Suzette Chambers: Redefining The Import-Export Industry
A new study released by Statistics Canada in February 2023 shows that more than half of all Black business owners in Canada are immigrants. The report indicates that Black immigrant women account for 53.5% of all Black women entrepreneurs in Canada. Furthermore, Black immigrant women from Jamaica are particularly noteworthy given that Jamaica ranks second among the top five countries of origin for Black immigrant women business owners. These women are not only creating successful businesses but also turning their obstacles into opportunities for their families and communities. As we celebrate Women’s History Month, it is important to acknowledge and support their efforts in fueling the country’s economic growth.
One such woman is Suzette Chambers, who emigrated from Jamaica to Toronto in the late 1990s. She is the owner of Suzy’s Xports, a thriving import-export business based in Calgary that offers a wide range of services, including customs brokerage, logistics, and warehousing. With a background in nursing and social services, she initially ventured into entrepreneurship due to the demands of family life and motherhood. In 2005, she launched her first business, Suzy’s International Recruiting Services, an employment agency for foreign workers. She then moved on to open From The Heart Cleaning Services, which she still runs to this day, after relocating to Calgary in 2008. The COVID-19 crisis would force her to shut down her next business venture, Suzy’s Place Daycare.
In spite of this setback, she saw an opportunity in Alberta’s import-export industry, prompting her to create a new business, Suzy’s Xports, amid the pandemic. The company specializes in shipping crates, containers, and barrels worldwide, especially to the Caribbean and West Africa, at competitive prices. Like many Black women entrepreneurs in Canada, Suzette bootstrapped her businesses from the ground up, using her personal savings. She also created a robust accounting system that allows her to keep track of every penny that comes in and goes out of her businesses.
“My source of funding is my own money. I’m an avid saver. I save my money, even with six children, we know how to budget properly,” Suzette explains. “When I just came to Canada, I learned about budgeting through a company called Momentum and so I use their strategy with my children and with myself. I knew I needed to save my money and reinvest into my businesses.”
“I created my shipping company with my own dollars, my own cents, no funding, and we grew from there during Covid,” she recollected. “I started in a small space. My first warehouse I shared with the Coffee Connection, wherein I could use their office space and use their warehouse as needed.”
Irrespective of the fact that Suzette had the financial capability to rent more space, she faced racial discrimination from the landlord, leading to restricted access to the warehouse after specific hours. Frustrated by the lack of trust, she vowed to secure her own space and did exactly that–ultimately acquiring her own office and warehouse. “I wasn’t sure how it was going to work out, however, I took the leap of faith,” recalled Suzette. “I invested in myself and built from there and it just flourished.” She says her guiding principles are integrity, loyalty, trust, and courage.
To scale her business, she has sacrificed her personal time and effort to go the extra mile for her customers. “Because I was new in the import-export space, I had to show up for my business. Sometimes a shipment needs to go out and I want to make sure that it is done right, so I stay there and make sure that either I do it myself or whoever is helping to get it done, it’s done properly,” she said. Suzette recognized that the expenses associated with marketing and advertising presented a major obstacle so she devised ingenious marketing strategies.
“We did road signs, street banners, we did billboards. I did a lot of Facebook marketing, word of mouth, flyers, door-to-door drops. I marketed with the help of others, and myself and family, we all put the word out. I went to local shops and left my flyers and business cards. I went into local restaurants and put flyers up and I marketed the company like that,” she revealed. “I also use marketing tactics such as offering discounts for repeat customers.”
Later on, Suzette discovered support through Black Canadian Women in Action (BCW), a Black-led organization that provides resources, mentorship, and networking opportunities for Black women entrepreneurs. Prior to that, she had obtained most of her business knowledge through independent research and self-education. She mentioned that if she knew about BCW sooner, it would have had a substantial impact on the trajectory of her business, enabling her to formulate a sound business plan and organizational framework.
Suzette Chambers is an inspiration to many. Balancing the demands of running multiple businesses while fulfilling the responsibilities of raising six children requires a level of determination and focus that not everyone possesses. She has shown that it is possible to break down barriers and succeed in the business world, regardless of your background or circumstances.
BEKH is striving to enhance the visibility of Black business owners like Suzette by highlighting their stories and addressing the systemic barriers they continue to face in Canada. Each regional hub is working to increase the availability of funding and resources to support Black entrepreneurs at all stages of their business journey. One of its key objectives is to serve as a platform for knowledge mobilization, helping to break down silos and foster collaboration.
