A Real Truth About My Announcement

Thursday Thoughts from a Retiring Woman Entrepreneur

As I swept golden leaves off my pool deck yesterday, the first day since announcing the closing of the major part of my 2-decade business at the end of the year, I felt different – almost like a kid on their first day of summer vacation on a beautiful, blue sky, warm day. I questioned why.

When I glanced back at the public launch of my company, I remember wanting to announce its formation at the SU WISE Conference the third year in a row I was asked and agreed to emcee it for free. I assumed it was the perfect place to exclaim my new business venture focused on promoting, marketing, and uniting women entrepreneurs around the state. Why would anyone mind after my three years of service to the event?

I was literally tinkled pink until the male in charge of the event told me I couldn’t. In fact, he insinuated I copied the concept and he’d do something about it if I mentioned it at the podium. How ironic, I thought being threatened by a man I was sitting next to at the head table who was supposed to be helping women business owners. Being the ever-dutiful person I am, I didn’t mention my company’s new formation at the podium.

WISE had promised me an event table as a gift for my emceeing time, but to no surprise, this man made sure my table was placed in the worst location out of foot traffic to ensure it would be hard to find Women TIES corporate table. A mix of anger and sadness came over me as I left the conference but with a steely determination to never allow a man to control my entrepreneurial path again, ever.

After the WISE event ended, I was also kicked off its advisory board by two close friends who had been part of an organization called WBOC I grew and led for 9 years. It wasn’t so much being kicked off the board, but by who kicked me off – women who had succumbed to the pressure of this man. Here I had volunteered my leadership time for nine years elevating women in Syracuse only to have two of them take over my position as leaders of WBOC, and release me publicly from the WISE Board.

With $10,000 invested in my new enterprise, I couldn’t do anything but advance my plans amid contempt in my own city. It was hard. It was painful. It was all I could do to not want to give up, but I didn’t. And when no one came to my first Women TIES Syracuse event, I still didn’t take no for an answer. I planned another one and another one and another one until Women TIES was popular and expanding – mostly due to women entrepreneurs in other regions of the state.

I write of this now because yesterday as I raked those golden leaves, I realized the internal and external pressure was finally off my shoulders – 18 years of defending myself, my actions, my company’s mission, and my personal purpose finally dissipated. I wondered if my hair would suddenly pop out all over as to scream “Halleluiah!”

I have so many more truths and lessons to share with women entrepreneurs based on my own 30-year history as the founder and owner of two companies and I plan to in time, but for now, I am going to enjoy the release of the pressure, I didn’t even know existed, while raking leaves during a beautiful season of the year and thanking God for the positive women who lifted me up and contributed to the success of my company all over New York.