Women In Business: Taking the Leap to Entrepreneurship

The New York snow delayed our recent Women in Business event: Taking the Leap to Entrepreneurship, however that didn't stop us from having a great turn out this past Wednesday evening at the FIAF skyroom.

We were pleased to welcome Agnes de Villarson of Agnes de Villarson Floral Design, Chloe Vichot- Founder of Ancolie and Sarah Jayne Kinney- Director of Content and Co-Founder at Unbound. The event was organized by the FACC-NYC's Women in Business Committee and moderated by Geri Stengel- Founder and President of Ventureneer. 

Panelists discussed diverse topics such as raising capital for their business, pursuing alternative routes of distribution, working with fresh inventory and fighting against prejudices or stereotypes of women-run businesses. The audience participated in the discussion, offering adjectives to describe how they were feeling about entrepreneurship, with responses varying from scared & intimidated to confident and excited. Attendees included business coaches, young professionals and a range of fellow entrepreneurs. 

Takeaways from the event can be summarized to:

• Be passionate, it's part of the job description. You have to love it!
• As a woman, you may have to fight harder to prove your business is more than a hobby or because of the nature of the products you sell.
• Women are more likely to run a successful crowdfunding campaign than men because their community rallies around them and they are good communicators.
• Keep costs low. Have savings to underwrite your business before it can become profitable. 
• Know your financing options, what's right for your company and risk tolerance. 

As always, a warm thank you to this event's delicious sponsors, Ancolie, D'Artagnan, Meska Sweets & Maiden & Liberty. 

We hope to see you at our next Women in Business event, keep an eye on our FACC agenda for upcoming opportunities. 

Don't forget to join the Women In Business online forum to continue the discussion.