I am thrilled to welcome Chanele McFarlane to our Role Models community. I met Chanele last year at a workshop she ran out of Make Lemonade, a female coworking space, on personal branding and public speaking. Not long after we met, Chanele launched Confidence Through Conferences, an initiative that helps remove financial barriers for women to attend professional development and networking conferences. I was fortunate enough to attend the first event she secured tickets for, on International Women's Day no less! Now I am happy to say that Stemmewear is partnering with Confidence Through Conferences as a supporter to help raise funds for conference ticket purchases.
Chanele McFarlane is a multiple award-winning personal branding expert, TEDx speaker and freelance writer. Chanele’s fascination with storytelling began at a young age. In fact, she was the first person in her Grade 2 class to read 100 books — her claim to fame! Today, she feels lucky to have crafted a meaningful career around what she’s always loved.
As the Founder & Editor-in-Chief of Do Well Dress Well, a career lifestyle website, she has cultivated a loyal online community of over 10,000 women around content on personal branding, networking, professional development and style. Chanele also leads a non-profit initiative called Confidence Through Conferences that helps get more diverse women into conferences by minimizing the financial barrier via complimentary and discounted tickets.
With a passion for advancing women and 6+ years of digital marketing, PR and communications expertise, she serves as an advisory board member for Young Women in Business Toronto and Humber College’s Content Strategy program. A sought-after speaker at conferences, universities, colleges and organizations across North America, Chanele has been recognized as one of the PR in Canada’s Top 30 Under 30, one of the Top 100 Black Women to Watch in Canada and one of the Top 25 Women of Influence.
INTRODUCE YOURSELF! TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOUR FORMAL AND INFORMAL EDUCATION.
Hi! I’m Chanele and I’d definitely consider myself to be obsessed with learning. Interestingly enough, I was one of those people that said they wouldn’t take any more courses after graduating from university but I actually haven’t been able to stop. Learning makes me feel really good about myself, especially when it’s a topic I don’t know much about.
I did my undergrad at McMaster University and I actually thought I was going to be a lawyer! It wasn’t until I took a Communications course in my first year that it opened my eyes to this idea that I could make a living from writing and reading. I completely switched programs as I knew that this is what I was meant to do with my life. After McMaster, I went to Humber College for their postgraduate certificate in Public Relations and then jumped right into the working world. Over the last few years of working, I’ve also completed part-time certificate courses in Digital Marketing Management and User Experience Design. Currently, I’m in the middle of a Multimedia Storytelling course and I’m already looking into what I’ll do next. In terms of my short-term goals, I’m thinking that I want to start learning basic Mandarin! My long-term goal is to get my Masters degree and then a Ph.D.
WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON OR SKILL YOU LEARNED INSIDE THE CLASSROOM?
Hmm...I would say writing! Since my undergrad was in Communications, I can’t tell you how many papers I wrote in the span of 4 years. I really learned how to become an effective and compelling writer and that has served me so well at work and outside of work.
WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON OR SKILL YOU LEARNED OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM?
Public Speaking! When I was in school, I was terrified of standing up and speaking in front of an audience. I avoided it as much as possible and I will admit that I actually dropped classes in university if I found out that there were too many presentations. However, once I started Do Well Dress Well, I started to get my first speaking requests. People really enjoyed reading my written content and I guess they thought I’d be a great speaker too. I remember the first time someone asked me to speak and I really just wanted to decline because I was terrified and had no experience. But, it was in that moment that I decided to commit to this mantra: feel the fear and do it anyway.
But, it was in that moment that I decided to commit to this mantra: feel the fear and do it anyway.
Over the last 2 years, I’ve done almost 30+ speaking engagements and each time I have gotten better and more confident because I’ve read a lot of public speaking books and have spent time studying some of the best speakers. When I was asked to do my first TEDx talk in March 2019, it really was such an emotional experience for me because I kept thinking back to when I was terrified of public speaking. I am proud of myself though...I went from introvert to TEDx speaker in 2 years! Now, I’m committed to helping other people build their public speaking careers.
WHO WAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE TEACHER?
I had a dance teacher in high school named Mrs. Martin and she was incredible. Her passion for dance really inspired me and she helped me to step outside of my shell. What I also loved about her classes is that she encouraged us to understand the history of dance and reflect on how dance makes us feel. We’d have these scrapbook assignments every month where we would have to answer the assignment questions by designing pages in our scrapbook. I would spend hours trying to design the most beautiful pages and it was definitely my most favourite class!
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO LAUNCH DO WELL DRESS WELL AND CONFIDENCE THROUGH CONFERENCES?
I started Do Well Dress Well because I wanted a creative space outside of work where I could write about the things I was passionate about. At the time, it was simply personal branding and style. I also wanted to be able to create the site that I wish existed when I was in school. Sure, there were other career-focused websites but I felt like they were lacking authenticity and I often couldn’t relate as a woman of colour.
In terms of Confidence Through Conferences, I launched this initiative two years after starting Do Well Dress Well. I was at the Girlboss Rally conference in New York City and as I shared this experience on social media, I received so many messages from women who said how much they’d love to attend one day but they’d never be able to afford it. On the plane ride home that weekend, the idea for Confidence Through Conferences was born as I wanted to remove the financial barrier around conferences. It officially launched on March 8, 2018 and since then I’ve been able to grant free and discounted tickets to 33 women from 12 supporting partners, saving over $7500 collectively.
WHAT ARE YOUR TOP TIPS TO MAKE THE MOST OUT OF A CONFERENCE FOR WOMEN EARLY IN THEIR CAREERS?
Good question! I’ve written a blogpost about this. Here are my 5 key tips:
- Be active on social media (use the conference hashtag to engage with attendees and speakers, especially on Twitter!)
- Never eat alone (invite yourself to sit at a table with strangers or tweet using the conference hashtag that you’re looking for a lunch buddy - you never know who you’ll meet!)
- Be prepared (a notebook, pen, lots of business cards and a portable charger are key items)
- Be aware of your energy (people won’t interact with you if your body language isn’t very inviting)
- Dress to impress (find an outfit that you’re both confident and comfortable in and add a statement piece - you’ll find that people will use this as an icebreaker to start a conversation with you)
WHAT IS ONE LESSON YOU YOU’VE LEARNED THAT YOU’D LIKE YOUNG GIRLS GROWING UP TODAY TO KNOW?
Don’t play small to make others feel comfortable.
HOW IS YOUR TRANSITION BACK INTO CORPORATE LIFE GOING AND DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR PEOPLE CONSIDERING GOING FULL-TIME ON THEIR ENTREPRENEURIAL VENTURES?
My transition has actually been quite smooth! At first, it was a little difficult getting used to commuting downtown and being back in an office from 9-5 but I’m lucky to have found a company that has made the experience really enjoyable. My employer is also extremely supportive of my endeavors outside of work so it’s nice to be able to show up every day and not have to hide any parts of myself.
For anyone thinking of making the full-time leap into entrepreneurship, my best advice would be to spend a lot of time understanding why you really want to go full-time. Is it truly because your business is booming and it needs a full-time commitment? Or is it because you’re just unhappy in your current job and you think entrepreneurship is the only way out? And maybe because you follow a ton of people on Instagram who are entrepreneurs and it looks glamorous?
I personally fell into entrepreneurship for the wrong reasons and after a few months, it became clear to me that I didn’t really have an interest in being a full-time entrepreneur, I just wanted to have more autonomy and feel encouraged and supported at work. I actually found that I was less productive when I was working on Do Well Dress Well full-time because I felt as though I had all the time in the world to get things done. Now that I’m back in the corporate world, I may have a tighter schedule but I am a lot more efficient with tackling my to-do list. I also have a lot more freedom financially and I can actually go on vacation without feeling guilty. I know those are things you typically give up for years until your business is financially stable but I realized that having a regular income and regular vacations are too important to me. Everyone is different though!
WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING RIGHT NOW (OR FAVOURITE BOOK)?
Right now, I’m reading The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See who is one of my absolute favourite authors. My favourite book is also a book written by her called Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Her work focuses on historical fiction that beautifully weaves together themes of family, culture, politics, and friendship based in countries like China, Korea and Japan. For example, The Island of Sea Women is about the women’s diving collective in Japan and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan showcases the footbinding culture. Everytime I read her books, I’m immediately captivated by the story and I am left thinking about what I learned for years after. This year, I’ve tried to stay away from “business” books and instead read about culture, race and politics.
WHAT DID YOU LEARN TODAY?
Well, today I was reading up on Innovator Archetypes, in other words, the different types of innovative personalities that you need in order to have an effective team.
ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO ADD?
Continued education is so important for our personal and professional development but it’s often believed that it requires a lot of money to do so. However, there are so many ways to keep learning that don’t break the bank! Many educational institutions these days offer free, open courses online and with a library card you can access free books, audiobooks and e-Books! Your ability to keep learning is not limited by the amount in your bank account -- all you need is the passion to keep learning and then the possibilities are endless!
Your ability to keep learning is not limited by the amount in your bank account -- all you need is the passion to keep learning and then the possibilities are endless!
WHERE CAN WE FIND YOU?
You can connect with me personally on Instagram, Twitter and Linkedin. I also have a personal website where you can learn more about me as a writer and speaker.
In addition to the Do Well Dress Well website, you can follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
You can also request to join the Confidence Through Conferences Facebook group to stay up to date on any complimentary and discounted tickets available!