The oak tree is a symbol of strength, of endurance; “the mighty oak”, as it has been referenced in many a poem. The oak was a sacred symbol in ancient cultures, universally considered to have “unyielding strength”, not from being rigid, but rather with a deep resilience, a patience, representing honour and protection and sanctuary, all of which has its start inside the tiny acorn.
The willow is seen as a tree with flexibility, one that stands in balance. The willow connects us to images of adapting, of healing, across many cultures, with the ability to bend and draw us to water. Consider Emily Dickinson’s poem: “The Oak stood proud, its branches grand, While Willow wept, by the river’s strand. Yet their love endured, through sun and rain, For deep in their roots, they shared the same pain.” Together the trees create harmony. All the above makes perfect sense as to why a young woman who started a solo business on her kitchen table in North Bay would choose the name “Oak & Willow”.
Haley Massicotte had a vision of “getting it right”, a human-first business that created sustainable cleaning and self-care products. Her eco-conscious business was launched in early 2022 after “a happy accident”, said Haley. Haley created a toilet-cleaning pod that wouldn’t harm her cats, who are determined to drink from her toilet.
She offered the leftover pods for sale online and within twenty-four hours had 200+ orders. Just to keep it interesting and challenging, Haley was pregnant at the time and went into pre-term labour while she was deep into launching her business. Her stamina and determination were never more visible.
Oak & Willow follows a unique business model, one that should be part of our mainstream economic endeavours. It is a collaborative model with no CEO hoarding wealth. Employees/workers are an integral part of the business’ success, not merely labourers. All employees earn an equal living wage. Profit sharing is extended equally among the team. Flexible scheduling to meet an individual’s family or health needs is imperative.
It is a value-driven culture within the business framework; all working toward a common goal. We should take note that none of these factors are mandated by the legal corporate structure of Oak & Willow, but rather are a choice, adopting these measures to provide for legal stability, a positive workplace environment, and to allow for personal investment in the workplace.
Many small businesses engage in these practices across the country, most of which are worker cooperatives. It begs the question, though, why larger businesses can’t do the same or engage in a similar structure that rewards workers, recognizing their role as integral to the success of any business.
Big business can follow this business plan but choose not to. Why not? It wouldn’t be easy, but the biggest issue prohibiting this business model is “investor expectations”. That’s a cop-out in my estimation. As the economy continues to syphon profits to fewer individuals, there seems no room in the discussion for breaking even.
When wages are not paid equally in big business, the justification is that wage compression causes “talent flight”, those with expertise going after the bigger pay cheque offered by other big businesses. When COVID happened, and domestic flights were reduced to lower populated areas, the justification from the air carriers was that it was not financially responsible to shareholders. Flights in and out of Halifax were dramatically reduced, and guess what? WestJet did not reinstate those flights after the economy started to right itself. Why not adopt a break-even strategy to weather the storm?
No business would exist or have any measure of success without those who do the labour of creating a product or service. Yet, responsibility seems focused always on investors. Initial investment is required to launch a business and to ensure further growth, I realize.
I wonder, when is “enough?” When does big not need to be bigger? When instead does focus shift to taking care of those who made a business possible, to reward their input first with a living wage and secondly with a share of profits? If only there were more Haleys in this world, we would be much better off as a society.
