The BIMA Summer Sizzler is the must-attend networking event for marketing and media professionals.
08/11/2022
5:30pm - 8:30pm
Museum of Science
The Fierce Urgency of Now Festival brings Boston’s diverse young professionals together with business leaders, organizations and their peers to build connection, advance careers and ignite positive change.
This is an opportunity to meet the Chamber staff as you learn how to leverage your Chamber benefits effectively to meet your goals through our offerings.
09/29/2022
2:00pm - 3:30pm
Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce
Our Boston’s Future Leaders (BFL) program provides emerging leaders with a socially conscious and civically engaged leadership toolkit, as well as the opportunity to apply their knowledge through experiential assignments.
We are now recruiting for our 2022 fall DEI cohort! We hope you’ll join us in our mission to increase DEI fluency and change in the Boston business community – starting with you.
Our Women’s Leadership Program enables you to take your leadership to the next level by arming you with the most in-demand leadership toolkit.
Our Economic Inclusion Committee provides strategic support around research, policies, and programs that are focused on building equal opportunity.
We are developing an ecosystem of corporations and partners with the influence and buying power to transform economic inclusion for minority business enterprises (MBEs).
City Awake empowers young professionals in a variety of ways that encourages these rising leaders to stay invested in the region’s future success.
BIMA (the Boston Interactive Media Association) serves a vibrant community of like-minded professionals from agencies, brands, publishers, and ad-tech companies with business interests in the New England market.
For more than 25 years, the Chamber’s Women’s Network has connected female professionals of all background and career levels. Today, our Women’s Network is the largest in New England, strengthening the professional networks of women each year.
Through MITX (the Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange), we’re building valuable connections between the people and ideas behind technology and its impact on the future of customer experiences, all to create a community that’s finding tomorrow’s solutions together.
We support small business through public policy initiatives, events designed to connect small businesses in Greater Boston to their peers and established business leaders, professional development offerings, and free small business advising.
Explore our mission and values to better understand how we are leading the business community forward.
Our member directory is your resource to discover, connect, and engage with Boston’s businesses from every industry and sector.
On Tuesday, February 15, the Women’s Network held its first event of 2022. “The Journey to Success: Celebrating Female Entrepreneurs,” was a virtual panel made up of the Greater Boston community’s most inspiring female entrepreneurs from the hospitality, retail, and consulting industries: Anna Foster, Founder, CEO, and Partner of A Maven’s World Lifestyle Brand and Culture Solutions DEI Consulting and Recruiting, Hadley Douglas, Founder and President of The Urban Grape<span class=NormalTextRun CommentStart CommentHighlightPipeRest CommentHighlightRest SCXW51557634 BCX8 <the= urban= grape, Nia Grace, Restauranteur and Co-Founder of the Boston Black Hospitality Coalition, and moderator Donna Levin, CEO of Arthur M. Blank School for Entrepreneurial Leadership, Babson College.
The event opened with Susan Penta, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at MIDIOR Consulting, and the new Chair of the Women’s Network Advisory Board. Susan echoed the importance of championing local women– and minority–owned businesses. Michelle Thompson Dolberry, Chief Diversity Equity and Inclusion of MFS Investment Management shared a few words on women’s strengths and the gift of fearlessness, then introduced each panelist and welcomed the moderator.
Moderator Donna Levin, of Babson College kicked off the<span class=NormalTextRun SCXW187574524 BCX8 <the= panel discussion by sharing statistics that reflected the undeniable importance of small businesses: “[They] are the lifeblood of our country. According to the SBA, 99.9% of businesses are classified as small businesses, and 50% are women-owned.” The panelists then discussed their journeys of founding and building successful businesses, and addressed pandemic-related challenges, the importance of community engagement, critical investments in DEI, and what more can be done to continue uplifting the region’s female entrepreneurs and women-owned minority business enterprises. Here are the event’s biggest takeaways from the panelists:
“Saying yes to everything is a detriment to yourself when you don’t have the capacity to do it all. I am now under committing and over delivering. That is the journey that I’m now on.”
Anna emphasized that even though we’re trained to multi-task, you can’t only give 10% to 10 things. You need to prioritize the things that add value to your life.
“My first customer is my team. Team meetings allow us to encourage, teach, and learn from each other. I have to listen to my team and know when they need to breathe.”
When you take the time to listen to your team, you will be able to better help them navigate trying times and take action before they reach a breaking point.
There’s no way that a woman garners more investment money than a man. Talk to any female entrepreneur and you’ll hear the story of struggle, trying to grow a business.
This is an important reminder that we have a long way to go, but by uplifting and supporting the women in our community, we can make an impact in closing the gap.
Thank you for joining us for a conversation and celebration of Boston’s entrepreneurial spirit featuring renowned women-owned businesses from the hospitality, retail, and consulting industries. If not already a member, consider joining the Women’s Network for more virtual and in-person events that are sure to leave you feeling empowered and inspired.
Watch the full conversation now!
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