Plus, join us for coffee and conversation every Tuesday morning!
April 2022
The Women Entrepreneurs Issue
Finding Your People
Not many things are as isolating as feeling like you’re going through something alone. Whether it’s difficulty in your relationships, a physical or mental struggle, or starting your own business — it’s easy to crawl into your shell and become defeated. But the truth is, you’re never alone in your experiences.
There’s always someone else out there (and likely more than one!) who is on the same journey or has navigated a similar one. The tricky part is finding and connecting with them.
Bringing people together to find their reflection in others and engage over shared experiences is what we hope to achieve during our Salon Gatherings hosted by Miror. And the good news is, we have a new four-part series beginning May 11.
Focused on female entrepreneurs, we’ll explore the challenges, obstacles, solutions, and excitement of being a woman in charge. Most importantly, we’ll help you find your people — the ones you can lean on through the ups and downs even after the series is over. See you there!
Until next week,
—Meredith
P.S. We define entrepreneurs as anyone who is creating something from nothing. Someone who is building their own business, who is their own boss. You do not have to be a startup 'founder.' (That's a loaded phrase!)
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Discovering Local Women Like You
Calling all female entrepreneurs. Join us and fellow women business owners for The Collective Shift: A Gathering Series For Entrepreneurs, a four-part facilitated series taking place on May 11, 18, June 1, and 8. Come for one or sign up for all four sessions! Either way, we’ll settle in at The Salon to tackle a range of topics and common experiences among those starting their own business.
Born out of her own feelings of isolation as a female entrepreneur, Cassie Guerin, Salon member and founder of Miror, created the series to bring together like-minded women who are charting their own paths to connect over their shared hopes, dreams, and frustrations. Expect conversations centered on loneliness, fear of failure, limiting beliefs (or imposter syndrome), burnout, and whatever else naturally comes to the surface.
“I started my own company two years ago and it’s been challenging but also super isolating. I know I’m not alone, and I’ve even been in an accelerator with a lot of other companies. But the journey of an entrepreneur is lonely to start with — and with Covid, fewer people were using coworking, accelerator, or incubator spaces. I kept thinking, ‘Where are the other people I can meet to understand if I’m the only one going through these scenarios?’”
“Ironically, my company is focused on bringing people together, yet here I was trying to start a company and was feeling so alone. I realized I don’t know if I want to do the big scaling startup venture capital route because I started to drift so much from the mission of bringing people together. That’s when I decided to rework things and get back to my basics. To start, I’m hosting a gathering for entrepreneurs because I have an experience of what it can be like.”
“The things that we’re going to talk about aren’t necessarily unique to female entrepreneurs but the ways we experience them are. And that has to do with the social structures that we experience — gender being part of the social structures that exist in the places we work and where we fit into that.”
“My number one hope is participants find some relief in the form of connection and the feeling that they’re not the only one. That they’re rejuvenated, inspired, excited, and reminded of why they started the journey of an entrepreneur in the first place.”
Debut of The No Club: Putting a Stop to Women’s Dead-End Work. Join us to celebrate the upcoming debut of this groundbreaking book and connect with authors Linda Babcock, Brenda Peyser, Lise Vesterlund, and Laurie Weingart in our upcoming Salon Conversation. A practical, timely guide, the ultimate goal of the book is to improve gender equity in the workplace. We’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at the foursome’s journey as a club and research team and how the authors took control of their work and personal lives while fostering a deep friendship and a research agenda that they hope will impact the lives of all women and organizations.
Start your day with a pick-me-up and conversation. Drop in to The Salon every Tuesday morning to hang out with (and meet!) fellow Salon members, warm up with complimentary coffee or tea, and generally have a good time. It’s a great way to get a feel for The Salon and connect with local women. Oh, and don’t hesitate to bring a friend along. Register here!
In celebration of the upcoming debut of their groundbreaking book The No Club: Putting a Stop to Women’s Dead-End Work, connect with authors Linda Babcock, Brenda Peyser, Lise Vesterlund, and Laurie Weingart in our upcoming Salon Conversation. A practical, timely guide, the ultimate goal of the book is to improve gender equity in the workplace. We’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at the foursome’s journey as a club and research team and how the authors supported one another in taking control of their work and personal lives while fostering a deep friendship and a research agenda that they hope will impact the lives of all women and organizations. Register here!
Join local author Candace Jane Opper for an in-person reading of her debut book Certain and Impossible Events. The literary work has earned a spot on NPR's 2021 Books We Love List and orbits the death of a 14-year-old boy who shot and killed himself a week after Kurt Cobain’s suicide became international news. Throughout the book, Candace contemplates our collective assumptions about suicide, the narratives passed down to us in the media, and how we process grief. Register here!
Spring forward with us during our first IRL membership event! Connect with fellow members, meet the amazing women you may have only talked with via Zoom, and enjoy a laid-back evening of laughter, learning, and fun. We can’t wait to hang out and socialize with all the brilliant women in Pittsburgh. Complimentary wine and snacks provided. Register here!
Also ICYMI...
It’s Earth Day! 🌎 Whether you pick up litter in your neighborhood, go for a walk, or go electronic-free for the afternoon — be sure to take a few moments to appreciate nature and our awesome planet. 💚
Lo Bar, a local woman-owned cocktail catering business 🍸 has your next celebration or special occasion covered with inventive concoctions you have to taste to believe. 🍹
You don’t have to be a vegetarian to be excited about FarmerxBaker’s new spring menu. ✨ The female-fronted Aspinwall staple at the Allegheny Riverfront Park is now serving up handmade organic grain bagels, fried seitan sandwiches, and more. 👩🌾
Ever since owner Elsa Santos opened The Azorean Cafe in Bloomfield, it’s been an instant hit. 😊 Stop by for warm, comforting breakfast and lunch dishes inspired by traditional Portuguese cuisine. They have coffee, too! ☕
Ideas for unwinding this weekend...
Jumping in the car and taking a trek to the Big Mac Museum in North Huntingdon. 🍔
