MOUNT DESERT ISLAND – A new group is designed to help women launch and grow their own businesses.
The “Ladies Who Launch” program aims to help create opportunities by women, for women.
A new collaboration between the Mount Desert Island YWCA and Anchorspace is focused on helping more ladies become businesswomen.
“Whether it’s work that produces money or work that gets them involved with other people to make a stronger community,” said Jackie Davidson, executive director of the Mount Desert Island YWCA.
The “Ladies Who Launch” group is designed to empower women to begin and grow their own ventures.
“It’s open to all women thinking about starting a business, who may have a business, or who are really established, or to help someone who is new to this,” said Nicole Ouellette, owner of Anchorspace.
Organizers say the free group will start discussions about strengths and skills, while bringing ladies from all types of businesses together.
“We can read 1000 blog posts, and we can try a bunch of things ourselves, but there’s really something great about having a group of people in a room together and saying, ‘oh yeah, I tried it, this worked great for me, this didn’t’,” Ouellette Said.
The group will meet on the third Thursday of every month with a culmination event taking place in May.
“The idea would be that you could come, bring your granddaughter, bring your friend, and they could say ‘oh wow, there are some many businesses run by women here in this community’,” said Ouellette.
Women of all ages can attend the meeting at the YWCA, which has been working on empowering women for decades at its MDI location.
“This will take it to a new level, and will involve more women who wouldn’t have thought to come to the YWCA before,” Davidson said.
For more information or to get involved, visit www.ywcamdi.org.
The first meeting will take place on January 18 from 6-8 p.m. at the YWCA on Mount Desert Island.
