Women in Entrepreneurship Week inspires attendees to support local economy

When Danielle Young discovered that most housecleaning supplies contained toxins and harmful chemicals, she started her own business creating and selling nontoxic cleaning products. Nature’s Magic cleaners are now sold in markets around Southeastern Ohio, as well as in the Columbus area and as far away as Virginia.

Young was one of several woman entrepreneurs in Southeastern Ohio who was featured at an Oct. 23 panel and networking event during Ohio University’s celebration of the national Women in Entrepreneurship Week. 

Fellow panelist Jane Cavarozzi, co-founder of Dirty Girl Coffee LLC, was motivated by the lack of work opportunities for women in Southeastern Ohio. Through her company, Cavarozzi supports disadvantaged women and economic development in rural Appalachia, where many struggle to find stable work.

“I noticed some of the economic challenges and blight and started crafting a scheme to kind of be an influencer in the area,” Cavarozzi said during the event. “We thought having skin in the game and having a business would be the best way to do that.”

Michelle Fox, co-founder and chief operating officer of Rock Your Business, added that one way to gain confidence and respect in a male-dominated workplace environment is by finding those women in the business who are strong leaders and have a seat at the table.

Valerie Kinnard, owner of Career Connections and Kindred Market, said to ask for help when needed. Kindred Market was a family effort where everyone came together to help establish and run the store. One of her daughters is a manager there and the other one helped hire applicants to work at the store. Her husband helped with the building, while her son advised on the technology side of the business.

While all the women agreed that starting a business means working hard, they also highlighted the importance of work-life balance, self-care and taking a break.

“Finding that balance is pretty important, and part of that was self-care and spending time with people that you love, making sure that you’re doing the things that feel good to you, outside of the business,” Young said.

After the panel, the attendees could talk directly with Cavarozzi, Fox, Kinnard and Young; each had a table at the networking reception to facilitate conversations. Other tables were staffed by local women entrepreneurs from Fluff Bakery, Nixtamalized, Sweet Arts Bakery, Skelley Reflections, I Do Crew, Coral Marie Clothing, Athens Impact, Socially Responsible Investments, January Heuss Photography and ETS Coaching.

This free event was hosted by Ohio University’s Center for Entrepreneurship and TechGROWTH Ohio. The Center for Entrepreneurship is a partnership between the College of Business and Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs.