Parx Casino to host networking event for current and aspiring female entrepreneurs
By Samantha Bambino
The Times
There is something to be said about strong women coming together to build each other up rather than tear each other down. On June 23 at Parx Casino in Bensalem, SCORE Bucks County is hosting the “Women Building Businesses” workshop, a free event that will feature three local female entrepreneurs speaking about their climb to the top and lessons learned along the journey to success.
Each year, SCORE Bucks County provides more than 1,500 services to local small business owners through one-on-one counseling and seminars, and since a large number of these owners are women, the workshop seemed like a natural fit for the organization to provide additional networking opportunities.
Attendees at the workshop will have the honor of hearing from keynote speaker and “attention expert” Neen James, who will discuss her book “Folding Time.” The Australia native and Doylestown resident believes business owners, entrepreneurs and anyone with a massive to-do list can achieve their goals in half the time.
“I don’t believe in time management,” James said. “But you can manage your attention.”
Female entrepreneurs have unique challenges and juggle countless tasks throughout the day, such as picking the kids up from school, cooking dinner and serving on the school board. “Folding Time” explains how business owners who wear all of these hats should narrow their daily focus only to what will increase profitability and productivity.
“As entrepreneurs, we only get a very finite amount of time,” she said. “Entrepreneurs can conquer the world in 15 minutes a day.”
In her everyday life, James schedules 15-minute strategic appointments with herself, during which she determines her top three non-negotiable activities for that day. She writes these tasks on a note, carrying it with her throughout the day as a reminder that if nothing more gets done, it’s OK.
“People have these crazy schedules. Most women have crazy mental ones from the moment they wake up, but it doesn’t need to be that way,” she said.
Though she started her career in the corporate world, James discovered her knack for speaking, and now travels to corporations across the country that hire her to help employees increase their productivity. James holds the Certified Speaking Professional certification through the National Speakers Association, a credential that less than 10 percent of speakers and less than 1 percent of women have.
Furia Rubel chief marketing officer Laura Powers will share with workshop attendees the challenges of starting a business from scratch and the power of networking throughout the process and beyond. In 1996, Powers began a graphic design business out of her home, and quickly learned it’s not all fun and games. While she was able to live out her passion every day, she also needed to know the foundations of sustaining a business, such as sales, taxes and partnerships.
This is where the benefits of networking came in. As a founding member of the Women’s Business Forum of Bucks County, she met many fellow female entrepreneurs who provided her with business advice and supported her throughout her early career. It was these years of constantly networking that allowed her to grow her business, and eventually merge with Furia Rubel in 2010. Since then, she has worked with hundreds of businesses in various stages of growth and individuals thinking of starting a business, speaking to clients about communication objectives and goals for growth.
According to Powers, women tend to be drawn to networking with other women, and the SCORE workshop will allow them to meet people in similar situations to discuss the goals and challenges they’re facing.
Third-term Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia will also speak at the workshop on how, as the only woman on the board, she learned how to use her voice. After the three speakers, breakout sessions will be conducted and include Dianne Loomis on leadership qualities, Jen Kline Clark on work and life balance, Lisa Odoski on maintaining a professional image, Gerry Christoper on learning to say no, and Donna Botti on digital marketing.
If you go…
SCORE Bucks County’s “Women Building Businesses” will be held at Parx Casino, 2999 Street Road in Bensalem, on June 23 at 8:30 a.m. The free seminar includes lunch, talks from women on relevant topics, breakout sessions and networking. Registrants will receive a free copy of speaker Neen James’ book “Folding Time.” To register, visit buckscounty.score.org/event/womens-business-workshop. For more information on SCORE Bucks County, visit buckscounty.score.org. ••
Samantha Bambino can be reached at [email protected]
