Is Her Way a for-profit business? If so, what is your business model and what has your revenue been like thus far?
Her Way is for passion. Personally, I believe that a return on investment is not necessarily monetary. I could never put a price tag on the invaluable relationships I’ve been able to gain from this platform. Â In business, of course the goal is to obtain financial freedom, but for me, business is not a numbers thing, it’s a people thing. Â You get the people right, the numbers will come. The business model has been to be 100% honest with who our target audience is and what it is they want, not what we want to give them.
Women are complex and forever evolving. Â If I am to provide a service that supports ‘today’s woman’ and cultivate an agenda to build community, then I need to be honest and intentional about the experiences I create for these women to thrive. Â Whether it be educational gateways, opportunities to network or giving access to resources, a successful business gives more than it extracts; and that is what makes Her Way different.
How much capital did it take for you to start your business and how did you fund it?
One thing my dad has always told me about business, is to pay yourself first. To me, paying myself first is to be of service to others. Â It is to invest and take risks in the areas that you are most passionate about, without expectation. Â It is the seed we choose to sow in others that allows manifestation to take root in our own lives. It took less than $5,000 of personal savings to host the first Her Way event in May 2014, and, even then, the momentum was focused on fostering a collaborative dialogue. The goal was to break event. Â I had no idea that one experience had the power to impact so many.
So, of course, where there is momentum, there has to be continuity of that. Working a full- time job also helps to bridge the financial gap in some areas, yet you have to be realistic about what it truly takes to sustain a business. Â Momentum is great, but sustainability is what positions you. I started to work smarter. I taught myself web and graphic design, and that helped streamline costs for digital packaging of the brand, as well as create an additional income stream.
What are three big principles behind Her Way ?
The three biggest principles behind Her Way has a lot to do with me personally being able to live the advice that I give to others. To be in a space where I can take my own self inventory, without even realizing that my own transparencies give other women permission to do the same.
1. Her Success is not My Failure. It is our mantra and a daily affirmation that says, when ‘she wins, we all win.’ Collective leadership is not only a choice, but it’s the power to co-create without judgment or competitive advantage. To be able to cheer on our peers without fear that it threatens our own gifts and talents. We are women. Â It is in our makeup to be great. Â Show me one successful woman, and I’ll show you her front row. I’ll show you that she did not get there alone.
2. Unapologetic Ambition. We as women do not have to apologize for our creativity, for our life choices, for how and what we choose to give our time to, at the pace of which we do a thing, whether we want to take all day to get dressed, or how we wear our hair, or if we choose to leave a job after a year, or change a major during our junior year in college, or just live on our own terms. Â We have the right to do what we want to do, at the beat of our own drums, in the way that it will complement our life. We do not have to apologize for any of it just because it makes another person uncomfortably shift in their seat. Â We can give ourselves permission to thrive, without validation.
3. You are Enough. There is so much pressure to be all things.  I am here to dismantle that superwoman myth and say that you, as you are, will always be enough. You loving what you do and how you can only do it, is enough.  As long as you can look at yourself at the end of the day and say  ‘I exhausted 100% of the best parts of me today,’ then that is enough.  You don’t have to stretch and compromise who you are to accommodate someone else’s views of what you should be.
What do your events offer, and what do you want women to gain from attending sessions like Leadership Her Way?
Her Way is an experience. Â No two events will ever be the same. Â Her Way thinks about every story and every journey in the room, and we use that to, not only foster community, but to really think about the overall experience. From the venue, to the speakers, to the content and to the tangible things that if women never attend another event, they can say that it did what it needed to do for them in that moment beyond expectation. We offer a feeling, one that is uplifting, empowering, and accepting.We offer a safe space for honest dialogue. Â We offer camaraderie. We offer a network of people who are in transition, are still figuring it out, or women who have made it and are not afraid to reach back. We want women to walk away with the tools, resources, and most importantly, relationships. Â We want to redefine friendship and sisterhood.