Money Makers: Supporting Women Entrepreneurs

With the Holidays around the corner one might ask: Why does the world need to support women founders? The answer lives and is vindicated within these basic facts: Women account for 85 percent of consumer purchases and control $20 trillion in worldwide spending. At the same time, they perform 66 percent of the world’s work and only earn 10 percent of the world’s income. 

The Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization (WEDO) #ChooseWOMEN campaign, is a grassroots social media movement designed to inspire women and men to pledge their support to #ChooseWOMEN everywhere. 
I had a chance to interview Wendy Diamond, CEO and Founder of Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization (WEDO)/#ChooseWOMEN to learn more.

Why are women founders important to the economy?
Times have changed. Entrepreneurship is a leading growth segment of our modern day economy. Women business owners are at the forefront of our economic recovery, growth, and expansion. They deserve our recognition, support, and resources!

Women account for 85 percent of consumer purchases and control $20 trillion in worldwide spending. At the same time, they perform 66 percent of the world’s work and only earn 10 percent of the world’s income.

Women are the invisible CEO’s of our households, driving many of our purchasing decisions while fueling our economy. Female founders enter entrepreneurship with a wealth of unique skills and innate talents that our economy needs to thrive and grow.

Women business owners play a vital role in critical facets of our economy. The development of women-owned businesses has been proven to increase productivity, diversification as well as income equality. Female entrepreneurship has been shown to reduce the cycle of poverty around the world. Women in business tend to reinvest their dollars locally far more so than men, fueling our local economies. Women entrepreneurs are known to be highly innovative and creative. This natural ability to “think outside the box” stimulates new business ventures in addition to filling various niches and consumer needs.

How can people support female entrepreneurs?
Despite the disruption of global pandemic as well as the infinite obstacles women entrepreneurs continue to face, female entrepreneurship expanded by 4% in 2021! Supporting women in business is a powerful way to our economic recovery and expansion. Here are several simple ways to provide support to women entrepreneurs:

• Remember to always #ChooseWOMEN and to Shop at Women-Owned Businesses: One of the best and easiest ways to help women succeed in business is through shopping at female founded businesses. Your dollars directly impact the success of women entrepreneurs.
• Invest in Women Entrepreneurs: With less than 2% of Venture Capital allocated to women owned businesses, investing in women launching businesses is one of the best ways to provide financial support and to empower women to succeed.
• Celebrate Female Founders: If you know a woman entrepreneur, shout her achievements to the rooftops! Encouragement is free yet priceless as positivity is one of the most welcome ways to support women in business.
• Support Fellow Female Entrepreneurs on Social Media: If you have a social media platform, now is the time to use it for good and to shine a light on your fellow female entrepreneurs by highlighting their businesses.
• Become a Mentor & Share Your Knowledge: Knowledge is the most important asset you own. Sharing invaluable lessons, resources and information are some of the most invaluable ways to give back to women in business who can’t afford to pay for your priceless wisdom.
• Launch a Female Founded Business: Inspire your peers as well as future generations by starting your very own business.

Most importantly, keep women owned businesses and anything and everything created by a woman at the forefront of your purchasing decisions. Our Foundation launched #ChooseWOMEN to rally the world to Choose to read books by women, the films they make, the concerts they sing at. Choose women to promote. To lead. To mentor. Choose to follow women’s feeds. And constantly share their voice. Whoever we are, wherever we live, when we choose women, we don’t just add cracks to that glass ceiling. We become a united power that can actually shatter it in our lifetimes.

What can adults do to encourage the next generation of female entrepreneurs?
It used to be that going to school and earning good grades was all that was required of women.

We’ve come a long way!

That path no longer works for today’s female entrepreneurs where success is far more dependent on critical thinking, a strong sense of self and character as well as a solid work ethic that goes well beyond the traditional 9 to 5 job.

The best way to empower women is by helping them to become financially independent in their younger years. A strong financial foundation will help to prepare them when they are ready to launch a business and enter the world of female entrepreneurship. Here are some additional and powerful ways to support future generations of women in business:

• Find a Mentor: Look for a role model, someone in your industry, who can educate, guide and assist you on your journey as a female entrepreneur. Learning from someone who has walked this path before you is invaluable.
• Community is Key: Find a supportive female network to provide camaraderie, companionship, compassion and community throughout your entrepreneurship journey. Empathy and understanding are priceless.
• Share Your Voice: Joining a panel discussion can be a great way to share your story and connect with fellow female entrepreneurs. A great example of this is Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization which offers worldwide networking events and panel discussions focusing on women in business.
• Host a Workshop: A fun way to share your knowledge and experience is by hosting events and workshops that empower and inspire female entrepreneurs.
• Be an Open Book & Share Your Resources: A simple yet effective way to support female entrepreneurs is by sharing resources that have helped you. Sending links to books, courses, podcasts, and more, is an easy way to share great resources and knowledge. Pay it forward!
• Offer Words of Encouragement: Sometimes the best thing you can do is also the simplest - sharing kind & encouraging words. The path of a female entrepreneur can be lonely, stressful and challenging. Uplifting words can make all the difference in the life of a budding female entrepreneur.
• Last but not least ... prioritize self care. Taking breaks and time for yourself can make all the difference in your journey as a female entrepreneur. Remember that a successful business takes time, patience and lots of hard work. Taking care of business as a female entrepreneur means taking care of you. Every day.

Here are some of WEDO's featured women-owned picks:
1) Gourmet Truffle Box from Paige Patisserie
“We are a unique dessert company that designs gourmet truffles. We create our products from organic chocolate, imported from Ghana, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Our chocolate is stone-ground using Molinos. The minimal processing preserves its rich, bold flavors, and gives it a more gritty, natural texture. Also, we buy direct trade, which ensures that the small farms that produce our chocolate receive the payment they deserve.”

2) Jiggy Puzzles Subscription; $29 Per Month
As the days grow darker, we'll be spending an increasing amount of time in our homes and will need activities to keep us busy. Jiggy Puzzles is a Shark Tank-approved brand that was created in 2019 by Kaylin Marcotte, who used puzzles to relax after working at a stressful start-up during the day. The company offers monthly, bi-monthly, and quarterly subscription boxes featuring a new puzzle designed by up-and-coming artists that could entertain your friend all year long.


About Wendy Diamond
Internationally Renowned Social Entrepreneur, Impact Investor, Animal Advocate, Humanitarian, Best Selling Author - Wendy Diamond is CEO and Founder of Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization (WEDO)/#ChooseWOMEN, a non-governmental philanthropic volunteer organization with chapters in 144 countries and 112 Universities/Colleges on a global mission to empower WOMEN in business to alleviate poverty.

She is an Investor/Advisor in social impact disruptive technologies and funds including Bidversity, EFF Ventures, OpenGrants, Producers Market, Quantum Rock Technologies, Perceptive Capital, Waggit, LOOK Lateral Art, CoinFund, IPWE , Trust Circle, IGP Energy, Blocktower Capital, Tooth and Tailz, Crescent Capital, Infinigon Group, SAFE Health App, BasePaws, Farma Trust, Breathometer, and SNAKT Video APP. CLICK HERE to learn more!

Wendy has authored 10 widely-celebrated books, garnered Three Guinness World Records, and has appeared in media outlets including Oprah, NBC’s Today Show, Bloomberg, The New York Times and Forbes. She has been also been a featured keynote speaker at the United Nations, Harvard University and Davos.

Wendy sits on the Advisory Boards of Ellis Island Honors Society, Global Alliance for A Sustainable Planet (GASP), Global Women in Blockchain, World Business Angel Investors, Humane Society of New York and Grey Muzzle Foundation. Prior to WEDO, Wendy founded Animal Fair Media, Inc., the premiere pet lifestyle media platform bridging celebrity, pop culture and animal rescue, to support animal welfare when she learned 12 million animals were euthanized a year!

Women's Entrepreneurship Day Organization/#WomenWOW #ChooseWOMEN

http://www.womenseday.org

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