Link to webinar: Telling Your Story For Professional Success

Headshot of Liz Ngonzi from part 2 of her webinar series for eCornell

Click this link to see Liz Ngonzi’s (who is also course facilitator in our Women’s Entrepreneurship certificate program) presentation: “Telling Your Story for Professional Success: How to Align Your Purpose and Your Paycheck“.

This is the second in a two-part series which builds on her 2020 webinar entitled: “Your Personal Brand: Leveraging Your Unique Knowledge and Experience” (To view a recording of this webinar, click here.)

In this segment, Liz provides guidance on how to dig into the question “What is my purpose?” Clarity about your purpose can lead to the creation of a personal “work” story that will enable you to inspire, engage, and activate employers, clients, partners, and investors, thereby increasing the alignment of your purpose with your paycheck! 

Women in eCommerce Supporting Each Other

Woman's thumb scrolling on an iphone while looking at a screen that mentions eCommerce.

Women represent 32% of the eCommerce sellers online. While that is a much higher percentage that the number of women that are found in C-suite jobs, it still places women in the minority. This article in Entrepreneur encourages women in eCommerce to seek each other out for mentoring and support. The article states, “By building your community around other women, you can unlock the hidden power of wealth through shared strategies, tools and hidden secrets.”

SBA Launches Largest Expansion of Women’s Business Centers in 30 Years

Small Business Administration logo

According to this recent post, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently announced grant funding along with the launch of 20 new Women’s Business Centers (WBC) that will be opened across America. These new centers will serve rural, urban, and underserved communities. The move to open 20 new WBCs is the largest single expansion of the program since it began 30 years ago. Check out the post to read more about where the centers will be located as well as to access other resources from the SBA.

Free Crowdfunding Workshop on Oct 20th

logo for The Chattery

On Tuesday, October 20, 2020 at 1pm ET, The Chattery will be hosting a free online workshop entitled “Leveraging Crowdfunding to Launch & Grow Your Business“. The workshop will feature Olivia Owens, Head of Partnerships at IFundWomen and General Manager of IFundWomen of Color, who will share how to create a honed pitch, network map, and marketing strategy for your crowdfunding campaign. To learn more and register, click here.

Olivia Owens worked with eCornell to deliver a webinar in August on “Raising Capital During A Crisis” through the use of crowdfunding. A link to that recording can be found here.

The Chattery is a nonprofit organization that provides adult education through fun, affordable and accessible classes and workshops and is offering this workshop for free in conjunction with Startup Week Chattanooga. Shawanda Mason is a co-founder of The Chattery and is a graduate of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Certificate program at Cornell! Many thanks to Shawanda for making us aware of this event and enabling us to share it with the broader community!

Small Business Owners Get Creative and Band Together To Survive Coronavirus

This article from Time shares examples of small businesses banding together rather than competing head to head to weather the challenges presented by public health necessitated lockdowns. By thinking both creatively and collaboratively, these businesses have been able to stay afloat while also building a community stronger than the one before COVID-19.

Link to Webinar “Your Personal Brand”

Screenshot of Liz Ngonzi from webinar

Click this link to access the May 19, 2020 webinar entitled “Your Personal Brand: Leveraging Your Unique Knowledge and Experience”. Elizabeth (Liz) Ngonzi (who is also a facilitator in our program) discusses how to develop a personal brand that can help to set the direction for a career pivot and transition.

Click this link to see the slide deck she references in the webinar.

Click here to access Liz Ngonzi’s website.

Let’s Work – Speaker Series

Woman with laptop at wooden table

The “Let’s Work” speaker series sponsored by The Laundress invites female entrepreneurs and thought leaders to share their thoughts during this unique time in our world. The speaker series is happening on different days over the next several weeks at noon (ET). The series is also exciting in that there are breakoff sessions (zoom rooms) for the attendees to network amongst themselves in addition to the keynote speaker. Click this link to register (for free!) for the session. Upcoming speakers include:

  • April 24, 12:00pm EST — Lisa Price: Founder of Carol’s Daughter @iamlisaprice
  • April 28, 12:00pm EST — Sophia Roe: Chef, Wellness Expert, Founder of Pillow Talk Sessions @sophia_roe
  • May 1, 12:00pm EST — Patty Rodriguez: Best-selling Author, Co-founder of Lil’ Libros and Patty Rodriguez Jewelry, Senior Producer for On Air with Ryan Seacrest @pattyrodriguez
  • May 5, 12:00pm EST — Renae Bluitt: Creator of She Did That (Netflix), Founder of In Her Shoes Blog @iamrenaebluitt
  • May 8, 12:00pm EST — Amani Al-Khatahtbeh: Founder of MuslimGirl.com, Congressional Candidate New Jersey 2020 @amani
  • May 12, 12:00pm EST — Jaclyn Johnson: Founder of Create & Cultivate @jaclynrjohnson + Lindsey Boyd: Co-founder of The Laundress @thelaundress
  • May 15, 12:00pm EST — Erin Patinkin: Co-founder of Ovenly & Seemore Meats and Veggies, Co-host of Start to Sale @erinpatinkin
  • May 18, 12:00pm EST — Cyndi Ramirez: Founder of Chillhouse & Chill Times @cyndiramirez + Gwen Whiting: Co-founder of The Laundress @thelaundress

Top 10 Mistakes That Prevent Women From Scaling Businesses To $1MM

Briefcase with $1 million.

Despite women owning 40% of all the businesses in the U.S., in 2018, less than 2 percent of women-owned businesses generated more than $1 million in sales (and that percentage is even lower when you only look at women of color). This article in Entrepreneur explores ten common mistakes that include: trying to do it all yourself, not spending enough time working with mentors and coaches, lack of a cash runway and not understanding the scalable aspects of the business.

It’s Time To Talk About Money

neon sign that says "Think about things differently"

Two articles appeared recently discussing the importance of more openly sharing personal salary information as well as financial management strategies. “Build Your Squad For Financial Success” appeared in Entrepreneur and focuses on how women of color can help lift each other up by more openly sharing salary ranges, negotiation tips and business collaboration.

A New York Times piece published the same week entitled, “I’ll Share My Salary Information if You Share Yours” shared how more and more women are openly discussing topics that were historically considered taboo – salaries, stock options, signing bonuses, negotiation tactics and both “dream” and “walk-away” numbers.

Ten Successful Shark Tank Alumni Share Lessons Learned

three sharks underwater

While most entrepreneurs will never end up on the reality show Shark Tank, there are interesting lessons to be learned from those who have. From intellectual property protection to accepting feedback to envisioning your outcome to maintaining confidence to believing your gut, this piece on Medium shares important takeaways from ten women who pitched to the “sharks”.