Meet Kyla Lee, Barrister and Solicitor of Kyla Lee Law and Finalist for the 2020 RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards in the WEKH Micro-Business category.

With a passion for legal education and access, Kyla Lee is a finalist for the 2020 RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards in the Women’s Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub Micro-Business Award category. Through her law corporation Kyla Lee Law, she provides legal services to other lawyers in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia and volunteers as a mentor at the Canadian Bar Association and Women Lawyers Federation.

My first job ever was…. a part-time position over the summer at my dad’s school when I was 10 years old. I mostly did light administrative tasks like making mailout packages and stamping textbooks. But I loved the experience and the idea of being useful and having something to do. 

I decided to be an entrepreneur because… I always wanted to be my own boss, and to pursue my ideas. I know that my best investment possible is in myself — and being an entrepreneur is investing in yourself and your future. If you believe in that and work hard for it, it pays off. 

My proudest accomplishment is… continuing to find new ways to innovate in the legal field. A lot of people feel the law is something that can’t change and adapt and I am living proof that this is not the case at all. 

My biggest setback was… letting other people’s criticism of me hold me back from my full potential. There were people who told me what I was doing was wrong or too different or unique, and that it made them look bad. For a long time I watered myself down to conform to what others wanted. 

I overcame it by… making a conscious decision to be unapologetically myself. Even when others find that weird or different or criticize me, I am going to continue to be true to who I am and push boundaries. 

If you Googled me, you still wouldn’t know… that I not-so-secretly run a YouTube channel where I rate and review unusual chip flavours that I have obtained from all over the world. I’ve rated and reviewed crab, spicy squid, garlic, voodoo flavours and more!

My best advice for small business owners is… Don’t forget to focus as much on your actual work as you do on your marketing. If your customers cannot find you because you do not have a good web presence and active social media, it doesn’t matter if you’re the best in the world at what you do. 

The one piece of advice I give that I have trouble following myself is… to take time for myself. Even when I book time off for a vacation I find myself taking calls and checking my email and working on little tasks. 

When starting my business, I wish I knew…  where I would end up today. I think I would have felt a lot less stress and had far fewer moments of imposter syndrome if I knew that I would be successful and happy and having fun doing what I do every day. 

The future excites me because… I have no idea what it holds! But I know that I will have opportunities to help my clients, to market in innovative ways, and to continue to challenge myself and others every single day. 

Success to me means… living your truth and working hard.