On November 19th, Next Street celebrates Women’s Entrepreneurship Day by honoring, supporting, and empowering women entrepreneurs. The day was founded 10 years ago by Wendy Diamond in response to the challenges she saw women face in entrepreneurship and her commitment to break down barriers and create more opportunities. One of the primary ways in which Next Street aims to drive positive change and deep impact for women entrepreneurs is through our small business programs. Throughout our nearly 20-year history, we’ve served over 700,000 small businesses across the country with the vast majority of those being women.
Eight years ago, I had the privilege of designing and building a training program for women entrepreneurs called WE Master Leadership, which continues to thrive today. Utilizing Next Street’s human-centered design approach, my team developed a curriculum that empowers women to harness their natural talents while acquiring new soft skills to enhance their leadership effectiveness. A core element of our program is the idea of leveraging one’s identity as a valuable asset, which is a theme we have been exploring through our recent interviews with business owners for Black Business Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, and Women’s History Month.
In celebration of Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, we are exploring this theme further by sitting down with three highly successful female entrepreneurs that have participated in our WE Master Leadership program. In our conversations, each of the women highlight the importance of building confidence, expanding their community and network via the WE NYC program, and how their identities have been assets in their entrepreneurial journeys.
Identity as an Asset
Meet the Entrepreneurs
How have you leveraged your identity in your entrepreneurial journey?
What role does intersectionality play in your journey as a small business owner?
What do see as the value of programs like WE NYC?