The upcoming Women’s Business Summit scheduled for September 18, 2024, at the Andover Country Club in Andover, MA is the third annual event for women business owners from SCORE Northeast Massachusetts (NEMA). The first event was created because the SCORE volunteers were not seeing a lot of conferences and events focusing specifically on small business for women.
“We know it’s often lonely being a woman business owner,” said Adrian Leighton, a SCORE business and marketing advisor and the Summit chairperson. “It’s important to invest in yourself to grow your business but it’s hard to take that time off to do so. You need to be assured you will walk away with something tangible.”
The first event in 2022 was the first in-person event after COVID-19 and set the bar high for future events. Balancing inspiration and actionable takeaways, the return to in-person events left the sold-event crowd (business owners and people thinking about starting a business), exhilarated and inspired.
Who is SCORE?
If you are unfamiliar with SCORE, the organization was founded in 1964 and is a nonprofit partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). SCORE has helped millions of entrepreneurs start, grow or successfully exit a business. SCORE volunteers provide free, confidential, expert mentoring, resources and education all over the U.S. The SBA also runs a multitude of programs for small businesses as well as a well-known awards program that helps crown the Small Businessperson of the Year and the Women Business Owner of the Year.
The Summit has helped attract and connect a new crop of business owners and mentors to SCORE. Many of the speakers and experts in attendance are SCORE clients. (Editor note/disclosure: True! I am not only one of the keynotes for this conference, but I am a SCORE client and have worked with SCORE volunteers several times.)
What can you expect at the SCORE Women’s Business Summit?
Every year the organizing team starts planning in January for the coming event. The team focuses on creating actionable moments at the event. They have attended many events and understand that while attendees might be energized in the moment, the truest test of a business event’s success is whether we do anything with our newfound knowledge after we leave.
Every year the team looks at the lessons learned from the previous year’s events and what they can glean from other events.
“We update the format every year,” said Leighton. She is deeply involved in the program along with Summit vice chair, Julie Scofield, and works directly with the speakers. “We want to keep it fresh. For example, this year the Summit is introducing spotlight speaker segments. The event will include a variety of different speakers, representing different business types or phases of business.”
What about those speakers?
Leighton is quietly determined to deliver the highest quality event, and this starts with the speakers. The NEMA team starts early, screening, vetting and interviewing speakers. They also work closely with the cadre of speakers, helping them develop the presentations with the audience in mind. Speakers are critical for the success of the event. “Our experience with speakers is that the initial conversation might not uncover everything we need to know but further conversations will tell us whether we are in sync. If we’re not a good match, we’d rather find out sooner rather than later.”
This year’s keynotes are Irene Li, the founder of Mei Mei Dumplings and Bobbie Carlton, founder of Innovation Women, and publisher of Lioness Magazine. Summit moderator is Anne McNamara, owner of five fitness franchises in New England. The other speakers include:
- Erin Baumgartner, Family Dinner
- Vicki Gray, New Chapter HI Services
- Liz White, Chic Party Co
- Rosaleen Doherty, Right at Home
- Tisha Hood, Breadcrumbs Creative
- Beverly Buccheri, BC Essentials Aromatherapy Company
and Lisa Gonzalez-Welch, U.S. Small Business Administration
The team also pays close heed to sponsors. “We look for partners who share our goal to accelerate the success of small business entrepreneurs and frequently have repeat sponsors. Sponsors are critical; we could not have the event without their support.”
The first two events sold out before the day of the event. Get your tickets to the SCORE Women’s Summit now or learn more at ScoreWomen.org.
Networking with other women entrepreneurs accelerates your business growth. Check out the recap and recording of August Lioness Networking.
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