CASSIDY JESSUP: Where are the untold stories of women in our business community?

Each story is only as good as the author who tells it, 尤其是这个月, the Manistee Area 商会 is recognizing women’s stories in advocacy and business. 

Did you know, according to statistics highlighted by author Sarah Hollenbeck in Incfile.com, women-owned businesses account for 42% of all U.S. businesses, and are responsible for employing 9.400万工人? 数字说话, women have shaped the next generation of the workforce, and are leading the way to increased collaboration and communication. 我们都做!

March is Women’s History Month, and we also celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8. Manistee County has many powerful women in our business community, and they all deserve recognition. 在一起, women work to build and support each other — and together, we rise and advance our communities.

The National Women’s History Alliance theme for Women’s History Month in 2023 is “Celebrating women who tell our stories.” When we look at the stories of the great women who shaped our world today, such as Catherine the Great (1729-1796), 特蕾莎修女(1910-1997), 埃莉诺·罗斯福(1884-1962), Rosa Parks (1913-2005) and 米歇尔•奥巴马 (1964-current) we see stories of sacrifice, 毅力和勇气. 

The formula for any successful woman in any field has, and always will remain the same.

Best defined in the words of former United States Navy rear admiral, 玛莎埃文斯, “You can have unbelievable intelligence, 你可以有联系, you can have opportunities fall out of the sky. But in the end, hard work is the true, enduring characteristic of successful people.”

玛莎埃文斯 went on to serve as the executive director of the Girl Scouts of the USA (1998-2002), and finally president and CEO of the American Red Cross (2002-2005). 

In Manistee County, we have various certified women-owned, or women-led businesses in our backyard. These didn’t materialize overnight. 它们始于一个梦. Which inspired a woman to build a thriving business, filling a need in our community. 

Hollenbeck states in her summary of statistics that the “top three motivations for women starting their own businesses are pursuing their passion, gaining financial independence and increasing their flexibility.” 

There are countless untold stories of women entrepreneurs, owners and leaders in the business community. Whether it’s a formerly career-driven wife or daughter, 或者一个敬业的母亲, 妹妹, 侄女, 高中的阿姨或朋友, there are women who have and still do put in the hard work, time and effort to reach their goals every day. Running a business or organization isn’t all cupcakes and rainbows.

We watch on TV or in movies the powerful “femme fatal” stereotype, 全世界都在她的脚下, 你知道的. She’s got “problems” but everything works out in Hollywood. 我们已经不在好莱坞了. 

The real powerful women are the ones who break from the homeostatic pattern that has provided them with “comfortable” living, 谁知道过了多少年. The real powerful women take a risk on a dream, to make their life and their families’ lives better. In the words of Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, “Change is the only constant in life.” These women have the power to change, embrace it, work hard and thrive. 

But thriving in Manistee County isn’t all about making bank. We are a community, with many families growing up here from generation to generation. 米歇尔•奥巴马, the former First Lady of the United States, said it best: “Success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.”

如果你正在读这篇文章, and know a woman in our community who demonstrated the drive to achieve their dreams by leading, opening or owning a business — or acting as an advocate for our community — please recognize them.

如果你正在读这篇文章, and you are a woman who has stepped out of her comfort zone, followed a passion or filled a community need with a business venture, or is currently leading a business or organization, 谢谢你！. 请, 在社交媒体上分享你的故事, 或者在给编辑的信里, because your journey is unique and could easily inspire others. 

用特蕾莎修女的话来说, “我一个人无法改变世界, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples.”

Our stories in Manistee County (or ripples) are untold … for now … but we can tell them. Women support women, and together, we rise. 

Cassidy Jessup is the marketing and communications specialist for the Manistee Area 商会, a nonprofit 501C(6) organization. Jessup can be reached at 231-723-2575 or cassidy@fnyt.net.