That observation led Ivey to create the Profitable on Purpose Conference, a one-day working conference for women business owners taking place October 23, 2026, at Esquimalt Gorge Park Pavilion.Unlike traditional conferences built around inspiration or networking, Profitable on Purpose is built around decision-making. Attendees will spend the day working through the decisions affecting their businesses alongside experienced advisors and subject matter experts, leaving with decisions made, an action plan underway, and confidence in the direction they’re taking.

“The goal isn’t to send people home with more inspiration,” says Ivey. “It’s to send them home having made a decision they’ve been putting off for months.”

“Businesses rarely change because someone had another idea. They change because someone finally made a decision.”

The conference is presented by The Scotiabank Women Initiative and supported by Horne Coupar LLP, Acera Insurance, Doane Grant Thornton LLP, WeBC, Ambassador Transportation, and other community partners.

About the Profitable on Purpose Conference The Profitable on Purpose Conference is Vancouver Island’s first working conference for women business owners. Rather than focusing on inspiration alone, the event gives entrepreneurs the time, guidance, and practical support to work through the decisions that strengthen their businesses.

Media Contact

Pam Ivey
Executive Producer, Profitable on Purpose Conference
pam@pamivey.com
thepopbusiness.com

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