On March 3, 2021 Fire&Spark President, Dale Bertrand, sat down with Kathryn Rose, Founder and CEO of wiseHer, a global knowledge marketplace that helps women business owners and professionals overcome challenges. With access to thousands of executives, mentors, and resources, wiseHer helps to educate and accelerate business and career growth for women. During the hour-long interview, Kathryn told her story of becoming an entrepreneur, founding the business, and leveraging her personal network to build industry partnerships. Watch the full recording below:
If you’re short on time, here are some takeaways:
Look for an existing problem that you can uniquely solve. Kathryn noticed that many small women-owned businesses struggled with finding helpful resources. Cold outreach online or watching a Youtube video wasn’t efficient or effective, and these businesses lacked the budget for a consultant. Kathryn addressed this problem and uniquely solved it by founding a network that would connect women in business.
Build your career around collaboration. Kathryn began building her network at the start of her career, but she wasn’t just mindlessly trying to gain more contacts. She specifically targeted and reached out to people she truly believed she would collaborate with in the future.
Your relationship with your customers is a two-way street. One of the most critical aspects of a successful business is one where both customers and the company can benefit. wiseHer was able to offer a unique service that users could easily access and benefit from.
Get your brand out there with like-minded promoters. The most effective way to reach your ideal audience is having other companies or people promote your mission. Kathryn utilized this strategy by reaching out to organizations that believed in the same things that wiseHer was hoping to accomplish.
Authenticity and communication drive beneficial relationships. Staying true to your brand mission while also being realistic about partnership goals and expectations will reduce wasted resources and disappointment in the long run. Kathryn did this by creating partnership agreements that outlined exactly what each party wanted and expected out of the relationship.
Take the time to learn people’s stories. Reaching out to prospective partners will not be effective if you’re only asking them to do something for you. Instead, take the time to learn their company story, values, and goals. Not only does this reflect a more genuine interest, but it will make it much easier to distinguish how beneficial the partnership may be.
***A special thanks to Kathryn Rose who made this event successful.***
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