It all started at a White Rock tea shop.
Four women from South Surrey and White Rock decided to get to know each other, with one even bringing four fascinators for the rest, as they met at Clancy's Tea Cosy, known for its high teas and tea selection.
While the tea shop has, sadly, since closed, it was a venue that saw the birth of Ladies In Power, a local podcast that celebrates women and also highlights local businesses in the area.
"We all met at Clancy’s for tea ... we had the tiny sandwiches, our teapots had flowers in them ... I just remember the colour and all the beautiful china," Meeka Caissie, founder of Ladies in Power and the Ladies in Power podcast, said. "It was the first time I went for high tea."
The four women — Caissie, Dr. Masha Soraya, Sandeep Bhatha and Gurvinder Dhol — connected so well as their husbands chatted at a different table that they drew comment from other tea shop customers.
"We were gabbing, and this lady came over to our table as she was leaving. She said, 'I don’t know who you are or what you’re talking about, but I so desperately wanted to come and sit with you because it looked like you were having so much fun,'" Caissie said. "And then someone else said the same thing! So I said to them, 'Look — I’ve wanted to start a podcast for years, I’ve just been waiting for the right person.
"I never imagined four ... what do you think about creating a podcast together? And they all said yes! And really that was it that was how it happened. It was all so organic."
The four women come from all walks of life — Soraya is a dentist, Dhol is an energetic psychologist, Bhatha is a dietician and Caissie became a clinical counsellor after 20 years in the entertainment industry as a model, actress and singer. While the other three women have children, Ciassie does not (other than a cat), but all are happily married to their husbands, she noted.
"The concept for me is all women empowering women — that’s my whole vision," Caissie said, recalling what a catty, jealous world the entertainment industry could be. "I wanted to create a community of women that supported each other ... real and raw, not perfect. And so that’s what we’ve created — something that’s real and raw. We don’t always agree and sometimes we cry, and we always find a reason to laugh."
They've filmed 10 podcasts so far with more scheduled, and are launching on Spotify, Apple and YouTube this Sunday, June 22, at 2 p.m.
Podcasts feature refreshing conversations packed with real-life experiences, humour, tears and cheers, Caissie said.
"From leadership and motherhood to identity and reinvention, no topic is off the table."
Through Sponsor Spotlights, the women also shine light on local businesses to showcase the heart of White Rock and South Surrey.
"That was very important to me — to highlight local businesses. We ask businesses to pay $500 for us to come in, and we’ll come in to their business with our table, our chairs, our microphones, and we’ll film. And then we film a bunch of stuff for them," Caissie explained.
"I’ll write a commercial, and then film them doing the commercial, then we create reels for them to get them on social media. We also give them a 60-second video spotlight in the middle of our podcast — we love the idea of seeing them in their businesses, talking about their businesses, and highlighting their businesses."
Just because they're four women doesn't mean they're about being feminist, she noted.
"We all have spectacular marriages, so we do our best to highlight the beauty of having a healthy relationship and what it takes," said Caissie. "We’re not about — it’s not a feminist thing, it’s not a man-bashing thing — it’s a highlighting women in their greatness thing, and loving each other even if we don’t agree politically," she shared.
"We want bring value. We want to validate women. We want to show women they can be friends — even if they don’t agree. Let’s stop the cancel culture and create the curiously culture."
To learn more or register for the June 22 launch, visit LadiesInPowerPodcast.com
