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Programs help women entrepreneurs find success
At the beginning of Delphine Njuguna’s business venture, she used her own money to buy hair bundles for the virgin hair and custom wigs she offers on her website.
The Bowie salon owner found those fluctuations in cash flow to be a challenge, but she kept at it until she reached more people with advertising and orders went up. That allowed her to reinvest profits in her product line.
“It made me feel so good,” Njuguna said. “And I wanted to do more, it gives me more courage and strength to keep on doing what I’m doing.”
Njuguna operates Delphine’s Beauty Parlour and Delphine’s Hair from her basement salon, and opened in February 2018. Previously a salon employee, she wanted to gain flexibility and autonomy as an entrepreneur.
She turned to the Maryland Women’s Business Center for help as she created her business plan. The Small Business Administration referred her to the business center in late 2017, and the classes and counseling gave her crucial advice as she prepared to open, she said.
Now, she has three employees and her three children tell her they want to be entrepreneurs.
Maryland women entrepreneurs
In Maryland, women entrepreneurs are turning to women’s networking, education and mentoring opportunities like the Maryland Women’s Business Center to overcome challenges such as less access to capital or less established networks.
Njuguna attended classes at the Prince George’s location of the center, which regularly offers topics such as “The ABCs of Starting a Business” or “Writing a Successful Business Plan.”
She also worked one-on-one with Angie Duncanson, a senior business counselor and trainer for the Maryland Women’s Business Center. After every conversation, the counselor makes sure entrepreneurs have action items to move forward.
“She followed all of her action steps, and now she’s up and running, she’s hired people and she’s doing well,” Duncanson said. “It pays off when you do your homework.”
Njuguna, who is originally from Kenya, sought advice on how to market her business and use social media platforms to reach more customers. She said the center also helped her figure out licensing and other questions.
Owning the salon has meant she has more time for her clients, and they are even more important to her now that she’s on her own. She gives free wigs to cancer patients and offers their children free haircuts.
“Make sure you focus on the things that you love and be the best at what you do,” Njuguna said. “If you dream it, you can make it.”
‘Women Rising’
In Frederick County, entrepreneur Carolyn West stood in front of a crowded room of people gathered in May to discuss “Women Rising: A Forum for Women Entrepreneurs.”
Like Njuguna, West also got help starting out from the Women’s Business Center, which has an office in Frederick.
County Executive Jan Gardner and Sen. Chris Van Hollen hosted the forum, and West said she was glad to see women banding together to be successful outside the home.
West, owner of Organize Me! LLC, just celebrated the third anniversary of being in business. Last year, she was able to quit her job in the hospitality industry to focus exclusively on her business.
In the past year, she said her work hours have grown by 110% and she will probably need to hire an employee soon to help her provide organizing services to people in and around Frederick.
West only had a vague idea when she walked into a women’s business center workshop and met counselor Maria McElhenney. McElhenney immediately urged her to plan seriously, thinking five years ahead.
“She gave really great advice and it has definitely helped because my business has been growing since I started,” West said. “I definitely feel like I started strong.”’
More programs
Frederick’s business leaders will be continuing to empower women leaders when the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce Women in Business Committee and its partners hosts S.H.E. Week, to celebrate the strength, heart and equality of women. Taking place from Aug. 26 to 30, the signature event will be a panel on “Frederick’s First Females,” including the first owner of a distillery in Frederick.
On the eastern shore, Salisbury University has been sparking entrepreneurship through programs like the Perdue School of Business Philip E. & Carol R. Ratcliffe Foundation Shore Hatchery, a bi-annual “Shark Tank”-like business competition that provides $200,000 annually in start-up funds. It is open to the entire mid-Atlantic region and includes both men and women entrepreneurs.
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This article is featured in The Daily Record’s Women Who Lead: A Woman’s Guide To Business. The mission of the Women Who Lead (formerly Path to Excellence) magazine is to give our readers the opportunity to meet successful women of all ages, backgrounds and beliefs and learn how they define success. Read more from Women Who Lead. |
