As a woman in business, owner of two small businesses, I’ve joined many communities such as Girlboss and the Female Founders Collective to be surrounded by others who are also mid-journey. A lot of the time, these digital communal spaces are filled with asks and insights. This is a good thing! We need to support each other and I want to be surrounded by like-minded founders to celebrate the wins with, too. With all the stress, anxiety and worry that has come with this crisis for my small businesses and family, I’m thrilled to share GOOD news with all of you!
It’s official: we were able to raise private funding to support our plans to expand our co work and community space in New York. It took persistent communication with the folks interested in investing earlier this year and just this week they are IN! I hope this goes to show there are folks out there that are still investing, looking for a way to be part of the recovery of our economy and believe they can do it through small business. Small business is not just a cliche. Collectively, we demonstrate our impact by making up 44% of the economic activity in the US. This is why we are hearing the importance of supporting small businesses during this time. We were also funded for the PPP and EIDL, all this week. Another bit of good news worth sharing and a lesson in persistence in filling out forms after forms after forms, with no real knowledge if it was all worth it. Turns out, it was!
As female founders, we’re all aware of what the media tells us: women are less likely to be funded. But with the change in the landscape of our society, we’re getting new messages. Women are essential workers. Our businesses are essential. Our work ethic is worth investing in. We can run successful businesses and run a household, simultaneously. We are strong and resilient and able to evolve with the times.
I hope you’ll join me in a happy dance of celebration. We will get through this and so will you! If anyone is interested in learning more how we were able to get it done, reach out! I’m happy to share all the things with this community and give the support we all need right now. Sometimes, it’s a real roadmap, sometimes it’s just a sounding board. Regardless, we are here for you. I really look forward to seeing all of you on the other side of this, standing tall and confident!