Thirteen was the lucky number. On December 13th, 13 Chittenden County women graduated from the Women's Small Business Program Start Up offered at Mercy Connections in Burlington. The ceremony took place at Mercy's Shelburne Road location. The graduates of the 15-week program join approximately one thousand other alumni who over the past two decades have gleaned the necessary tools to become successful entrepreneurs through the WSBP at Mercy Connections.
"We're very proud of this year's graduates," said Ali Marchildon, coordinator for the Women's Small Business Program. "They worked extremely hard and are now ready to begin their futures in their unique small businesses."
The graduates, nine of whom completed bank ready business plans, include: Burlington's LisaAnn Oberbrunner, Jen Norz, Deb Wark, Alison Redlich, Bess Conroy, and Laura Dame; Shelburne's Lisa Rizzio; Winooski's Amy Diller and Laura Nedich; Williston's Grace Ross and Lorinda Poirier-Solomon; and Charlotte's Martha Seyler. One Burlington person chose to remain anonymous. Students possessed a wide range of business interests that included: communications, gymnastics, photography, cross country adventures, energy efficiency, massage, music therapy, marketing, wine and cheese shop, clothing design, and retail sales.
Students said that they grew in multiple ways from the experience.
"I learned to listen to myself - to dig deep and hear what it is that I want to do with the rest of my life," Norz said. "Through the course I realized my original thought for my business plan wasn't actually what I really wanted to do. That was just as valuable to me as having a finished business plan."
Poirier-Solomon corroborated. "I realized that for me it takes a community to make my dream of owning and running a business to come true and I found that community through the program." Instructor Angela Murphy of Brattleboro taught Finance while colleagues Christina Ferris of Essex and Karen Flemming taught Personal and Professional Development and Marketing respectively.
Murphy said, "What I will say is that every cycle I've taught - and all three have been taught in troubled economic times - have contained women of all ages and backgrounds that have really one thing in common - the desire to succeed in a business of their own. This common thread allows these women to create a bond and together they support each other personally and professionally not only through the course itself, but all that life can dish out - and in 15 weeks that can be quite a lot. It is often hard to tell whether these cycles bring more professional or more personal growth for the participants."
Ferris noted, "Students came from a wide range of backgrounds and experience, but all share the desire to transform their lives in order to serve the greater good and to make a difference."
The WSBP program started at Trinity College of Vermont, an all-women's college in Burlington, in 1989. The closing of the school in 2001 prompted the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas to start a nonprofit educational corporation called Mercy Connections. The organization remains fully committed to extending the Sisters of Mercy mission by focusing on supporting people in transition and helping them find the tools they need to make lasting changes in their lives.
Mercy Connections offers two, unique Women's Small Business programs twice a year. Cycle 42 of the 15-week Start Up program begins January 28, 2010, while the next 4-week Getting Serious class is slated to begin in April. For more about Mercy Connections and the Women's Small Business Programs, call (802) 846-7063 or visit www.mercyconnections.org.
