Women Supporting Women: Cultivating Confidence in Business

Women bring uniqueness to business and networking. Today Lauren talks about the importance of creating supportive environments for women entrepreneurs. Drawing from personal experiences, Lauren reflects on her journey attending business events as a female business owner and the need for more inclusive spaces.

She shares her vision of creating a women's network to empower and connect female entrepreneurs, inspired by her observations of the challenges women face in male-dominated business settings. From feeling isolated to lacking representation, Lauren emphasizes the value of building confidence and community among women in business.

Through her initiative with her local chamber, Lauren highlights the positive impact of hosting women's events as a stepping stone for women to gain confidence and eventually navigate larger business settings with ease.
Listeners are encouraged to embrace their strengths, support one another, and join the conversation in the private Facebook group to connect and collaborate with like-minded individuals.

As the episode concludes, Lauren reminds listeners that together, women can achieve anything, offering a message of empowerment and solidarity in the journey of entrepreneurship and beyond.

Tune in to Denny Talks for more inspiring discussions and practical insights to help you chase your dreams and make meaningful connections in the business world.
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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

We're delving into a topic that's pretty close to my heart. It's the unique ways that women approach business, networking and empowerment. So today's episode is going to be a conversation about how women do things differently. We offer things in a different way. We connect, we collaborate, we build upon each other's strengths, and that makes us different and unique and pretty special. Welcome to Denny Talks, a guiding conversation to living life to the fullest. Join us for inspiring discussions on entrepreneurship, small business tips and seizing the opportunities. Subscribe now for concise, motivating episodes that encourage you to chase your dreams, where we believe that life, dreams and opportunities collide. So welcome to today's episode of Denny Talks.

Speaker 1: 0:41

My name is Lauren Denny. I'm over here in Oklahoma, oklahoma, and I am an entrepreneur. I'm a teacher at a local tech school, teaching media to high school and adult students, and my background is in building businesses. With my husband, we farm and ranch here in Oklahoma. We raise fluffy cows and mini donkeys. We have a lot of chickens, rescue horses and quite a few dogs. We've got a little border collies pork, a little porky corgi that's a funny word to say. Anyways, so I just wanted to introduce myself and if you're new here, welcome, and if you are a seasoned returner. Thank you so much for showing up today. So I want to talk with you a little bit about our Denny Talks, as when we moved to Oklahoma this is kind of setting the stage for where this conversation is going Ben and I were in the process of building this brand, this business, from where people could come and experience the country by visiting our ranch through what's called agritourism.

Speaker 1: 1:39

So that is pretty big here in Oklahoma where people can come and experience the country. So we kind of coined that term in order to encourage people to come and see what it would be like living on a farm in a ranch by coming and doing tours and coming and doing like fall festivals and seeing how things were growing, and following us on social media just to kind of see what our day-to-day activities were like and just being a agriculture advocate Woo, that's a mouthful. So during this time it really started taking off in about 2020. I mean so during this time we would go to our local chamber and that's where they had these after-hour events and it was meant to encourage collaboration and community and the first time that I attended I was the only lady. Now I have gone to many business events as Ben's spouse, because Ben is a serial entrepreneur and so I would go and be his just you know his support system when they would go to lunches or, you know, have business events and business dinners and whatnot. And that's how it felt when I walked into this after hours event. Um, but I was there as a business owner. I was part of Simply Country Ranch just as much as Ben Um, so showing up to this after hours event meant I mean no disrespect for the chamber or the local business owners that attended that event or put that event on um, because they were all very, very nice, very kind and inviting Um, but it is much, much different to show up to an event as the only lady and the remaining group of people there is all men, because men talk differently in business than women do.

Speaker 1: 3:11

That's just gonna be facts on that. So we love our chamber, we're, you know, we're really close with them and um. So again, I'm just saying my perspective of that and I had a great time at the event and we we did make a lot of connections um, where I'm going somewhere. So we collaborate and connect differently, like, wouldn't you agree? Like women do things a lot differently. We just are able to see things. We kind of weave like stories together when we're having conversations. We're able to pull up on things and be able to like touch bases with a, with a person that connects a little bit on a different level than men. Now, I don't necessarily feel like it has to be like an all-women's group and an all-men's group and like segregate it Like that's. That is most certainly not what I'm saying, because I do believe that, like Ben and I are a great business couple together. He brings something to the table that I do not and I do the same for him, and I feel like there's a lot of businesses that benefit from like a male-female dynamic, and if we can get us all in the same room together, then I believe there's a lot of power in that. But I just don't see that happening right off the bat. But we've got work that we can add into it and we can work towards that. Um. So, that being said, um, I would.

Speaker 1: 4:23

For another instance, I was showing up to this after hours event. This local business owner had walked in with me and she looked around the room and said oh, no, no, no, no, I do not want to be here. This feels uncomfortable and she ended up missing out on the opportunity to connect with local business owners right in her backyard because she didn't feel represented in that location. Of course, I encouraged her to stay, but in the end she chose to leave the room and that just made me feel like there has to be a way that we can give women the confidence to be able to stand in their abilities as a business owner or as a community member. Uh, and I left that first meeting and I told Ben, like we're driving back, and I was like Ben, I envision this gives me like goosebumps. I just cause it hasn't happened. Okay, I'm going to keep talking.

Speaker 1: 5:11

I told Ben like I envision a retreat I envision like a regular gathering of women that can like learn from one another and connect and network, and like I really hope that this allows them to be able to stand in their purpose and give them the confidence that one day, be able to show up to like these big events that might not always be like equally represented day, be able to show up to like these big events that might not always be like equally represented. Um, and I just like left that meeting and I immediately contacted the chamber director who at the time was a male, and he was like super supportive and said like, yep, let's do it. Let go ahead and spearhead it, jump on this idea, connect with some of the other local business, um, women-owned businesses around us, and you guys just run with it like fully behind you. So like that was so cool, uh. And so, uh, where was I going with that? And anyways, he said, just like, go for it.

Speaker 1: 5:59

And so today, actually, we have our women's network, which is, through the McAllister and area chamber, we host quarterly events for all types of women who can come and meet and mingle. You don't just have to be a business owner, you can be a mom, you can be literally, you'd be anybody, you could just be somebody looking for friends. And so that's what I wanted. I just wanted people to be able to like congregate, congregate together. Our town is McAllister, oklahoma, and it's like it's big but it's little. It's just big enough that you have a Walmart, but it's small enough that you don't have a Target. You know what I mean.

Speaker 1: 6:37

And so, like we are in this like really cool, like transition growth period, where there's so many stinking cool options that you can go as like definitely as like a business owner and so like, if you're in a kind of a similar city as I am, like I hope you see that like potential, because it's really cool to like be able to work with your chamber in your tourism department, because they're so receptive and they're like, yes, let's go with it, let's bring people in here, and we have such so many amazing Macalester business owners who are spearheading these big ideas and these big dreams that are definitely going to take the backbone of our to like pull this off and make it work. Um, oh, I'm just, I'm just so excited. So I love being a part of that and being able to watch things like continue to grow and change. So, anyways, I'm just reiterating that I'm not saying that like women, women, women have to be like separated from like everything, because we're just like so awesome.

Speaker 1: 7:27

Um, but if we can hold events that encourage women to like gain the confidence, then that's what I think is like a good stepping stone for them to feel, the give them the ability and the confidence to be able to step into like another business room that they can feel. They just feel good about themselves, like walking into the room with their head held high. So I totally believe that it is terrifying alone, and I would definitely feel just as that same business owner that I had explained if I had walked into a room like alone. I would feel just as terrified, but I felt a little bit, definitely more confident because I was walking in with Ben, like Ben, my husband, and he was a male um is a male and uh.

Speaker 1: 8:06

So just like many of these other women I'm certainly just not saying that I'm better than anybody because I believe that like gaining confidence in myself has like transformed the way that I do business and that I present my ideas to those people around me, and that has definitely grown and changed as I have evolved and grown on my own journey of like learning through trial and error and having been as like a just a great mentor and everything. So I believe that there are some to offer to the community and I want to encourage other people to do the same thing, and I just that happens to be women in the demographic of our area and that's where I see like a need for it. So women are super strong. I'm not saying that they have to have someone to like rally or cheer them on all the time, there are a lot of women who can walk into a room with such confidence. So, anyways, I'm rambling because I just don't want to step on anyone's toes or like make it come across that like I'm leaning in one direction and you know what I'm saying. But hopefully you know what I'm saying. But I'm trying to communicate my idea that I so I hope that it is received in the manner that I'm hoping that it's intended to, so that all these women can hear me out that you're strong and capable, you're deserving of every opportunity that comes your way.

Speaker 1: 9:20

So let's continue to support and uplift each other as we navigate the world of business and beyond. It's not a competition. This is for everybody. It's not a competition. We are all able to rise together and, like I said in the beginning, women do do things different. That's just the matter of fact. We offer things in a different way. We connect, we collaborate, we build upon each other's strengths differently, and that makes us unique and special. That's all that I have for today for our Denny Talks episode.

Speaker 1: 9:46

Thank you so much for tuning in and remember that together we can achieve anything you can do. You can change your life with each choice that you make. Until then, take care. I would love to hear from you, your business. Let's connect. If you are a part of your own women's network and you want to give us some ideas, I'm totally open to that. Please join us for our private Facebook group and let us know where you're coming from, the business that you hold, so we can collaborate and have our own network here. On Denny Talks. If you enjoyed today's episode, please don't forget to subscribe. Leave us a review. It really helps us out and your feedback helps us grow and reaches even more listeners. Until next time, take care. Keep chasing those dreams. Have a good one, thank you.