I must admit, in my many prior lives, I had never met a woman quite like Kelly Simpson Broadhurst.
I had occasion, as a young parent, with elementary school age kids, and later as a single parent with very challenging teenage young adults, to hang out with many wonderful stay-at- home moms whose children were the centre of their lives. And for the most part, their entire lives. My own mother, was such a mom. May she rest in peace.
As a Bay Street guy, I was fortunate to interact professionally with some very impressive female lawyers, bankers, and consultants who were first and foremost successful careerists. But the role of loving, warm, supportive mother- for them, was just not in the cards. These women could not physically or emotionally make that role a primary priority. No judgment here. But those are the facts. My first wife was in this latter category.
Ms. Broadhurst is that rarest breed of woman (or man for that matter), who, on one hand, is a very warm, loving, supportive, fully committed parent to her four children; ranging in ages from the ages of nine to twenty-one. (there are three daughters and one son. There was a fourth daughter, who tragically died at a very young age).
But on the other hand, Ms. Broadhurst has also impressively developed a very successful home-based marketing business, involved with health, wellness and wealth creation. She has personally recruited, currently supplies and oversees a growing empire of thousands of customers and a sales force of many hundreds of people.
As a single mom, Ms. Broadhurst is the “go-to” parent for her four children, one of whom is studying abroad in the nation of Quebec. ( as a former Anglophone Montrealer, born and raised in La Belle Province, I think I am entitled to the odd Quebec shot)
Kelly’s typical day starts way before sunrise and she goes non-stop until she crashes late at night. Her day is chock full of making breakfasts, lunches and dinners, driving kids to early morning dance/gym classes, parent/teacher meetings, doctors’ appointments, afternoon pick-up and driving children to post-school tutors or classes or appointments or play dates.
Evenings are spent overseeing homework, editing papers, watching films for school and dealing with the emotional roller coasters of pre-teen and teenage angst, worry, frenemies and boyfriend and girlfriend issues.
When not dealing with these multiple day- to- day parent/kid issues, Ms. Broadhurst is otherwise constantly on the phone or online or in face to face meetings- helping people lead better lives by assisting them in becoming healthy and fit and staying healthy and fit.
As Ms. Broadhurst has said to me on many occasions, “She views her job as wanting to put the sizzle back into people’s lives.” Note that Ms. Broadhurst’s customers also include high performance athletes who are looking to increase their strength, endurance and improve on their personal best.
Ms. Broadhurst is one of many key players in a very successful international supply, distribution and marketing company, which develops and supplies a whole range of healthy products for men and women -from the young to the young at heart, as well as the highly competitive athlete. What distinguishes her from many in the health and wellness field is her commitment to her customers and her incredible work ethic.
(Trust me, I can vouch for Ms. Broadhurst’s very hectic schedule. I have tried to arrange a business conference call with her (as we are talking about my advising her on her growing business) and there are very few windows of opportunity in Kelly’s day.
I have also seen Ms. Broadhurst in full- out business mode, dealing with potential customers and salespeople. She has a very honest, sincere way about her. She genuinely cares about helping and assisting people with their lives; whether it be relating to health and wellness matters or wealth creation.
Ms. Broadhurst not only talks the talk, but she walks the walk. She and her whole beautiful family consume on a daily basis the very same healthy products, she promotes. And clearly, the proof is in the protein shake.
Her whole family appears very fit and healthy. So these protein shakes, protein bars and vitamin supplements are clearly working. But in addition, the whole family is clearly very athletic, smart, happy, loving, mutually supportive, ambitious, educationally-oriented and highly motivated. And that is all Kelly Simpson Broadhurst’s doing.
Yes, Virginia. Wonder Woman does exist. And she is alive and well and making a difference in Leaside and throughout the province of Ontario .
Mitch Wolfe: The Playful Contrarian 