Women’s History Month: Lisa Martin takes on adversity with drive and perseverance

By BRANDY HUFF

For Women’s History Month this October, let’s celebrate the women in Beaches-East York who inspire us, who have made a truly positive impact in our community and our city.

In big and small ways, these individuals are honouring those who have come before them: the pioneers who advocated for our right to vote, to own property and businesses, to be entitled to fair wages, pensions and equitable working environments, and so many more hard-won rights.

Let’s not forget that less than 60 years ago, a woman still needed a signature from her husband to open a bank account. We’ve come a long way, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

Together we can lift each other up, give credit where credit is due, continue the hard work of those who came before us, and set examples for generations to come.

Happy Women’s History Month to all — we see you, and we celebrate you!

 Oct. 31 – Lisa Martin

When life gives Lisa Martin lemons, she makes a plan and develops a strategy to turn them into something incredible!

In 1992, Lisa and her sister, Rhonda, founded Hear for Life (first called East York Hearing Centre), a province-wide, healthcare network dedicated to providing diagnosis, treatment, and preventative hearing loss services. The sisters worked tirelessly to build and grow the business; with Rhonda’s background in Hearing Care Clinical Practice and Lisa’s deep passion for practice building, performance excellence, and creating the ultimate client experience, they were able to build the brand into a multi-million-dollar organization.

However, their success did not come without its share of setbacks. In 2013, the sisters were forced to start over after a business associate, unexpectedly, ended their license agreement and awarded it to a competitor. They lost everything; temporarily.

With a drive to succeed, perseverance, grit, and constant pivoting, within three years, the sisters were able to re-brand, re-build, and recapture the values they brought with them when they opened their first clinics.

Unfortunately, their newfound success did not come without consequences. While navigating the turmoil of their previous clinics, Lisa’s health suffered. Riddled with anxiety, sleepless nights and neglect of routine medical examinations, Lisa was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer. Fortunately, her doctors worked with her to create a plan to conquer the disease.

Rhonda and their staff stepped up as needed as Lisa recovered from her surgery and chemotherapy treatment.

Lisa believes every setback is an opportunity to learn and grow. Even with all of their upsets, the sisters continued to learn from previous mishaps and propel themselves forward.

In 2017, they sold Hear for Life to a national organization. Lisa remained on staff for two years, as the Director of the Centre of Excellence, to help transition the company and to help develop the corporate client experience training program.

Last year, Lisa started the next chapter of her career as a business consultant and high-performance coach at Lisa Martin Consulting.

Lisa recently developed a business recovery program for a large group of hearing health care business owners to help them restart and rebuild their practices as they navigate through the pandemic.

She provides mentorship, consulting, and high performance-coaching, as well as business training to help entrepreneurs transform their businesses to high performance organizations.

Lisa believes that “success is not measured only in business terms, but also in how one lives their life.”

When Lisa isn’t consulting, she enjoys running, relaxing with friends and family at the cottage, and together with her life partner, Arthur, operating Pettit House, a short-term rental property in Prince Edward County. Pettit House is an 1840s loyalist farmhouse reimagined for today’s guest. Their mission is to provide an exceptional family and friends experience of comfort and warmth as they enjoy the beauty and charm of the County.

For more information about Pettit House, visit: https://www.pettithousepec.com/

To reach Lisa Martin Consulting – email: lisa@lisamartinconsulting.com

For our Oct. 1 story celebrating Julie Middleton, please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/01/celebrating-the-impact-of-beaches-east-york-women-during-octobers-womens-history-month/

For our Oct. 2 story celebrating Julie O, please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/02/julie-o-of-little-ones-closet-on-danforth-avenue-celebrated-during-womens-history-month/ 

For our Oct. 3 story celebrating Erin Binns, please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/03/womens-history-month-celebrating-business-coach-and-realtor-erin-binns/

For our Oct. 4 story celebrating Ashley Evans, please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/04/womens-history-month-celebrating-community-advocate-and-outstanding-citizen-ashley-evans/

For our Oct. 5 story celebrating Daneille Lewis, please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/05/womens-history-month-celebrating-designer-danielle-lewis/

For our Oct. 6 story celebrating Mary Oliveira, please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/06/womens-history-month-celebrating-mary-oliveira-of-marys-brigadeiro-on-danforth-avenue/

For our Oct. 7 story celebrating Amy Symington, please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/07/womens-history-month-celebrating-nutrition-professor-and-researcher-amy-symington/

For our Oct. 8 story celebrating Emma Sam, please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/08/womens-history-month-celebrating-entrepreneur-emma-sam-of-speedy-auto-service/ 

For our Oct. 9 story celebrating Vicky Tsorlinis, please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/09/womens-history-month-celebrating-inspirational-volunteer-vicky-tsorlinis/

For our Oct. 10 story celebrating Erin Keaney, please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/10/womens-history-month-celebrating-realtor-actor-and-community-member-erin-keaney/

For our Oct. 11 story celebrating Alexandra LeBlanc, please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/11/womens-history-month-celebrating-local-soprano-alexandra-leblanc/

For our Oct. 12 story celebrating Dee Stoicescu, please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/12/womens-history-month-celebrating-dee-stoicescu-of-bad-venus-vintage/

For our Oct. 13 story celebrating Sarah Severn, please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/13/womens-history-month-celebrating-local-bagpiper-sarah-severn/

For our Oct. 14 story celebrating Reena Parekh, please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/13/womens-history-month-celebrating-local-bagpiper-sarah-severn/

For our Oct. 15 story celebrating Moya Graham, please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/15/womens-history-month-celebrating-local-lawyer-moya-graham/

For our Oct. 16 story celebrating, Irene Sikiotis please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/16/womens-history-month-celebrating-local-entrepreneur-and-resident-irene-sikiotis/

For our Oct. 17 story celebrating Michelle Aarts, please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/17/womens-history-month-celebrating-beaches-east-york-school-trustee-michelle-aarts/

For our Oct. 18 story celebrating Elisha Gotha, please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/18/womens-history-month-celebrating-elisha-gotha-of-the-curl-lounge-on-kingston-road/

For our Oct. 19 story celebrating Sarah Keast, Shannon Culver, Alexie Landry and Janice Tsao, please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/19/womens-history-month-celebrates-sarah-keast-shannon-culver-alexie-landry-and-janice-tsao-of-crying-out-loud/

For our Oct. 20 story celebrating Jessica Russell, please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/20/womens-history-month-celebrating-jessica-russell-of-local-laundry/

For our Oct. 21 story celebrating Stephanie Kaptein, please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/21/womens-history-month-celebrating-stephanie-kaptein-of-ampersand-bakehouse/

For our Oct. 22 story celebrating Sam Conover, please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/22/womens-history-month-celebrating-sam-conover-of-broad-lingerie-on-the-danforth/

For our Oct. 23 story celebrating Rebecca Lane, please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/23/womens-history-month-celebrating-rebecca-lane-of-upper-beaches-music-school/

For our Oct. 24 story celebrating Dr. Olivia Rose, please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/24/womens-history-month-celebrating-dr-olivia-rose-founder-of-the-rose-health-clinic/

For our Oct. 25 story celebrating Nazly Sultana, please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/25/womens-history-month-celebrating-nazly-sultana-of-south-riverdale-community-health-centre-harmony-hall/

For our Oct. 26 story celebrating Keisha Kerr, please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/26/womens-history-month-celebrating-keisha-kerr/

For our Oct. 27 story celebrating Shamie Ramgoolam, please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/27/womens-history-month-celebrating-shamie-ramgoolam-of-silly-goose-kids/

For our Oct. 28 story celebrating Abby Rozen, please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/28/womens-history-month-celebrating-abby-rozen-of-the-healing-collective/

For our Oct. 29 celebrating Monica Kelly, please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/29/womens-history-month-celebrating-monica-kelly-of-miss-mos-vegan-kitchen/

For our Oct. 30 story celebrating Lourdes Calderon, please see https://beachmetro.com/2020/10/30/womens-history-month-celebrating-lourdes-calderon-and-holistic-wellness/

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