A 19-year Journey of Women Changing the World for Female Entrepreneurs

Monday Motivation, Wisdom, Inspiration, Women’s History Month

On March 3, 2005, I parked my car at the curb and walked inside the city office with excitement in my eyes. With $50, identification, and a name for my second company, I filled out paperwork for my new company, Women T.I.E.S. – Women Together Inspiring Entrepreneurial Success. Those words were carefully chosen to reflect what I envisioned would happen as I connected, united, promoted, and marketed women entrepreneurs across New York State so they could open up their marketplace and revenue potential. I saw it. I believed in it.

I was already running a 10-year-old event planning and management company called Five Star Events. The difference was with that company I was planning events for clients, organizations, and corporations instead of for myself. I loved it. It opened doors, but it didn’t have an important enough mission. I wanted to change the world in some way – my world and community of females – in some positive way. Women TIES was the perfect vehicle to do this as female business ownership was on the rise as the calendar changed into the 2000s.

There were already excellent female-focused business organizations like the Mohawk Valley Women’s Business Network (MVWBN) based in Utica and the Rochester Women’s Network (RWN) running successfully in Rochester, but they weren’t trying to connect women along the Thruway to do business together they were locally focused. I wanted women to travel Route 90 and conduct business with other women first, before hiring a man in their locale, to create a stronger financial buying platform for women since they make less pay than men.

It was a novel concept at the time. No one thought a feminist-focused buying mission would work. “Women don’t earn enough money to buy from other women and they don’t like spending money,” said a male advisor at a local university who was hosting events for female business owners. I wondered why he was in the “business” to begin with a bad attitude like that. You know what I learned early on, women must be the ones changing the world for women, not men. They can’t really sense the dire need for equality in certain areas.

Eventually, I was asked by women to bring Women TIES, LLC to their community. We hosted events in Oswego, Watertown, Ithaca, Auburn, Skaneateles, Binghamton, Owego, Cortland, Utica, Rome, Little Falls, Albany, Saratoga Springs, Canandaigua, and Rochester. We also created 9 Annual Retreats called “Women Inspiring Success: The Women TIES Retreat”. Women TIES grew larger than I imagined on March 3, 2005, all because of the women who believed in what we were doing and offering.

I never looked back from that thought not including men as speakers, members, or sponsors. I wanted women to be first and center at my events to make sure they were the ones walking away with the money. I didn’t need to create a monetary platform for men., they already had one which excluded women for centuries. I received a phone call one day from a man asking to attend an event. I turned him down. He said to me, “Well, I am going to start a company called Men TIES then,” to which I replied, “Good for you. Good luck.” I meant it.

As Women TIES celebrated its 19^th birthday yesterday, on my father’s birthday, my husband and sons celebrated with me. They know I love men but that I was put on this earth to help women entrepreneurs and women in business make more money through my connections, events, programs, and words. Without all the amazing women who have crossed my path, attended events, monetarily supported the company, shared our news, invited others to check us out, or bought from other women, the ultimate gift back to me, I would not be sharing this post today.

Women are amazing. They remain the center of my heart in all things business and sports. Without them, without each other, we couldn’t have done anything positive to change the world for the better. Keep rocking on women; we will get there…together.