By JESSICA MARTIN
She wanted to be the first female prime minister until Kim Campbell stole that title from her.
Lisa Bucher, 32, is petite in size but not in passion. She dreams big but also works to make her dreams become reality.
Her friends describe her as a motivated, supportive and hard-working woman: great qualities for someone wanting to launch her own magazine.
In October 2010, Bucher got the idea. One year later her dream is almost within her grasp as she prepares to launch Pink and Teal on Jan. 1, 2012.
Bucher went to University of Toronto for international relations and graduated from the journalism print program at Conestoga College. She has worked for Sharp, a Canadian lifestyle magazine for men, and has done fashion columns for the Ottawa Citizen and Guelph Mercury.
But her inspiration for the magazine didn’t come from her education or workplaces. It came from her personal experience with the second most common type of gynaecological disease.
Bucher was 15 years old when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. She was cured but it returned when she was 23, one month after she gave birth to her daughter.
She had lots of questions.
“I was scared and felt alone both times but as you come to terms with what is going on with your body you get over the initial shock,” she said. “You want to know, what do I do now and how am I supposed to live as normal a life as possible?”
Bucher founded a not-for-profit organization for women living with cervical cancer and she was part of the board of directors.
“I realized how many women had questions and concerns about everyday life such as intimacy, relationships, children, fertility, nutrition, career, travel and fitness,” she said. “I thought it would be a great idea to conveniently package this sort of information into a magazine to be able to read from the comfort of your own home and at your own leisure.”
The purpose of the magazine is to improve the female quality of life.
“I want to focus on the cancers that make us uniquely women. When we go through a cancer like this we struggle with our womanhood as we have lost a part of us that defines us as a woman. That may be our breasts or our ability to have children,” she said.
Sasha Zangari became friends with Bucher when they met two years ago at a fundraiser Bucher’s cervical cancer foundation was sponsoring.
“Lisa is so caring and so passionate about what she does. She strives to achieve and never gives up,” she said. “I mean seriously, who starts a magazine only to help others? Lisa does.”
The Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF) is the ‘go to’ place for youth entrepreneurship. They provide young people, ages 18-34, with pre-launch coaching, business resources and start-up financing and mentoring to help them launch successful entrepreneurial businesses.
Debbie Busko is Bucher’s mentor through CYBF.
“Lisa Bucher is an entrepreneur with heart and passion who wants to make a difference.
“That description can apply to many entrepreneurs, however, this individual is doing it,” she said. “Her foundation of life experience, education and life lessons are the heart and soul behind Pink and Teal.”
Busko said many people experience medical situations alone and with a lack of information so this magazine will help women realize they have support.
Growing up, Bucher saw many of her relatives become successful businesspeople so from an early age she felt pressure to be successful like her family.
She may not be the prime minister but Lisa Bucher is still making her mark.
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