Staff Shop Inc.- Entrepreneur of the Year

Gold Stevie Award Winner 2021, Click to Enter The 2022 International Business Awards

Company: Staff Shop Inc., Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Company Description: Staff Shop Inc. is an independent, Aboriginal-Woman owned, award-winning diverse supplier, born in Toronto, Ontario, providing staffing solutions and essential resources across North America and the Caribbean. Our unique business model and technology allows Staff Shop to recruit and manage its business and employees from anywhere in the world, with a focus on global expansion.
Nomination Category: Entrepreneur Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Entrepreneur of the Year - Business & Professional Services

Nomination Title: Jennifer Ménard-Shand

Jennifer Ménard-Shand is the Founder & CEO of Staff Shop Inc., and brings more than a decade of proven success in staffing, sales and hospitality as well as invaluable lessons and teachings from personal coaching, mentors and industry training. She is always eager to help cultivate a sales-centric culture at Staff Shop and does not hesitate to share her knowledge or recommend relevant reading, training and professional development opportunities to her teams.

As an Indigenous-French-Canadian female entrepreneur, Jennifer dreamed of leading a purpose driven organization, from anywhere in the world, that employs top talent who are hungry to serve, grow and leave a legacy worth following. Staff Shop now provides the platform to keep that dream alive as an award-winning diverse supplier.

Jennifer's story is one that celebrates the triumph of Good over Evil. The odds were stacked against her as a survivor of oppression faced by women, especially Indigenous women, including: alcoholism, abuse, neglect, trauma, abandonment and imposter syndrome. She is now focused on breaking the silence, ending generational curses and stopping unhealthy cycles. Driven by her core commitments to Faith-Passion-Freedom, there is no limit to the positive impact she and Staff Shop can have on humanity. And that is what brings her joy and energy daily to do what she does best - inspiring others to reach their full potential. Jennifer is an individual who is deeply connected to using her platform to give back, and Staff Shop is just the beginning.

Jennifer leads a purpose-driven organization with impressive KPIs that have compounded over time, allowing for the creation of new businesses, providing employment opportunities for thousands of people across North America, and paving the way for rapid, sustainable growth. Jennifer’s resilience in the face of changing requirements, her resourcefulness in the many relationships she has built throughout her career, combined with her previous full-service staffing experience have allowed her to quickly pivot during the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff Shop evolved from being a niche Hospitality & Event Staffing firm with three service lines to a full-service staffing and resource firm with eight service lines and growing, while most of her competitors remained dormant which resulted in closing their doors. Jennifer recognizes that every challenge includes an opportunity, and she makes the most of those opportunities, being willing to take risks to try new things within this industry.

Jennifer has excelled in her ability to listen and ask pertinent questions to enable her to understand our clients' core challenges. Her confidence and ability to create innovative solutions to our clients' unique requirements and add value to our services has enabled Staff Shop to not only retain our clients during the challenges of the last year, but gain new clients across various new sectors.

As the Founder and CEO of Staff Shop, Jennifer is the Master Problem Solver and Head Cheerleader, ensuring that the organization continues as a vehicle for propelling its stakeholders forward, while assuming fiscal responsibility for the company as a whole. Jennifer is not content with simply reaching her goals; she inspires consistent improvement and evolution towards greater goals, accomplishments, and performance improvement.

As an example of Jennifer's performance and relationship building skills, she was able to partner with a small competitor along the way who trusted Jennifer to transition its client and employee base under her care before leaving the industry.

Jennifer has achieved her long-ago dream of developing this organization, thanks to her commitment to God and her dedication to her team, which has supported her in developing the foundation and structure of the organization, as well as the systems, processes and networks that enable Staff Shop to thrive, even in a difficult season.

Jennifer has won various awards for her accomplishments in building Staff Shop into a thriving organization since the launch in December 2018, including the most recent World Staffing Summit Top 15 Staffing Professionals for 2021. and the 2021 UWN Women of Inspiration Award for Indigenous Leader.

Since early 2019, Jennifer Ménard-Shand has:

  1. Expanded a three-service line organization from the Greater Toronto Area (Ontario) to eight service lines providing services across all ten Canadian provinces throughout a pandemic, with clients in the USA and Caribbean, and a focus on global expansion.
  2. As an organization previously focused on providing staffing services for hospitality and events, rather than remaining dormant during the current pandemic and waiting for the storm to pass, Jennifer has focused on remaining essential and has risen to the challenge of fulfilling difficult business for other essential clients, such as long-term care.
  3. As a result of her demonstrated skills and innovation, Jennifer has won awards including the Women Business Enterprises Rising Star Award 2020, the Canadian & Aboriginal Suppliers' Council Special Recognition Award 2020, the World Staffing Summit Top 15 Staffing Professionals Award for 2021, and the 2021 UWN Women of Inspiration Award for Indigenous Leader.
  4. Launched a Supplier Diversity and Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Program.
  5. Now a notable public speaker and thought leader on: Indigenous Truth & Reconciliation, Indigenous-Women led businesses, Supplier Diversity and more.
  • Click HERE to hear Staff Shop's episode on Tony Chapman’s podcast "Chatter that Matters," which aired across 65 radio stations
  • Click HERE to see Jennifer’s feature video on Drew Dudley’s Wall of Amazing Humans
  • Click HERE to hear Jennifer’s triumph of good over evil story with Tony Chapman
  • Click HERE to hear Jennifer’s Words of Wisdom on BBS Radio Show inspiring women and entrepreneurs
  • Click HERE for Jennifer's feature in CAMSC's Indigenous Heritage Newsletter
  • Click HERE for Jennifer’s feature in WBE Canada’s Driving Innovation Report, pp. 66-67
  • Click HERE for Jennifer’s feature in Change Connect Panel Series: Crushing the Entrepreneurial Journey (11:12-26:48)
  • Click HERE for Jennifer’s feature in Menu Mag - Canada’s Foodservice Magazine as ‘The Recruiter’