Living Left
We’ve always believed different works.
Tanya Garcia and Ann-Marie Burton built their careers in traditional advertising and digital marketing — then took a hard left into agency ownership to prove there’s a better way.
That turn became LeftTurn Strategy, and eventually, Turning Left — a podcast about leading, thinking, and creating on your own terms.
Now, we’re evolving.
Living Left is what happens after the pivot — when you stop chasing what’s next and start owning it.
It’s raw talk about reinvention, risk, and the freedom that comes from changing the path.
Follow Living Left for bold conversations by women for women on business, creativity, and comeback energy.
Find us on Instagram @living_left_
Because what’s left isn’t less.
It’s everything.
Living Left
Introducing Living Left
We’ve always believed different works.
Tanya Garcia and Ann-Marie Burton built their careers in traditional advertising and digital marketing — then took a hard left into agency ownership to prove there’s a better way.
That turn became LeftTurn Strategy, and eventually, Turning Left — a podcast about leading, thinking, and creating on your own terms.
Now, we’re evolving.
Living Left is what happens after the pivot — when you stop chasing what’s next and start owning it.
It’s raw talk about reinvention, risk, and the freedom that comes from changing the path.
Follow Living Left for bold conversations by women for women on business, creativity, and comeback energy.
Find us on Instagram @living_left_
Because what’s left isn’t less.
It’s everything.
Follow Living Left for bold conversations by women for women on business, creativity, and comeback energy.
Find us on Instagram @living_left_
Because what’s left isn’t less. It’s everything.
Christy Living Left, the space where we redefine success, purpose, and identity through honest, unfiltered conversation. It's not about finding what's next. It's about owning what's left. We're navigating business, family, change, chaos, and figuring out life. One left turn at a time. The rules? There aren't any. The raw talk between friends? Honest, messy, necessary. Let's go there. Good morning, Tanya.
SPEAKER_00:Good morning, Anne-Marie.
SPEAKER_01:We're back. We're back. I'm really excited to get this podcast going. And for yeah, for those who are new who have not listened to us before, um, we are the owners of Left Turn Strategy. So I'm Ann Marie Burton, and you are Tanya Garcia. And yeah, we own uh Left Turn Strategy, which is a marketing agency here in the great town of Burlington, Ontario. And we have had a podcast in the past, and we are bringing it back with a new name and a new vigor. Um, and it's called Living Left. Right? We're very happy. Very exciting. We're excited. So in our past podcast life, we would talk about marketing topics, and it was fine and it's interesting enough. Um, but we have this company called Left Turn, and we're really, really interested and fascinated in the challenges and transitions and all the things that we're talking about. Stories stories of turning left. And we have realized that there is we would prefer to talk about there might be some business sprinkled in, but we would prefer to talk about life, and we'd prefer to use this as a way to connect with people versus talking about digital marketing, which is interesting, but this is more interesting.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and I think you know, you're gonna get to it in a second, as we we talk about yesterday, but um what has always come up for us as uh female professionals is that there is are great stories and complexities in that. And um, to your point, we feel like there is a lot of energy with other female professionals to have conversations that might be deeper than a digital marketing campaign, which you know, there's a lot of content around that. So we're re we re um branded, relaunched, logo, all of that into Living Left, and we're gonna show up more regularly and to share some of those stories starting with our own. But the reason why we're on so quickly today, because actually we weren't gonna launch for a little bit, um, and Marie, let's talk about what happened last night and how that kind of confirmed that there is a lot of energy around these topics.
SPEAKER_01:Well, we have another, so we have left turn as our business. Leading left is an organization that we created seven years ago as a network for professional women. And that was something that we spent a lot of time in before COVID as a way to connect with other women leaders. And in COVID, it it's it stopped. And everything stopped. Everything stopped. And I would say our priority in nurturing that community as leading left uh slowed down and our own lives probably took over, and our own business life took over. And we're five years after that, the time when the world stopped, and we this is the time to bring leading left back because we truly believe that there's a a need for us personally and professionally to connect with smart, brilliant women leaders and get them in the room and start to coordinate events again. So last night we had our first leading left for the first time since 2020, and we had um over 30 women in the room, and there was a ton of energy. And so we after that last night we said, Oh my gosh, we've got to get talking about this again. And so you're gonna hear a lot of names left turn, leading left, living left. We also so we have created some sub brands and we have some interesting side quests we're gonna go on because we really truly believe there's more good that we can bring to the world, and we're very excited about that. And so, Living Left, you're gonna see more in the face of this podcast, and you'll hear some interesting topics. But leading left, let's talk about the energy in the room last night. We had a lot of women um gather to find what what what was it we were gonna talk about? Most of them were not people who came to the leading left events five years ago. So they were really curious like what the heck are Amory and Tanya talking about? And really, we launched it with our goal is to really improve and draw some more community into our professional networking to add some contributions. So whether that is giving our time or our money towards really fantastic causes and lifting up female goals, so whether those are entrepreneurial goals or charitable goals, um, learning some more, keeping you know, we have a lot to learn. Staying curious, staying curious as time. Stay curious, yeah, and have some flipping fun. Like it needs to be fun. So I got quite a few texts this morning or emails this morning, and the best one was someone who said, Oh my gosh, that was networking that didn't feel like networking. That's right. That's what we wanted. So yeah, so anyway, so we launched this, we had, you know, some nibbles and drink with at a at a place in downtown Burlington. But we just wanted to talk about some of the themes we heard buzzing around the room because the one common denominator of all the women in that room were that they were female professionals. So they're leaders in their space, whether they are on an entrepreneurial journey or leading in a in a court at a corporate level. There were, but it's interesting, people were, you know, they might have started to talk about what do you do and finding professional connections, but let's talk about some of the themes we heard as we were buzzing around, talking to all the different groups. There were some really massive personal insights.
SPEAKER_00:Well, and I think what it did is it reconfirmed a lot of what we've been talking about, right? So again, we are marketers and and and we run a business, and that's very important. But I think the um the idea of a female professional um is there's a lot of complexity in what they need to manage on a day-to-day basis. Um, and I think what was in that room and the consistency were women who their professional journey is very is is as important as everything else. And what we know is that it's just difficult at times to manage it all. So, you know, we could sit there and network and what do you do? And I would love to sell business, but what really the energy, like I could feel it in the room, was this final arrival to a group of women who just got it. So whether they were some of the topics, you know, recently um made redundant because something happened in their organization and they need to, what is the next step at a later in life 50-something woman? What do I do next? And I have all of this energy and drive, and I have an opportunity to whether it is a paramenopausal hormones and how am I managing the day-to-day to you know, chill launching, you know, children into university life and or managing toddlers, like and and all of that with the and I love working and I want to be doing this, and how do we do that all? And what we recognize is in an environment of work, maybe you don't have someone to talk to and to share those. You maybe you share kind of the analogy you brought, as in, you know, kind of within your friend group, they may not understand what you're going through because there's a very beautiful complexity in a female professional, and and it just adds a level of complexity.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and to add some friendship and joy to that because everyone has friends, like you collect friends, maybe you have friends from childhood, maybe you have wonderful neighbors, maybe you've met friends through children or through a spouse or something like that. But those wonderful people who add to your life may be on a different professional journey than you, and you may have a place to talk and vent, but do they understand what you're also going through? Are they also struggling? Like it's that's the biggest thing. And do you feel safe in that sharing that struggle? Yeah, because sometimes in a work environment, they may feel like sharing some of that struggle feels like a career-limiting move.
SPEAKER_00:Yes.
SPEAKER_01:Um, which I think is so frustrating. And we need to change the world. There's a vulnerability that is at risk there, yeah, yeah. For sure. Or if you're striving to get ahead in a corporate environment, are you, you know, is your bestie at at work also your competitor? So how do you share those vulnerabilities without feeling weak and and and not doing yourself a disservice? Also, how do you continue to lift up other women in your environment? Um, that's so important, and everyone needs to be encouraged to do that. Like there was just so many, so many topics, and and well, I mean, we're in a personal scenario where we both have recently got kids off to university. And I heard some women say, Oh, well, my I just got my kid off to kindergarten, so maybe I'm not in the same space. But those are still similar parallels. Like it's you, it's not one or the other, like they're it's not about what life stage you're in.
SPEAKER_00:No, I think so. The common theme, um, not only is it just the audience, so that's like-minded people and again women professionals, but then secondly, it's the you call, as you mentioned, the transition or left turn. So every single person had either recently experienced or was facing what we deem, because we have experienced our own left turns and continue to, a left turn, and to be in a room of women who can understand the immensity and and and and just sympathize, empathize with that. Um, and and not only that, also help navigate. I think that was key because you're with people who maybe could help talk it through. So I think that was the common denominator. And there were so many different, and we'll share more about that um as we as we go on, but why it drove us to now get on and start this podcast, because Living Left, the the relaunch or the the the tweak of it was I think there's something beautiful in those left-turn stories, in really getting to the the crux of what that is. And that's what we want this podcast to bring forward, are those beautiful stories that others can learn from and feel belonging in.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, 100%. In that room last night, there were some consistencies around work, like several people had left larger organizations who were pursuing things independently. There was one person who was closing a company after a decade and literally looking to start something new and fresh to take the learnings of the past company and put them into a new one. There were people who had um, like you said, made redundant and so they they had not planned to leave, but now they are facing it as a yeah, using it as an opportunity to do something different. Um, one person, you know, is looking to be promoted from within and finding it a real boys' club and difficult to, you know, be to be nominated as that person to take over.
SPEAKER_00:Like there's just and then overall, just from a health standpoint, like, you know, collectively, if you talk about women and you know, this is everyone thank goodness people are talking about more and more, but that was a hundred percent is how do we continue to show up as best versions of ourselves when there's also this complexity of whether it's hormones, whether it's you know, um, pain, disease, like whatever it is, these are real things that are happening, but I also it's not who it's not just who I am. Like, how do I so my personality to be defined by menopause? So, all of that. So that was a beautiful thing. We knew, we knew, I knew, I had a feeling this energy was there, but it was it was amplified. So it was so wonderful to be a part of and to see, and I look forward to the events that are gonna take place and um doing and seeing more of that. But back to kind of the Living Left podcast, it gave us, we came out of their charge and saying we're getting on, because it's not always easy to do, we're getting on, and we need to now launch this next endeavor next after leading left because they're so very tied together.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So our commitment is to get on here a lot more often. We're going to start by talking about maybe some of our left turns, our personal left turns, and things that we think people will find interesting. Um, and some of those things in the room last night and start from there. And then we'd probably like to start to have some guests on to talk about their components. And so if anyone is curious about that, reach out to us, you know where to find us. Um, you can always find us at our left turn email. And yeah, with that, we just want to find more we want to put more good into the world and have a lot more fun doing it. And we want to be us. This is us being us.
SPEAKER_00:I agreed. I love this. I'm happy we're doing it.
SPEAKER_01:So Anne Marie, good job. There we go. Oh, good job, you, Tanya.
unknown:It's fun.
SPEAKER_01:Hi five to both of us. It's uh it's fine. I'm I'm glad I'm living this life with you. I know, I feel the same way. Okay, good.
SPEAKER_00:More to come, everybody. Have a great day.
unknown:Bye.
SPEAKER_00:If you felt this one, share it. Because what's left isn't less, it's everything.
SPEAKER_01:I just don't do it again. I'm like, why are you keeping daring at it?