the women business owners Alliance provides networking and support to women
in business
in the Pioneer Valley western Massachusetts and here to talk about the
importance of networking support
for female business owners especially as March is Women's History Month
as president by the brown and past board member packet capture
thank you so much ladies for joining me that afternoon so
creditworthiness I with you explain it's not the Women's Business
owners Alliance is not necessarily a clubber just it on organizations say yep
but the sticker on the door
on Part A and that's that really is a we did not work it's so much more than that
it is more than that we
are aren't we are we're talking about connecting not necessarily
networking I think there's a difference there but connecting and
education and support so we're supporting each other
in our businesses our motto is it's your business don't grow it alone
that it will come into you juror you
Becky I'm what drew me was I started out in business man I thought how am I gonna
get my name out there how am I gonna get out there so doing like seven different
groups and what fascinated me about WP way was the other women that it really
the women are there are not presumptuous it's not clicky
its welcoming if you walk in there with a question and you need something
you pretty much are guaranteed you gonna go out with a resource
it just draws amazing women I don't know I don't exactly know how but it does
that's great book perfections you guys must run the gamut from
everything out there what are the type that women in the professions that
are trying to WB away we have a lot of sole proprietors
and women who have to find their own business if they're working
like the financial industry where they have to find their own customers E
insurance industry bum I would say seventy percent over are women
are sole proprietors and so they're alone out there no
unit starting a business in Europe by yourself when you talk to who the
illegal for all for that little bit of support
are we up lot have online naysayers at home
that may not knows support our business but everybody
at WB you a support each other what would you say if the biggest stumbling
block the biggest obstacle
with women in business I think part of it is not having a really good models
out there
I'm not having access to resources I'm hitting
beheading any kind a stumbling block in there not knowing where to go with that
and so letting that
deter you from going forward I think we've had a sidebar
there a lot of people like you work for yourself how do you do that
and it's not exactly safe working for an employer these days
and have a lot more control so than
on it seems that you guys are you moving beyond though even just yourselves even
though you're all helping each other
seems to give other phrases like girls incoming at the event upcoming comedy
night that's going to be benefiting
other women subject organizations out there talk about their
so we do have a a full philanthropic our area and
and actually betty was the first one that brought other woman said a comedy
to it because they had been out there
oh man we took them over six years ago maybe
and %uh so the
the I'll our goal is to support women it
women and children and women and girls in Western Mass
some way that we can provide so that they can have more so they can have the
role models
that they need to go forward so we pick a different charity every year
and we've grown are every year would for sure we took it over I think we
we donated three hundred dollars to to a group last year we made her sing
there was a very safe yeah late last year last year
we made eleven thousand dollars that we gave away to help
girls in the area so arm it is better but what do you think this is likely to
this organization is your girl think
I we we always look for
what is a local organization not a national organization we often target oh
ok or Springfield
am amber just looking who haven't we helped in the past
who can we help now who's doing good work that's going to strengthen
especially women and girls because economically and socially and
politically
we have to work a little harder I miss lee
would still not equal I that I think what
your organization does it's kinda like getting those numbers with the numbers
who's this
strength that majority and but you're also having fun this comedy night
I mean I could be sitting there bored it I'm United room it's filled with a forty
and fifty women
we have these amazing comedians from Boston or New York I'm acting main
Hiller
iraq really hard and
you if there's a lot of opportunity for networking their shopping beforehand
cocktails it's a Thursday night so feel that your weekends really long
it's a great stress reliever you feel like you do something good in the
community
our way of giving back honestly wouldn't bite would you have
for women that many are in business what
got me thinking about going into business
face would you have for them I would say first good ones that comedy is next
next Thursday night 30 I and
but come to our meetings we have are a meeting
every month we call it a breakfast meeting we meet the third Thursday of
the month at the summit view
in Holyoke in its a breakfast and we have a speaker it's an outside speaker
our hotel and every month to something different so we have all kinds the
topics that happen
arm and if this on the the opposite every other month we have what we call
on after five
social and that what's coming up this leaders
this Thursday but we might not get on there might be too late for that but
that's at the
delaney house every other month on the first Thursday
and we have in house speaker so one of our arm members
is a speaker and out that night is more for
I'll networking we do do some speed networking
events are very fun fun event and then we have
are other things like that when it's a comedy and in in June we have our
Woman of the Year award damn real thank you so much please
spread around and that the cash I thank you so much thanks for having us