​At a time when there are 9.4 million women-owned businesses in the US, supporting women entrepreneurs is not just a good cause but also a necessity for economic growth.
 
The LBD (Little Black Dress) is a fun and fashionable fundraiser created by SKY Armory that benefits the WISE Women's Business Center (WBC). This celebratory night will take place on Friday, October 14th, from 7-11 pm at SKY Armory.

Our president and creative director, Nicole Samolis, herself a woman business owner, has been heavily and passionately involved in working with the WISE WBC for a decade. Having started her company before the emergence of WISE, she knows firsthand the value of the business development resources and networking provided by the WISE Women's Business Center. The center offers mentoring and consulting services to women entrepreneurs, as well as networking opportunities.

The festive evening, celebrating the 10th anniversary of WISE WBC, will include a runway-style fashion show, emceed by Jackie Terribile,  highlighting local designers, retailers and models.

The event features funky cocktails, wines by female winemakers, made-from-scratch hors d’oeuvres, small plates and desserts prepared by the talented SKY Armory culinary team. 

​In case you need more reasons to attend this beautiful evening, a stunning gold Little Black Dress necklace (a $225 value) will be raffled at the end of the night.  Live entertainment will be playing throughout the evening, so you can dance the night away.
 
Click here for more information and to book your ticket for this amazing fundraiser that supports local women entrepreneurs in your community. 

Pre-order your Little Black Dress Necklace Today!

This $75 silver pendant on a Tiffany's style chain with black
cubic zirconium stones has been designed by Cazenovia Jewelery exclusively for the Little Black Dress Fundraiser. Proceeds benefit the ​WISE Women's Business Center.

Click here to purchase your necklace, once on the page, click on 'Get Tickets' on the top right-hand side, then scroll down the page to where it says LBD Necklace.

The 13th annual WISE Symposium went off with great success last week. For the first time it was held at the Carrier Dome on the Syracuse University campus. This was by design so that students, particularly those at Whitman School of Management and the Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship could attend. Sharing knowledge, experiences, and insight is one of biggest benefits of a symposium like WISE. Entrepreneurs from a variety of industries came from around Syracuse and around the country to ignite the passion of local women who own their own businesses or dream of doing so one day.

There were so many wonderful speakers, we couldn't hit everything, but here are some valuable takeaways that might help push you in the right direction for your business or endeavor. You can still see some of the tweets with hashtag #WISE2015.

• The federal government has a 5% goal of contracting with women and hasn't reached that goal yet. Maria Contreras-Sweet, administrator of the Small Business Administration encouraged attendees to get certified for government contracting.
  @MCS4Biz  @SBAgov
  
• A vision board can become something you walk by and don't interact enough with - Jamila Payne suggests you try a vision journal that you carry with you. Tape in pictures that speak to the areas of life you want to address.
  @jamilapayne
• Think about what you can or should do yourself (where the most value comes from you being personally involved), what you can delegate (what is taking you away from the things that will most help you achieve your goals), and what you can delete (things that no longer help you reach the specific goal you are trying to achieve). 
  @jamilapayne

Coincidentally, on the same day as WISE, Entrepreneur posted this article about key areas to delegate.

• Email is everyone else's to-do list for you. Take the first hour of every day, don't look at email, and work on your business, not in it. 
  @jamilapayne
• Reflective time management, a concept from Joanne DelBalso: Knowing exactly what you spend your time on can help you manage your day. For a few few weeks, track your time spent on the various activities you do and categorize them into six life centers: body (physical goals - health, wellness), brain (intellectual goals, things that stimulate your brain), being (spiritual goals, "me time"), time (organizational goals), people (nurturing those people most important to you, friends and family), and money (financial goals). When you see where your time goes, you are able to take actions to correct where time isn't being spent on the right things to reach your goals. @nofussacctng
• Joanne recommends a 'brain dump' at night: write down everything that's on your mind before bed; in the morning organize into action items or schedule appropriate meetings into your calendar.
  @nofusscctng

• An excuse is a declaration to yourself that the fulfillment of your desires isn't enough of a priority for you to do what is required.
  Tough love from Kelly Covert and Maggie Quinn.  @SBWHeart
• Shift your perception: are you looking at what is right or what is wrong? Most people are trained to look at the negative, and that allows you to leave options out.
  @SBWHeart
• Three  reasons it's hard to make a decision: you're not equipped, you're not empowered, or you're not connected.
  Productivity expert Nikita Devereaux @nikitadevereaux
• You're a leader by providing opportunities for others to do good, and achieve what they never thought they could.
  From the acceptance speech of Carmen Gendebien owner of Glow Spa and winner of the Key4Women Achievement award winner
  

• "We overestimate what we can do in short amount of time, but underestimate what we can do over long period of time." Words by Gretchen Rubin, shared by afternoon keynote speaker Tory Johnson. @toryjohnson

• "Even if the best thing that happened today was that an email to a potential contact didn't come back undelivered, celebrate that. Focus on what you can be grateful for." @toryjohnson

You've heard us talking about the WISE 2015 Symposium and maybe you saw the billboard looming large over 481 S, but do you know what WISE is really all about? 

If you own your own small or mid-size business, or dream of one day being your own boss, the WISE Symposium will fuel your fire and help you make that dream a reality. 

In 2003, the Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship, under the umbrella of Syracuse University's Whitman School of Management, developed WISE: Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship. WISE is an initiative to train and inspire women interested in launching or growing a business venture. The goals of WISE's programs are to provide information, resources, and support for women entrepreneurs, enabling each to successfully advance their businesses to the next stage of profitability and success. Their mission is to create a thriving community of women entrepreneurs through two initiatives: the one-day WISE Symposium and the year-round WISE Women’s Business Center.

This year will be the symposium's 13th; we've helped plan and produce the annual event for 9 years. The day-long conference brings together local business owners for a full agenda of speakers, interaction and networking, and an expo where local services and business owners can learn more about each other, find needed services, build relationships, get health & wellness screenings, get a one-on-one digital media consultations, and buy retail goods from local vendors. WISE encourages participants to not only focus on their business, but their life outside of work and their health, too. 

Speakers, breakout sessions, and expo-floor workshops will touch on marketing and branding, skills needed to be successful (personal branding, time management, dealing with challenges), making the sale, and the importance of social media in both marketing your business and customer service. Speaking of social media, using the hashtag #WISE2015 during the event will allow you to participate in the Twitter party on-site, as well as follow along with the tips, tricks, and sage advice if you can't attend.

In the afternoon, after much inspiration and education, awards will be given out to recognize the achievements of local business owners.

Some additional highlights: 

• WISE Women's Business Center Connections Cafe: An opportunity to speak one-on-one with various counselors about services available to local women in business
• SU Bookstore, which will also be selling WISE Women Wear Orange t-shirts!

You will be inspired by the stories of the women and men who have forged their own paths in business, you will learn something new, and you will come away with actionable items you can put into place to move yourself and your business forward.

This year WISE Symposium will be at the Carrier Dome on Tuesday, April 21, from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, with a networking tailgate party to follow on the expo floor.  Click here to buy your ticket.

This past spring, our president and founder, Nicole Samolis, was approached by students enrolled at Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management.  The course they were taking, Introduction to Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises, focuses on what it takes to start, grow, and sustain new ventures and considers existing entrepreneurs and the steps entrepreneurs must take to get their ideas off the ground.

The students, Amanda and Tatiana, visited our offices several times and interviewed Nicole at length about her background, the history and work of The Events Company, and touched on her newest project, SKY Armory.

We often work with other entrepreneurs, and as you may know, we’re heavily involved in the WISE conference, so I thought it might be interesting to share some of the  findings and takeaways from the students' perspective:

• Nicole was looking for a career change that would allow her some flexibility with her sons’ school schedule, but she didn't necessarily want to stay in fashion retail, where she started her career. To figure out what she wanted to do next, she researched up-and-coming industries. Identifying an existing or potential need is an integral part of starting a new venture.

• What traits are necessary for an entrepreneur? Nicole’s personality struck a chord with the students: They identified passion, creativity, determination, and a high level of self-confidence as the top traits they saw in Nicole. These are certainly important because if you don’t believe in your idea, how will anyone else? Additionally, being able to have an extremely positive attitude is essential. As Nicole says, she doesn't consider problems as setbacks, but rather “lessons learned.” The ability to think quickly on her feet (where the creativity comes in, too) has served her – and our clients – well.

• If you have a strong personality and work ethic, don’t worry if you don’t yet have certain skills: those can be learned but behaviors are usually set. This knowledge also comes in handy when you are building a team to support you. Nicole and our HR consultant use a tool called the Harrison Assessment Test to identify and analyze the key attitudes, values, and interests of potential employees. It is a time-consuming process, but its effectiveness has been proven by successful hires to our team. 

• If you’re in college, study what truly interests you and will get you to think critically (a very important skill). Many people change careers or are in fields that don’t directly relate to their college majors, so don’t feel bound to a certain program of study. 

• Join industry associations and pump up your credentials by earning any certifications that are applicable in your field. Once Nicole decided to pursue the events industry, she joined a prominent industry society and also worked to earn her Certified Special Events Professional designation, which recognizes event professionals who have successfully demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and ability essential to perform all components of a special event. 
  

• Have a point of difference and know the value of the service or product you provide. Thoroughly research the market and your industry so you can offer something different or better than what exists already. And if you’re not the less-expensive option, prove why you’re a better value for the price and why your service or product is worth more. We always put an emphasis on quality because we believe in the value of what we provide to our clients. 

• Have fun. The trials and tribulations will mean more and will be easier to take if you truly enjoy what you’re doing.  Nicole's work is her life, but her passion for bringing happiness to others gives her a happy return as well.

Thank you to Tatiana and Amanda for selecting Nicole and The Events Company for their paper!