Business cards and contact information were shared widely in Boston’s Tech Superpowers building Oct. 3 as more than 100 female small business owners, startup holders, and entrepreneurs from Boston and surrounding areas convened for a networking event put on by the Mayor’s Office of Women Advancement.
The event fostered conversations surrounding brick-and-mortar businesses, entrepreneurship and the nuances of being women in a male-dominated field. The event featured an ice-breaking bingo game, personal conversation prompts and an opportunity for the business owners to network with each other.
Karen Thurston, a South Boston resident, juggles several roles as a female entrepreneur. Thurston’s main business is Clarity LLC, a business strategizing company, but she also owns a website to sell her art, Artbecomesyou.com, runs Sweet Laundromat in Somerville and is on the board for the nonprofit Catalyst Conversations.
“I have been on a quest to find other business owners,” she said. “Being an entrepreneur, you really think differently. The mindset, the things that you think about, the things that you do every single day, and your daily life — your thought patterns change, and it’s very important to have other people who are thinking the same way.”
Roxbury native Kyra Hunter agrees. Having come to the event to “foster connections,” Hunter said that “entrepreneurship can be mentally and physically draining, but it is what I’m passionate about.”
Hunter founded Everrise Collective Group, LLC in April and is president of Boston’s chapter of the Black Girl Social Club. Everrise is a business operations consulting firm that works to support small to mid-size businesses, helping them to “move to the next level.” Its work allows for other companies to function with a support system in the wings.
Small businesses require sufficient effort to continue to function. Renee Fry, from Quincy, Mass., admitted that “the highs are super high, and the lows are super low” for small businesses.
Fry founded Gentreo.com with her sister, which she described as “a life milestone company.” The idea for the business sparked after the pair completed an estate plan for their father. They wanted to decomplicate the process of making legal plans to protect families, making it more accessible and affordable.
“I don’t think you ever really know what you’re getting into,” Fry said. “You really need to have the personality and the ability to put yourself out there and be able to sell your business.”
The event focused on the growth and importance of small businesses, giving attendees a chance to confer and share what their companies do. Those in the room who have yet to start their small business were encouraged to do so by their peers.
Fry reflected on her own experience and offered advice to new business owners.
“Network, network, network. But be very clear in your asks and what you want,” Fry said.
Thurston took a similar stance.
“There are resources all over,” she said. “If you have an idea, go for it. Don’t stop.”
Looking to the future, Thurston believes that small businesses and owners will play a key role in the development of Boston and the surrounding areas.
“The future, really, I think is in small businesses. The real character of a community is made through small businesses and individual people,” Thurston said.
