In September I will have the great opportunity of moderating a panel discussion at the Athena International conference where the topic is about owning a business. The insiders sharing their experience will be:
- Julie Brandle, President/Founder, Metis Construction Services
- June Taylor, Chair, Ohio Casino Control Commission; President, MAC Installations & Consulting, LLC
- Stacey Zahoranski, Wealth Advisor, Beacon Wealth
If you are not familiar with Athena International, it is a world wide organization that supports and encourages women.
“ATHENA International is a non-profit organization that seeks to support, develop and honor women leaders through programs that we administer in partnership with ‘host organizations’ from local communities. These programs inspire women to reach their full potential and strive to create balance in leadership worldwide.”
I am especially excited to participate in this event because of the stories that we will hear. Learning from other women about their start ups, the struggles, and their triumphs is a great way to be encouraged with our own journey.
It is especially important to hear the stories from other women in business. Men can be quick to share their successes, to toot their own horn, if you will, but may not be as quick to share the pitfalls and struggles they experienced along the way. Men often don’t have the added family obligations or biases to the same degree as women. So to hear the start up stories of other women leaders is something we can relate to and also learn from.
If you are thinking about starting a business or have started a business and need encouragement – I encourage you to seek out other women who have done the same. If they are local – invite them to coffee, ask the tough questions, listen carefully to their answers, ask for advice.
If they are on a more global stage, seek out their articles, books, blogs, social media content for lessons they have learned. Use your LinkedIn profile to reach out and connect. The Internet allows the world to be a much more management place when it comes to networking and learning from one another.
If you are a business owner, it is important for you to share your story as well. Huffington Post published an article 5 Reasons Every Entrepreneur Should Share Their Story. Why?
“We need to hear from successful business owners who’ve struggled their way through business. The kind of people who’ve been there and done that. Often, we hear about people once they’ve made it but I think we need more stories from lesser profile people and even those still struggling to get their business formula where it needs to be.”
So share. And if you are in the Akron area on Friday, September 1, 2017 check out the event.
JJ DiGeronimo, a speaker, author and thought-leader for Women in Tech and Girls and STEM, empowers professional women and consults with senior executives on strategies to retain and attract Women in Technology to increase thought and leadership diversity within organizations.
Check out JJ’s new award winning book Accelerate Your Impact by downloading three free chapters.
