How You Can Support Women Entrepreneurs Today

“Practice community as a verb”—it’s a phrase you’ll often hear from us. That’s because the women entrepreneurs who’ve joined this community don’t only benefit from the specialized programming and resources we’re proud to provide, but also from the connections that they make by getting involved.

We recognize that entrepreneurial success doesn't only come from financial funding. Activating and accessing multiple types of capital plays a critical role as well.

Capitals we invest in:

Financial Capital: Attaining loans, grants, and venture capital are essential to growing your business. Through our programming, you can learn how to access financial capital, and even meet potential funders.

Wisdom Capital: This refers to the unique experiences that have shaped a woman entrepreneur's journey, the knowledge they hold, as well as the skills they can develop by enrolling in programs like E-Series, Money Moves, and The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch.

Community Capital: When you become part of The Forum community, you're joining a supportive network of fellow entrepreneurs and their champions who want to see you succeed. Community connections can be pivotal to the growth of your business, and each community member has the ability to make a positive impact on one another.

By "practice community as a verb," we mean actively engaging with and supporting women entrepreneurs and their businesses by harnessing the different types of capital that are available to you.

10 ways to support women-owned businesses:

Post about them on social media: Word-of-mouth is a powerful marketing tool. Share posts about women-owned businesses on social media and recommend them to friends, family, and colleagues. Don't forget to tag the business in your posts!
Follow their social media accounts and interact with them: You can help a business expand its reach by following them on social media. Engaging with their posts by liking, commenting, and sharing will have an even greater impact.
Shop, shop, shop: By choosing to purchase from women-owned businesses and hire their services, you can help them grow.
Leave a review: If you're satisfied with your purchase or the services you've been provided with, share your experience! Not only do positive reviews encourage new customers to support a business, but they enable the women entrepreneurs behind them to assess the experiences they're offering.
Collaborate with them: Look for opportunities to join forces with women entrepreneurs. Have a product you need help marketing? A website problem you can't quite solve? Hire an expert to help you thrive or consider exchanging services with them.
Activate your network as you make a referral: By opening up your personal network, you can help women entrepreneurs establish life-changing connections. Refer women entrepreneurs to others who may be interested in collaborating with them or supporting their businesses. The results can be truly magical.
Provide mentorship and guidance: Share your industry expertise and experience to help entrepreneurs overcome business challenges. We pair more than 100 women entrepreneurs with mentors across Canada every year and accept applications year-round.
Invest in their businesses: Whether you're providing venture capital or supporting a women entrepreneur's latest crowdfunding campaign, you can play a role in helping them achieve greatness.
Support their growth with a donation: You can help us provide the programming, resources, and community that women entrepreneurs need to thrive by becoming a Future Funder or making a one-time donation.
Volunteer to make a difference: We’re always accepting applications for General Volunteers who want to support women entrepreneurs and gain valuable experience in the non-profit sector.

When you practice community as a verb you’re providing powerful support to women business owners who are leading innovation, significantly contributing to the economy, creating new employment opportunities and showing the next generation of Canadian women how much they can achieve.

Let’s activate the types of capital we all have available to us and help women entrepreneurs build impactful businesses.