Holly Pshyk
Sales Manager, Wholesale division, Rocky Mountain Soap Company Inc.
Don’t tell the folks at Rocky Mountain Soap that offering flexible working hours invites sloth. Their star sales manager, Holly Pshyk, has helped raise the Canmore-based natural soap and bath product maker’s revenues to $2.5 million from $86,000 in five years, working from home in Edmonton between her mom duties to two children.
“Part-time,” Pshyk grew the sales force to 16 independent reps and raised wholesale revenues to $1 million a year from virtually zero, and has cultivated markets in Taiwan and Japan.
“I can’t see other companies giving me the flexibility they have,” Pshyk says. “Sometimes I work until 2 a.m., after taking care of my kids. But we are all like that, family-centred.” The company’s product and ethical stance are vital to her, as is the inclusive management style. President Karina Birch and co-owner Cam Baty hold information sessions twice a month and teach staff business skills like reading income statements and doing cost analysis. They hire people like Pshyk who take ownership, and are self-starters, Birch says. “Holly is definitely motivated by sales, the challenge of getting sales, the right sales, and maintaining the clients.”
After 10 years in sales at other companies, Pshyk has found her home. “By creating a true team environment, (we) all take part in building the business and building for the future,” she says.
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