The Secret, the Significant, the Successful: Profiles of Women-led Businesses, Vol. 10

I'm so happy that you're here with me on this journey of collective growth. Each week I share information that illustrates successful women-led businesses, and advice that can help you stay the course of your business journey. To augment this, I've recently started a LinkedIn Live Series where I speak with women-led businesses about their journey of growth. View my show with Rashan Ali here and use the hashtag #EnrichHERLive on LinkedIn to RSVP to our upcoming live discussion.

Edition Contents

• The Secret - I want to focus on Collective Consciousness
• The Significant - Work-Life Balance in the Age of Coronavirus
• The Successful - Femly: How a Cervical Tumor paved the path to a Bold Brand
• Bonus: Women-led Business Database

Other Newsletter Editions

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1. The Secret

I want to focus on Collective Consciousness

By: Roshawnna Novellus ? Newsletter: The secret, the significant, the successful: profiles of women entrepreneurs

Dr. Roshawnna Novellus at Arabia Mountain. Photo by J. Braxton Photography.

Me: I'm so grateful that I have a circle of high-vibration business owners that I can meet with. Because of you, I've found my anchor.

Founder 2: Yes, we are your soul tribe. We're going through the same collective emotions, decisions, and navigation of the reaction of others.

Me: I want to feel bliss/joy/love as much as possible, but it's been difficult to ascend to this level during the last few weeks.

Founder 2: Well tell me what's going on with you. Has anything changed in your life? How is your living situation? How is your love situation? How is your financial situation? How is your family? How is your health?

Me: [I speak for almost three hours answering these questions]

Founder 2: Do you realize that's a lot? Once you accept this and accept it, you'll be able to move forward.

Me: [let's another 2 hours go by] I can breathe clearly again. I know what to do to get back to the right space.

What conversations have you had with others that have allowed you to raise your level of conciousness?

2. The Significant

Work-Life Balance in the Age of Coronavirus

By: Dr. Victoria Farmer ? Newsletter: The Secret, the Significant, the Successful: Profiles of Women-led Businesses | Originally Published at EnrichHER

I’ve never been super comfortable with the phrase “work-life balance.” It’s not because I don’t think that desiring equilibrium between my personal life and my professional life is a worthwhile goal—it absolutely is. My problem is more with the third word than the first two. I think aiming for a perfect balance sets us up for disappointment. Human life is messier than that. Instead, I find it useful to think about my life as seasons of prioritizing one part of me over another, depending on what needs nourishing at any given time.

In our current age of COVID-19 and social distancing, many of us are working from home, and thus dissolving the physical barriers between our personal and professional spaces. Because of that, understanding which parts of ourselves need nourishment and when is more important than ever. Since those boundaries are so blurred, I’ve been trying to focus on two goals that benefit both my personal and professional selves: staying internally centered and staying externally connected. Here are two ways I try to do those things:

Two Ways to Stay Centered

Find a calming affirmation or prayer. When things get overwhelming or I am feeling anxious, I like to be able to switch off the too-busy part of my brain by defaulting to something I have memorized in order to slow down the rushing thoughts. I am partial to this prayer during particularly anxious moments, and I’ve found a lot of value in this list of affirmations for women in business, too. Staying calm and recognizing my value helps me improve lots of parts of me at once—I’m a better person, employee, and friend.

Sing like no one can hear you; dance like nobody’s watching (or both). Singing and dancing are some of my favorite ways to get my energy out when I’m feeling stressed, because I’m not particularly awesome at either of them, so there’s no pressure. Giving myself the freedom to just be silly and loud often gives me the confidence to tackle whatever task is in front of me during the day, and it’s a great way to get your heart rate up while staying inside. I think you can (and should!) sing and dance to whatever music makes you feel free and happy, but I personally can never go wrong with this Martha & the Vandellas classic.

Two Ways to Stay Connected

Let technology work for you, not the other way around. Now that work meetings and happy hours alike are virtual, it can be tough to get a handle on all the different platforms that are required to perform our daily activities, both on and off the clock. Give yourself some grace if the learning curve is steep, and don’t feel guilty if staring at a screen all day at work means you don’t feel like a Zoom check-in with the grandparents at 5 p.m. It’s fine to ask for a break first—to move that check-in to later in the evening or next week. These tools are supposed to make our lives easier, not make us feel obligated to be all things to all people. If you’d like to learn more about some tools our team uses to make our work and home lives easier, check out this video.

Know that your struggles aren’t yours alone. Physical separation from friends, family, and coworkers can make it feel like you are the only person in the world, and that you have to deal with your problems all by yourself. That’s why it’s so important to plug into a community of people who share your goals and values. If you’re a woman running a business in this tough time, you’ll definitely want to check out EnrichHER Society. We are a community of 1,000 entrepreneurs across a variety of industries. In our community, you can network with like-minded entrepreneurs, attend courses that will give you lots of tips to improve your business and find lots of grants, loans, and other funding opportunities to help your business grow.

Do you have any tips that help you stay in touch with yourself or others during stressful times? Share your own experiences in the comments!

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3. The Successful

Femly | How a Cervical Tumor paved the path to a Bold Brand

By: Roshawnna Novellus ? Newsletter: The secret, the significant, the successful: profiles of women entrepreneurs | Originally on EnrichHER.com

?????? EnrichHER Fireside Chat: Discussion with Arion Long & Dr. Roshawnna Novellus

After being diagnosed with a cervical tumor that was linked to popular feminine care products, Arion Long started Femly, a hi-tech social enterprise that manufactures and delivers safer alternatives directly to your door! Femly is disrupting the entire feminine care industry with its convenient subscription model, low-cost delivery, and social giveback. In only a few short years, Arion has become a nationally & internationally recognized entity for her work in increasing feminine care access, health education, and advocacy through segments on NPR, Money Magazine, Buzzfeed, and more! Arion believes that the future is not only female, it’s Femly!

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Bonus: Women-led Business Database

This is a sneak peek of our ongoing Founders Database. You can explore to learn more about our vibrant community of women entrepreneurs. In the database, you can get information about why these founders started their businesses, the diverse products and services they provide, the best way to contact them, and any advice or skills they are willing to share with others in the community--because we are all here to help one another. We hope you can use the database to further support women-led businesses! If you’d like your business featured in our Founders Database, please contact [email protected] for more information.

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EnrichHER was started because of the need for support for women-led businesses. Many have said that this is not a priority time and time again. But, I ask you,

If not now, then when?

Many of the grant programs and loan programs didn't distribute funds to women-led businesses. There are all kinds of excuses, but the simple truth is that Women entrepreneurs employ people, raise children, solve world problems, save lives, and contribute to their communities.

Today, we are launching our $10k Campaign to Save Women-led Businesses from Closing. EnrichHER in partnership with Bootstrap Capital, A Georgia-based 501(c)(3), are working together to get funds into the hands of deserving women-led businesses.

Contribute your tax-deductible donation: https://donate.bootstrapcapital.co/support-wlb/

Also, we welcome everyone to join the EnrichHER Community here: https://lnkd.in/ekf2czY

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Dr. Roshawnna Novellus is the founder and CEO of EnrichHER, a financial platform that connects female entrepreneurs with lenders who want to earn a return on their investment while fueling the growth of women-led businesses. Dr. Novellus is a gender equality advocate who believes in economic empowerment and inclusive economic growth. Dr. Novellus holds a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering, with a Minor in Finance, a Masters of Science in Information Technology emphasizing Information System Engineering, a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management Economics, and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering – achieving Summa Cum Laude in each. Roshawnna served on the Commission on Women for the City of Atlanta and was honored as one of the Women Who Means Business by the Atlanta Business Chronicle, one of the 40 Under 40 by Georgia Trend, one of the Top 25 Disruptors and Innovators in Tech, one of the 27 Black Founders and Investors to watch by PItchBook, and LinkedIn Top Voice #5 in Technology.