Real Member Stories: Finding Connections and Community Amongst Supportive Businesswomen

We’re pleased to introduce you to another of our Boston Business Women’s membership giveaway winners! After sharing her story with us, Marissa Szabo touched us and left us impressed with the connections she’s sparked in the community.

We’re excited to have her as an official member of our organization, and even more thrilled to share how Boston Business Women make a profound difference in the lives of women all around Massachusetts — personally and professionally.

We’ll let Marissa take it from here!

For several months, I have been working to build my independent health-coaching practice in the hopes of it some day soon becoming my sole occupation. I have not known many women at all who have struck out on their own to create their own business so I was very limited in who I could turn to for advice and encouragement.

In fact, at times it has been downright isolating. I’ve been really surprised by how slow and difficult a process it is to build a business.

I knew it would be hard, but there is no way to accurately convey to someone just how hard it truly is. Money, time, self-doubt, frustration, unexpected problems, discouragement from others — you really need a support group to help you push through these things!

The Boston Business Women community has been so helpful to me on so many fronts. It has been so reassuring to know there is a group of women willing to connect, offer their advice, and make recommendations that I can turn to whenever I need.

It has really made me feel like I’m not on my own. It’s also been so inspiring to see so many women who have done it themselves and that helps to keep me going whenever self-doubt creeps in.

I have struggled with self-doubt a lot throughout this process. I’ve wondered is this really going to work, who am I to think I can start a business, and worse things I won’t repeat here.

This group has really given me the confidence I need to keep going through those challenging stages of growing a business. Everyone is so encouraging and they’re living proof that it can be done — even in more challenging circumstances!

Every time I visit the BBW group page, my feed is filled with incredible women reaching out to help one another without a second thought. Whether it’s making a product recommendation or offering advice or just cheering each other on, that is an incredible thing to have access to.

As a businesswoman, it is so easy to feel alone or like you’re surrounded by nothing but competition. This group plays such an important role in making sure that business women succeed.

I have had women message me without being asked to offer their assistance and I always have a response to a question I’ve posted within 15 minutes.

Every woman needs her tribe and every businesswoman needs her community. BBW is that community.
I’m so grateful to have found BBW!

Special thanks to our guest contributor, Marcia Wagner. The Wagner Law Group is also a BE BOLD Conference partner. You can connect with them and learn more about their brand at our event in Boston this spring!