Resilience, Mental Health, and At-Home Picnics in the GTA: A Conversation with Barbra-Joi Mitchell
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The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard for everyone, including young, self-identifying women in career and business. With this new interview series we want to highlight women entrepreneurs who are rising to meet it’s challenges, but also to new opportunities.
Barbra-Joi, Owner, Picnics In The 6ix – The First Picnic Company In The GTA & Events
Barbra-Joi, you have over 10 years in the restaurant and catering industry. What led you to start ByJoi Events Group?
I always loved decorating. Originally, I thought I wanted to be an interior designer, but then I got into cooking as well. I started working in restaurants as a server, and then also back-of-house as well as bartending. I seemed to always find myself in kitchen roles which I really enjoyed—I ended up working in several restaurants. I ran the line on and off for eight years at Montana's, then went to work with one of the largest BBQ catering companies in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). In this role, I worked my way up from Office Admin to Office Manager.
I’ve always been a “teach me, and I’ll figure it out” person. As I said, I worked my way up and absorbed everything I could along the way. I shifted how the office was run to be more efficient and heart-forward. That’s actually where I met my partner, as this was his company. I personally didn’t love the office environment and really wanted to get back into working on the front end of service.
I eventually asked for a change in role and when that didn’t go through, I realized it was my time to move on. Turning thirty and re-evaluating what I wanted for my life and career pushed me to take the risk of starting my own business. I don’t plan to have children of my own due to my heart condition, so I wanted to have something to pour my love into and treat as my own, “my baby.”
Since starting By-Joi in 2018, I’ve learned a lot and really had to work hard to get myself out there. It can be challenging when you’re a solopreneur. It was me doing everything from menu creation to operations to cooking food. It’s important to mention though that my mom, brother, boyfriend, and friends have been really helpful, especially in helping me set up when I’m doing onsite work. I could never get to where I am right now without all their support.
What types of business skills and supports were necessary for you gain/access as you launched and continue to scale your business?
There were government websites that guided me through registering my business, getting licensing and permits, and following restrictions.
I also used blogs, Instagram, and YouTube to learn more about operations as I had more cooking skills than business skills. I took advantage of introductory, free tutorials and webinars, and affordable courses on Udemy.
In my first year after launching, I dedicated about four hours a day to online research and learning. I do not have post-secondary education but I knew I could still learn the ropes through online resources and guidance from my growing professional network. I reached out to people and was surprised at how willing to give advice they were. That was really cool!
What are the personal values you bring to business ownership and your brand?
I came from very humble beginnings. I grew up in government housing with a lot of single mothers in my community. Watching the work they put into everything they did—my own mom as well—I saw how they were able to create beautiful things with so little. When I was younger I was also very resourceful. As kids, we’d take our bikes into the forest and set up picnics. Setting up picnics for other people now brings me back to those special moments in my childhood.
I’d like to think I’m down-to-earth. All I wanted to do was make affordable catering that was pretty. I always want to be able to offer amazing services with affordability so everyone can experience their own special memories.
When I started this business, I promised myself that I’d be… myself. I didn’t want to have to worry about presentability as much as being a human. At times there was so much pressure to be someone else as a business owner. On the inside I just wanted to be me, so there was a weird balance to strike between professionalism and being myself. I feel like now I’m tied into the brand and now I don’t need to be anyone but me.
As I grow and bring new team members on, I want my heart to still be in every aspect of my business. I want to be accessible to customers and have direct conversations with them about their vision for the event. It’s really important for me to provide that personalized support and be available.
Who has been your biggest role model or source of inspiration?
My older brother is 110% my inspiration. I’m the youngest and growing up without a father, my brother always was there pushing me to succeed and be confident. I used to play almost every sport in school, he would go with me on the bus everywhere and was always there to cheer me on and support me... just like he does now for my business. He encouraged me, bought me my very first logo, and helped with every single event in year one. He continuously promotes my brand to everyone he knows and promotes my picnics if he’s out in any park.
You launched ‘Picnics In The 6ix’, the GTA’s first picnic company “offering unique luxury picnics at beautiful locations in our cities or at your own home.” I’m pretty sure I saw a couple of your picnics around the parks in my neighbourhood over the summer! Total picnic envy! Did you launch this part of your business during the pandemic?
When the pandemic first hit, I had about twelve events booked, including a couple of weddings. This was going into my second year with ByJoi Events and I was super excited. These bookings signaled growth in my business, but as the pandemic unfolded, I was getting calls after calls of people canceling and looking for their money back. I was freaking out because I had bills and investments I needed to figure out how to pay. I didn’t really qualify for government loans. Like many other caterers, I used my suppliers and vendors to do some grocery delivery. I especially wanted to do this for people who didn’t want to leave the house. I started ordering for my family and expanded it to the Milton Area Female Entrepreneurs FB group which I am a part of. By the way, they’ve been a great support during the pandemic- such a great online community!
I also live with bipolar disorder and at this point, I wasn’t doing well and was close to my brink. I was worrying about how to pay bills, satisfy customers, and keep my business going. Managing my mental health has been an ongoing process and I’m proud of the work I have done to understand it and care for myself. At this point, though, I was trying to prevent yet also prepare for a decline. I was driving one day and got hit by another car. It was weirdly exactly what I needed, a divine intervention so to say. I had to “hit the breaks” (no pun intended) and take a pause.
No matter what was happening in my business, I realized I needed a time-out to focus on caring for myself.
Around late spring, there was starting to be more COVID protocol leniency around hanging out and leaving the house. I would get together with a few close friends to hike and I brought little picnics for us. I had noticed on social media that in Australia, there was a trend of preparing picnics as a service. To me, it felt like exactly what people needed during the summer and pandemic. Some people thought I was crazy to start but I started making decor/set orders and when I had my first collection I hosted my first picnic for a friend in their backyard. It’s grown from then on!
On that note, how has the pandemic impacted your catering side of the business? How did people respond to the new picnic offering?
The pandemic made me rethink my catering services. I always thought I eventually wanted to do larger volume events with big clients. I was comparing myself to the growth of bigger catering companies I admire. The pandemic made me realize that intimate events were more my actual niche. I could provide that personal touch with smaller events. I’m a bit of a people-pleaser, and people were really happy that I could make important occasions special and beautiful despite being smaller and during the pandemic. It felt really good to help people still have incredible life-changing experiences. For example, I organized three proposals this summer, and have more coming up.
I never thought this would be my life, but it’s been so fun and I absolutely love it. I don’t need to make a ton of money. I'm just so happy to be able to be in nature, cooking and creating events that make people feel special.
You also have a project called A.R.K. Can you tell us a little bit more about this initiative and why you started it?
A.R.K stands for Acts-of-Random-Kindness. I took this concept from Evan Almighty and my own experience struggling with mental illness in my early twenties. Back then, many people helped me out, especially physicians, nurses, and other medical staff. My family and friends also went through this struggle with me. They didn't know much about bipolar disorder or how I was feeling on a daily basis. At one point my brother thought I was gone.
One day, a stranger drove me to a hospital across the city. I don't know her name, her plates, or anything, to this day. That act of random kindness to me left a huge impact on my life.
We get scared to talk about mental illness in the business world. You fear people might not want to work with you if they know. I hope people who know me will see that you can learn about your condition and mental health, and regulate it while running a successful business. My family now takes mental health seriously and are amazed because they know how far I’ve come. My doctor is so proud of me now and gives me as an example to other patients to show them you can do many things. Even when you struggle with mental illness, life isn’t over and it doesn’t have to limit your dreams.
Every time I had to spend time in hospital, the following Christmas I would host a party to gather donations for the mental health ward at William Osler. I also bring gifts for the some of the hospital staff and my personal “unsung heroes”. I want to do more now that I have my own business. I know a lot of people are struggling this year especially, so I want to do a big giveaway. Stay tuned for details on that!
What are your business plans for the winter months, when it’s a little—let’s be real, a lot colder?
I am planning to offer more indoor picnics, especially creating romantic settings within clients’ homes. In preparation for next season, I’ll be doing some DIYs and revamping my picnic collections, as well as getting back into my cooking side to experiment with dishes and flavours. I’m also looking for chefs to collaborate with, especially those who are no longer able working in kitchens due to the pandemic. We have some other exciting offerings coming up this winter, so stay tuned!
Barbra-Joi Mitchell is the proud founder of Picnics in the 6ix, which is the GTA's first picnic company. Barbra-Joi's expertise in hospitality and passion for bringing people's special celebrations, dates and proposals to life, has made her business one of Toronto's most trendy and Insta-worthy picnic services.
Picnics in the Six was created when Barbra-Joi was inspired to transition her traditional catering business (ByJoi Events) due to the pandemic, which would not have been possible without the support of her family. As always, she was optimistic and saw a unique opportunity to give back to the community by starting a company that spreads positivity and helps celebrate special moments with loved ones.
Barbra-Joi makes every client's dreams a reality regardless of budget and plans each picnic event as if you were her best friend. She has an eye for design, amazing culinary experience and knows how to host an unforgettable picnic that will make you the talk of the town!