During March, we honor the women who have come before us — and all of the ones who will be trailblazers after us. Though this month is a nice reminder to reach out to friends, donate to a female-oriented charity or find a mentee to mentor, we truly should be celebrating the unique experience of being a woman year-round. Even though females still make less than their male counterparts, they continue to be the fastest-growing sector of small businesses, and they hold the majority of the spending power for households. Women also tend to work more collaboratively, make smarter, calculated risks and overall, well, are badass. Here, we spoke with 13 lady entrepreneurs across several industries for their best advice on celebrating femininity:
“Respect yourself and set boundaries.”
“A beautiful way to celebrate being a woman is to respect yourself and set boundaries. Confidently ask what you want in your career as well as your personal life. Celebrating being a woman also means to practice receiving by saying yes to opportunities aligned with you, and also unapologetically pursue your dreams in a glamorous and elegant fashion.” — Summer YL, founder of NuWa Marketing and co-founder of Fyli.
“Show up as an advocate for other women.”
“Amplify the voices, change the systems and policies, share the stories, and show up as allies, advocates and anti-racists for other women. We need to back each other up. In particular, it is important for us to take action to support Black women, Latinas, Asian women, LGBTQ+ women, and women with disabilities to ensure we continue to get closer to gender equality for all women. It can be as simple as sharing their message/post, investing in a product but it also at times needs to be as big as lobbying for change in areas such as employment and education.” — Keri Higgins-Bigelow, CEO and founder of Living HR.
“Don’t just celebrate; reward.”
“Talk isn’t cheap, but there are more valuable ways to celebrate other women outside of a nice email to management or a shoutout during a team meeting. The concept of rewarding accomplishments with opportunity is important because a woman’s access to opportunity is often hindered in many industries. Here’s where I think women are great: when we see someone do well, we want to recognize and reward it — call it a maternal approach — the same should be done within the workplace.” — Niki Hall, chief marketing officer at Contentsquare.
“Mentor other women.”
“The number one way I celebrate being a woman is by celebrating — and mentoring — other women. This is especially important in heavily male-dominated industries, such as SEO (which is 70 percent male-dominated in the United States, and men also make demonstrably more than their female counterparts). If we all rally around the cause of lifting each other up and speaking each others’ names when we’re not in the same room, we’ll make a ton of incredible progress as a collective. I’ve seen this firsthand in the Sisters in SEO community, as well as several women-only groups I’m a member of.” — Kari DePhillips, the CEO of The Content Factory and the co-Founder of the Sisters in SEO Facebook.
“Take care of your body.”
“Be in your body and run your mission through your body. There’s nothing like dropping into the physical and feeling strong, sexy and empowered in your body. I believe that movement, a healthy diet and wellness is an act of love. The confidence, power, and liberation from a woman looking and feeling her best is the most exciting part of my job. Movement is powerful, intimate, primal, and therapeutic: working out issues in the physical is truly a form of pleasure and mental health. You can literally move the negative out of your mind and body because the movement can chemically change how you feel. Emotion is enhanced by motion, and movement can make you feel good, sexy, strong, beautiful and empowered.” — Lauren Boggi, the CEO and founder of Studio LB.
“Embrace your femininity with self-care.”
“ I love to take an Interiential approach (interiors + experiential), embracing femininity through at-home self-care experiences and rituals. From starting my day with a short, candle-lit meditation to my weekly wind-down bath — complete with eucalyptus, aromatherapy, Epsom salts, a glass of wine and a good book — to caving out small but meaningful pockets of ‘me’ time is critical for my well-being. And I truly enjoy it! Women hold the weight of the world, and we owe it to ourselves to create that space for ourselves to thrive.” — Abigail Cook Stone, CEO and co-founder of Otherland.
“Indulge in your female friendships.”
“There is no better way to celebrate being a woman than being in the company of other amazing women. My understanding of how precious these relationships are has only become stronger with age. I adore my female friendships and ensure that I carve out time for long chats over walks, drives or on front porches over a glass of wine. Being in the company of great women has such a way of lifting my spirit and feeling connected.” — Emily Ward, co-founder of Shine Talent Group.
“Buy from female-owned businesses.”
“Treat yourself to something from a woman-owned business — whether it be a latte from your favorite female-founded coffee shop, a new bag from a woman-owned brand, or a workout class at a studio run by a female, every dollar spent supporting women counts. Women control nearly 80 percent of consumer spending, so there is no better way to celebrate being a woman than to vote with your dollar. Money is power, and women supporting women is empowering on both ends.” — Lauren Simonelli, the co-founder of ThreeMain.
“Honor the traditions and knowledge passed down from older generations of women.”
“Honoring the traditions and knowledge passed down from older generations of women, in your family, in your circle of friends and loved ones. Being a woman is an often underappreciated super-power. It comes with so much nuance, endurance, and depth, which is so rarely celebrated in mainstream culture. We’re all so used to seeing elements of our being stigmatized by society or only discussed in private settings. This limits the potential for knowledge and wisdom to spread and often leaves women and girls in a position to have to google symptoms or changes they are experiencing with their bodies or simply feel alienated. I have not only learned so much about myself by turning to my mom, grandma, aunties, and older cousins for advice and knowledge over the years, but I’ve been able to connect to a wavelength of familial femininity that has helped me better understand who I am, where I come from, and how I walk through the world. It’s a beautiful way to celebrate oneself and the collective womanhood that is passed down from previous generations.” — Valarie Sakota, co-founders of Barbari.
“Explore what being a woman means to you.”
“Celebrating one’s womanhood means recognizing what being a woman means to you specifically. Whether your identity is firmly tied to the workplace or more inherent in your interests and hobbies, identify which symbol of your own femininity needs the most attention and find new ways — or rediscover favorite old ways — to indulge it. By keeping these ties fresh and reconciling our desire to connect with what womanhood subjectively means to each of us, we satisfy a place in our psyche that’s responsible for contentment with one’s self.” — Alexandra Schrecengost, the CEO and founder of Virtual With Us.
“Recognize every win — no matter how big or small.”
“Another way I celebrate being a woman is by celebrating each and every win! Big or small. We don’t give ourselves enough credit, so I take it upon myself to celebrate everything. Client referral — champagne! Client placement — nice take-out. Whatever it is, it’s a step. It’s a celebration. This goes beyond celebrating my personal wins but celebrating the wins of others. Women empowerment and lifting each other up goes a long way. I believe this is a trend that we all should take part in as this will also assist in eliminating female rivalry in the workplace.” — Meagan Sargent, public relations specialist and entertainment journalist.
“Talk nicely to yourself.”
“We’re naturally self-critical beings, and we have voices in our head constantly questioning if we could do more. It’s important to celebrate our flaws, messes, and imperfections and know that at the same time, we are worthy, valuable, wonderful, and capable. When you feel yourself recognizing something imperfect about yourself or within other women, challenge yourself to see the positive side of that quality. It helps to give yourself an expression, corny or not, that you say to yourself whenever your inner critic comes out. ‘I’m perfectly imperfect’ is my go-to.” — Olivia Bowser, the CEO and Founder of Liberate.
“Create an accountability group of peers.”
“Young girls are often taught that modesty is better than confidence because the latter may be viewed as hubris. I dismantle that belief and, instead, believe women should really lean into their accomplishments and daily wins rather than fixating on their imperfections. One way to do this is to have an accountability group: a pod of peers who will not only remind you when you’ve achieved something you’ve always wanted to do or complete, but celebrate you as well — whether that’s by taking you out for celebratory champagne (post-lockdown) or scheduling a well deserved day of self-care. You make the rules!” — Soraya Darabi, the co-founder and general partner at TMV.
