Two entrepreneurs, newly arrived in Greenville with neighboring businesses, wondered how they could better connect with other women in a similar situation. Veera Gaul had recently opened Oil & Vinegar with her husband, Joe, just steps away from Kilwins, where Ashley Adams is co-owner. The two women decided to form a local Cake & Whiskey group for professional women, which met for the first time last week.
Gaul had organized similar events in another city. She was also a reader of Cake & Whiskey, a women’s business magazine that also promotes women’s groups. Gaul wants the group to be “kind of that kitchen cabinet of people you can call on and say, ‘I don’t know what to do.’”
Networking isn’t the focus, but some business relationships do flow from personal connections.
Vicki Sorauf of the Enclave at Paris Mountain said she looked for a social group that could replace others who drift away as life goes on. “Soccer mom days are over for me,” she said.
Several the women in attendance had lived in Greenville for less than one year, and many owned their own businesses.
Tracy Vanzura, owner of Great Harvest Bread Company, said she wanted to connect with people who can understand life as a small-business owner.
“It does just become the type of thing that other people who haven’t done it don’t understand,” she said. She talked with Jessica Randall, owner of Cool Mama’s ice cream truck, who agreed and added that women have their own particular concerns and need a venue to address them together.
Amid consumption of the eponymous cake and whiskey, a few activities helped people connect. Attendees eventually settled down for a guided “hot topic” discussion of habits of successful women, which elicited several candid and funny comments about dealing with regret and adding completed items to to-do lists just for the pleasure of crossing them off on paper.
True to the goal, business cards remained out of sight. But business talk – within a definite female slant – was all around.
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Connections is a chance to get an inside look at how the business community comes together after hours. Want UBJ to connect with your group? Email joladipo@communityjournals.com.
