In Support of Women Entrepreneurs

I'm passionate about small businesses, especially those owned by women. Today, Tory Burch has grown to a company of almost 700 people, but seven years ago, I started the company out of my apartment with just two. I believe that small businesses are the backbone of the economy. They create 75 percent of new jobs.

Unfortunately, 22 million people are currently unemployed in the U.S. We need to find ways to support the small business community so that they can create more jobs.

We launched the Tory Burch Foundation with the goal of economically empowering women. With Accion USA, our microlending partner, we provide women with the financial support they need to start and grow businesses through microfinance. The average loan is $8,000 and creates or saves 2.4 jobs.

Just as important as capital, entrepreneurs need advice. When starting my company, I personally gained so much from the wisdom and experience of others. To that end, one of the most satisfying moments for me came late last week when the Tory Burch Foundation hosted its first mentor event.

The best way to describe the evening is speed dating for entrepreneurs. We paired up more than 100 new small business owners with nine mentors, people who are successes in their fields, like Jimmy Choo's Tamara Mellon, Tracey Kemble of the Marcus Samuelsson Group and American Express' Jessica Igoe.

There was no script for any of the parties, no plan other than to share ideas and advice. To be honest, like any first date, we were a little bit nervous going into it. Would this work? Would this be of any help to the mentees?

• • • • Tory Burch with two small business owners at the Tory Burch Foundation mentor event.

Throughout the evening, I walked from group to group, amazed by what I heard, and inspired to be in a room full of women (and a few amazing men) helping women. The energy was contagious. Here is some of the great advice I overheard:

• " 'No' is just the beginning of the conversation," said Emily Rafferty, President of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
• "Remember to set your goals then tackle them one after another," said Alexa Rodulfo, owner of Alexa Rodulfo.
• "Make a list of companies you think you are relevant to, call them, be honest and say, 'I would really appreciate 20 minutes of your time.' Most people will say yes," said Mario Grauso, President of Vera Wang.

...And our guests' biggest concerns when it comes to starting and sustaining a small business:

• "Marketing," said both Geetha Jayaraman, President and Founder of Grab 'Em Snacks, and Gwen Green, designer of Ms. BoDangles.
• "Having enough energy to keep it going sometimes," said Mary Anne Davis, designer/owner of Davistudio Fine Porcelain.
• "My biggest challenge is knowing when to take my one-year old business to the next phase," said Michelle Daniels, owner/designer of 5115 Jewelry Designs.

The most powerful moment was when one mentee said she couldn't wait to return for the next Tory Burch Foundation event -- as a mentor.


Learn more about how you can support women entrepreneurs through the Tory Burch Foundation.

 

Comments

[Trice Harajukubarbie]

08:56 PM on 10/25/2010

Excellent, thumbs up to Tory Burch for doing this, there are alot of women out there like me trying to achieve their dreams, and financial limitations sometimes crush everything and it's dishearting sometimes seeing wealthy people throwing away money and not even thinking about what they can do to give back or help others.

[Andrew Lohr]

11:51 AM on 10/25/2010

Yeah, institute the whole Institute for Justice (www.ij.org) agenda: deregulate so it's easier to do something! Lots of regulations (not all) are by the established doers wanting to keep competition out.

[Josie Ho]

02:42 PM on 10/21/2010

I wonder how many of the women there are entrepreneurs who work inside male dominated industries. There are plenty of women in high places in fashion, food and the arts. I keep hearing a lot about women founders, or women owners or women entrepreneurs...but I don't actually see a lot of opportunities filtering down...just alot of talk about support being important.

[Cynthia Newlin Oconnor]

07:57 AM on 10/21/2010

Besides absolutely adoring your fashion designs, you are a woman that I totally admire and respect. You are doing so much more that putting a shirt on someone's back, you are giving thousands the help to put a shirt on their backs (akin to the saying, teach a man to fish....!!

Congratulations. I hope to help you in the future. I started my own company a few years back and am hoping to get to the next level when my daughter leaves for college in a year.

Thank you for caring and going the extra (100) mile(s)!

[hadenoughtoo]

09:20 PM on 10/20/2010

I have an idea. Raise their taxes and over-regulate them. That should help.

[nik101]

07:48 PM on 10/20/2010

Wonderful effort Tory. Keep up the good work!

[xanas]

07:29 PM on 10/20/2010

Don't encourage people to take investments and "microfinance" early. This encourages projects that in an era of low interest only appear profitable when met with higher financing costs aren't. Please don't come up with new bubbles that will only burst down the road. While small business is a major part of the economy in terms of jobs small businesses also fail often.

If you want to produce good business don't rely on loans. Start with proving the concept on a small scale and making it profitable from the beginning. Build savings in a current job and split time until the income from the small business earns enough to get you out of the other job.

My only real problem with this article is this push for getting businesses financed on loans from the get-go and that's just a bad idea.

[BigDaddyWow]

12:38 PM on 10/23/2010

Absolutely. In fact, they should be encouraged to avoid debt, eat beans and get their companies moving with personal finance, family money and good old sweat equity.

As a small business owner now for over 10 years I built my business on contracts and my time. My first bank loan (in year 8) to "accelerate product development" was my single biggest mistake.

There is very little upside to working with a bank. Entrepreneurs should know this from the start.

[Rik Little]

06:40 PM on 10/20/2010

The job stimulus act funded $310,000,000 to VAWA which is actually funding NOW who wrote the bill. This "job" includes further lobbying State and local governments to pass more laws which violate mens civil rights and making them pay into 'the single mother lifestyle' NOW State chapters have effectively lobbied State Governments and State Family Court Judges to legislate or follow. These "entrepreneurs" are NOW women who have "jobs" that are immoral and certainly should NOT have have been supported by the Federal government.

[Monique DiCarlo]

06:33 PM on 10/20/2010

Thank you for this great initiative Tory! Being one of the 22 million since more than a year is quite humbling. Not ready for being an entrepreneur, but hopefully your efforts will help me find one I would like to work for! www.linkedin.com/in/moniquedicarlo

[WGStudio]

05:24 PM on 10/20/2010

Empower small business. Cut taxes. It works EVERY TIME.

[N Timothy Aho]

04:37 PM on 10/20/2010

Huff Post needs more female-focused articles-- and every post in these topics should be positive stressing how great women are and why articles shouldnt be written about mens issues.

[Gabriel Atega]

03:19 PM on 10/20/2010

It is great to know that more and more women are getting to contribute to the economic well being of everyone else. However, that there are 22 million unemployed, this can be solved simply by having the 25 million or so businesses in America get one out from the unemployment list. The recession will be cut short quickly!

[hadenoughtoo]

09:23 PM on 10/20/2010

Sorry. That salary will be collected by Uncle Sam.....for the waste and fraud part II bill.

[Heather Rene Wilson]

02:56 PM on 10/20/2010

I am very happy to see the large number of women taking the step into small business ownership. Advice and wisdom from successful business owners only leads to more educated decisions, and a network of like-minded individuals is an excellent way to get this information. The more informed we are, the higher probability of success.

Heather
www.innerenthusiasm.com, Helping others do "what gets them up in the morning"

[joedas]

02:00 PM on 10/20/2010

In Manhattan before the elite suburbians invaded the borough and Bloomberg catered to them, we had many wonderful mom and pop stores in every one of Manhattan's diversive neighborhoods. Those diverse neighborhoods and mom and pop stores have been replaced by big biz banks and drug stores, some taking up half a block each. Sad that the borough has become a sterile look-alike neighborhood every which way you turn.

[Aaron Huebner]

02:08 PM on 10/20/2010

Yes it is sad. But necessary for the future good of this country and for New York. Wait, did anybody force them out? did they own those stores or did they rent the location?

[rising sun]

02:51 PM on 10/20/2010

it's the same thing that happened to mom and pop places in rural America when Wal-Mart came to town. They weren't literally "forced out" but it costs money to keep a business going whether you own or rent. With the large majority of shoppers opting for convenience and lower prices, mom and pops can't make the money to keep the lights on.

[Ahurani]

01:47 PM on 10/20/2010

I think women may have a distinct advantage in an entrepreneurial atmosphere simply because they haven't been boxed in by being part of the "old boy method of progress" that has been taught in business practically forever. Outside the box creative thinking, when backed with drive and dedication is going to sin out every time. Women have that. We have to have it. A huge portion of the world and it's economy is still closed to women, so it's all the more gratifying when a woman finds a small unguarded door that becomes a major breach in the main gates of success.

[SaneOne2010]

02:00 AM on 10/21/2010

Are you in the business world now? There is a hugh good ole girl method of progress out the now. And it's just as bad as the good ole boys.