BIGGER POSSIBILITIES
In this day and age , community can mean all the difference . Loud , unified voices are not only powerful – they are necessary . And just as rising tides will lift all boats , owning one ’ s power can begin to magnify it . There may never have been a greater opportunity in history for women to come together and help each other do what it is we know we must . Especially while the statistics continue to work against us . You see , though many of us live in the hardworking , fastpaced states of New Jersey and New York ; though many of us are out there , every day , pounding the pavement in
order to make things happen ; and though we have worked to create the drive and the tools necessary to succeed , at the end of the day , conversations with women everywhere still reveal rampant feelings of inadequacy and frustration that we are not yet where we want to be . Perhaps those feelings come from within – or perhaps they are due to external barriers – but regardless , research shows that women are not yet equal with men when it comes to work . From the percentage of women who receive capital funding , to the percentage of women- owned businesses who make it to the million-dollar mark , to the number of women chief
LINDA WELLBROCK Leading Women Entrepreneurs executives at Fortune 1000 companies – women typically still fall somewhere below ten percent . Yet , women control more than 50 percent of American wealth , account for the primary breadwinners in 40 percent of U . S . households , and are starting businesses at twice the rate of men . More and more women are beginning to see themselves as architects of change , with the flexibility and fortitude to pivot accordingly . I am proud to say I count myself among them . Eight years ago , when I found myself unemployed with two year-old twins , I took a hard look at my resume . I had great marketing experience in the financial industry , having worked for high-net-worth individuals and institutions at UBS and Merrill Lynch . I had publishing , writing and event planning experience after serving as vice president of business development and associate publisher for Garden State Women Magazine . And , I had an MBA in Entrepreneurial Studies from the Rothman Institute of Entrepreneurial Studies at Fairleigh Dickenson University . So , instead of returning to corporate America , I decided to take a leap of faith and establish the foundation for what would become Leading Women Entrepreneurs & Business Owners in 2011 . Working off the idea that women especially were in need of greater visibility platforms , I established a business resource for women business owners by harnessing the power of the media and hosting recognition ceremonies , global retreats , educational and networking events , and investor dinners .
Photos by Mavash Saba – Saba Photography
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