How inspiring can it be to hear how one women starts out to solve a family problem, run and grow a business with a team of five from her home office, building a business that makes 22 million a year before selling it to a large International company…all in the span of five years?
That’s the power of hearing an inspirational story from Julie Clark, the founder of the Baby Einstein Company. I had the honor to meet Julie and hear her, and many other successful inspirational women business owners (Patricia Miller, Co-Founder of Vera Bradley and Zhena Muzyka, Zhena’s Gypsy Tea Founder), speak at the 2012 We Inspire Conference and it was such a humbling experience this year.
All the conference keynote and breakout speakers I had the opportunity to meet and converse with had one thing in common…a genuine desire to inspire and help other business women be successful.
These are down to earth successful women that from across the room may seem like they are unapproachable because we only see the multimillion dollar business owners status. But it is important to remember that they like many women business owners started from something…and most times that something was just an idea that needed encouragement and mentoring.
As an advocate for women supporting one another, this certainly reminded me that small ideas can build to larger success and our sisters are there to help us along the way. I encourage you as a women business owner to find resources that help build those long lasting networking relationships and keep you focused as you grow your business.
Below are some Oklahoma resources for women business owners to connect:
- Rural Enterprises Womens Business Center
- The National Association of Women Business Owners – Oklahoma (NAWBO)
- The Heart Link Network Oklahoma
- Women Entrepreneurs Inspire Conference – OSU Riata Center
- Oklahoma Business Women – OBW
- EWF International
- Oklahoma Womens Network
- American Business Women’s Association Oklahoma
So the next time you are looking for support and mentoring opportunities, consider reaching out to other women entrepreneurs. Sometimes it’s as simple as attending a networking event, visting an association’s meeting or even connecting online with other business women to help you move forward with confidence.
