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N.E.W. helps budding business owners balance networking and families
By LESLIE DINABERG
SOUTH COAST BEACON
Hanging out with the women of N.E.W. you get a great sense of energy, optimism and, dare I say it, sisterhood. This is indeed a network of enterprising women.
The 13 members — all of whom market their services to families on the South Coast and beyond — have met informally for the past year and a half to network and share information, and now they have a new enterprise, a quarterly newsletter called the Parent Connection.
The second issue of the Parent Connection comes out this week. Filled with useful information for parents — such as etiquette tips from Tara Stockton of Mind Your Manners, as well as discount coupons from member businesses — the newsletter is free and can be found at local libraries, doctors’ offices and family-oriented businesses.
Rachael Steidl, who owns sbparent.com, an Internet portal that caters to local families, said she started N.E.W. because she had met so many women who, like her, were balancing families and business ownership, and thought it would be a neat opportunity to connect people with similar goals.
Surprisingly, at that first meeting, almost none of the women knew each other even though they were targeting the same demographic, Steidl said.
“Being part of N.E.W is so valuable to me because we are all women with businesses that may be different but the joys and stresses of owning a business are the same,” said Jennifer Caesar, who owns My Gym Children’s Fitness Center. “The understanding, support and advice of other women who are going through the same ups and downs is so helpful.”
“It’s great to discuss ideas on topics such as networking, marketing and advertising with other business owners, and with this group of creative women we come up with some great ideas for each other’s businesses,” said Dr. Trevor Holly Cates of the Santa Barbara Center for Natural Medicine.
Another important element of the group is fostering good corporate citizenship.
“We strategize on how to make our community better through fund raising, awareness and donating to great causes,” said Michelle Bexelius, who owns Homegrown Photos.
“I wish more businesses were not just networking but supporting things,” said Steidl, who is teaming up with Moms In Motion founder — and fellow N.E.W. member — Jamie Allison to present the second annual Mother Day 5K & Family Festival on May 7, as a benefit for Village Properties Realtors’ Teacher’s Fund and Postpartum Education for Parents (PEP).
In addition to the philanthropic aspect, N.E.W. members’ supportiveness of each other distinguishes the group from other business organizations.
“Bryn Evans (co-owner of Hopscotch and the lone man in the group) made a comment — if this had been men it would have been so different, you’re so supportive, so enthusiastic,” Steidl recalled.
Some of the adjectives members used to describe their colleagues included generous, intelligent, committed, humorous, inspirational, creative and innovative.
“It takes a lot of creativity and guts to start your own business and manage it well. These women inspire me to continue working hard to grow my business,” Cates said.
In addition to sbparent.com, Mind Your Manners, My Gym, Santa Barbara Center for Natural Medicine, Homegrown Photos, Moms In Motion and Hopscotch, group members include Kim Clark of Baby Boot Camp, Sonia Diaz-Ebadi of Pizza Mizza, Marietta Jablonka of A Stork Was Here, Danielle Kling of The Dining Car, Suzanne Shea of Envirobaby and Carol Tricase of PEP.
For more information on N.E.W., visit www.sbparent.com.