THE WHY ... AND THE SEARCH FOR ANSWERS
- Brooke Sackett
- Dec 19, 2025
- 3 min read
As I stood crying in the shower, the warm water washed away the tears and all I could ask was, “why did I do this to my life?”
Here I am at 35, ending my career as a licensed optician for the past 13 years, and about to open a children's clothing and toy store.
Why would a woman choose to leave a career that had provided her livelihood for the last 13 years?
Why open your own boutique in an economy that lacks much hope of succeeding?
Why add stress, which I knew was a huge trigger to anxiety attacks and manic swings to my bipolar disorder.
Why, Why, Why…
There are so many questions I ask myself over and over each night as I lay my head down to sleep.
Well I am going to try to figure out the answers to those questions as I begin this new journey into writing. They say what better way to figure out a problem than to put it in writing to see if it really is a problem, or (as I hope) the beginning of a new path in life.
My decision to leave opticianry (which is the making and dispensing of eyeglasses) was final when out of nowhere the provincial government ruled that you no longer required a license to sell eyeglasses.
I had struggled and fought through two years of informal school through the Dispensing Opticians Associations of BC and then two years through the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in order to obtain my official license to make and sell eyewear.
That of course was a costly process with tuition fees, travelling expenses to attend examinations and the cost of taking the examinations. Now the government had stepped in and just wiped that all away, meaning that if I left my job at the time I would make probably 60% of what I was making at the time.
So I decided right then that it was time to take the leap and try to do something that the government couldn’t take away from me.
It was time for me to try and open my own store, and after much research and planning I chose children’s clothing and toys because there are always babies, and kids are always going to outgrow their clothes and need new ones.
The location was the next decision to make and my boyfriend, my daughter, family and I looked at and thought about a few areas, and once again after research I chose the mall I was already working in. There were no other children’s stores within a 5km radius, which for Victoria is a distance, and people have to travel to kids stores to purchase quality stylish clothing.
Now there is the HUGE question of financing a project like this when you have nothing, a mediocre credit rating and in the process of a divorce.
After searching for government grants (which they have for youth aged 18-34), talking to the Women’s Enterprise Centre and small business associations, I was extremely discouraged. The figures they were quoting in regards to start-up costs were $80,000 and up.
How was I to find that amount of money?
So I sat down and made a start-up list (which I will talk about in the next issue) and worked my figures down.
A smaller prime location in the mall I worked in was found and I was able to work with mall administration to lease the space if I could find the financing.
So after a hundred more hours or so I finally found and contacted the Northern Economic Development Corporation where I was able to work with them using my Nisga’a Citizenship Status to get a loan and a grant for a large portion of the start-up costs. Then I was able to approach my Nisga’a Government to request a grant as well.
So after developing a business plan (a topic for another day) I managed to gather the remaining funds from family to sign a lease and order stock. Next time I will tell you all about the set up and the stress involved in getting the doors open.
...to be continued...
By Brooke Sackett . First Published in Island Gals Magazine . 2012 . Volume 2 . Issue 2 .
