Tonight I attended the”FIRESIDE CHAT WITH TORY BURCH” presented by Bank of America and the Tory Burch Foundation. The event started with a short film about women entrepreneurs typically not asking for capital when it is time to do so. The video also showed different options on how to acquire capital (personal, family&friends, banks, third party institutions, angel investors, or venture capitalist). A statistic that stuck with me was only every 23rd dollar loaned goes to women entrepreneurs.
Then followed a panel discussion with two female entrepreneurs that became part of the Tory Burch Foundation Network and received funding through one of the foundation’s partners, the People Fund. What both business women had in common was the fact that their demand was exceeding their supply and it was time to grow. They were turned down by financial institutions but thanks to the People Fund they obtained capital at lower interest rates and on top of that received the necessary guidance and financial education to maintain a thriving business.
Highlight of this evening was Tory Burch‘s advice for women entrepreneurs:
- Social Media is a great way to advertise your business, this powerful tool wasn’t available back in the day. But when using social media be authentic, people nowadays are so tech-savvy that will notice when you are being dishonest.
- Develop a culture based on your values early on, make it known to your employees why you started your business. Be transparent! It was her goal to establish a lifestyle brand to fund a foundation for less fortunate.
- When going through rough times, just go through them, don’t over-stress. Look forward and never back! Tory Burch went through a divorce and not long after through a very public law suit, while her business was still in the beginning stages. She knew it would eventually be over and kept the bigger picture in mind.
- Let the closed doors fuel you to go even harder!
If it is time for you to grow, definitely check out The Tory Burch Foundation and the People Fund. Please share this info with other women entrepreneurs!!!
XOXO,
Dynamically Branded