By Violette de Ayala
In 2014, Wendy Diamond founded Women’s Entrepreneurship Day with an inaugural event at the United Nations in NYC while hosting simultaneous events in 144 other nations recognizing the day and mission of creating a movement honoring women entrepreneurs. Women’s Entrepreneurship Day since then, has been celebrated annually on November 19th. But, supporting women entrepreneurs isn’t something we should do just one day a year. Here are seven practical ways we can celebrate and support female founders year-round.
- Promote local women-owned small businesses on social media. Tag them when featuring them on your social media posts, comment on their feeds and tag friends that may be interested in learning more about the business.
- Give a review for your favorite women-owned businesses. Head over to Google, Yelp, Facebook and leave a positive review on their businesses and share all the reasons why others should support the business as well. Leave detailed reasons why you are leaving five stars. It may just be your review that makes the purchasing decision for others contemplating that business.
- Mentor a woman that is starting a business or looking to uplevel one. Assist and become the facilitator for other women to launch and succeed in business. Donate a few hours a year to mentor, support and directly help a woman owned business expand and level up their brand and outreach.
- Host a gathering of women entrepreneurs. Whether you host a small coffee chat on a virtual platform or, safely, a more business-centered luncheon or a casual gathering, seek to bring women together with the intention of connecting, collaborating and supporting each other.
- Join a women’s entrepreneur organization. Hundreds of networking organizations support women in business and female entrepreneurs. Many are funded exclusively by membership dues, and joining them supports their mission.
- Start your own business. If you’ve been on the sidelines of launching your own side hustle, this may be the perfect time to get your business off the ground.
- Make purchases from women-owned businesses: For the holiday season, vow to purchase gifts from female entrepreneurs and women owned small businesses. Choosing your gifts with the intention of helping and supporting women will inspire others to do the same.
You have the power to make a difference for women entrepreneurs. Hopefully, one of these simple tips can help you make a difference for someone else.
