Adelaide Conaway reported this story on assignment from the Winooski News. The Community News Service is a program in which University of Vermont students work with professional editors to provide content for local news outlets at no cost.

Many women in business have experienced a crisis of confidence and wondered if they had the
right idea at the right time. If this applies to you, you’ll find out you’re not alone by attending the
Sisterhood of the Dreaded Elevator Pitch, a free, interactive workshop for anyone who identifies as
women to help them navigate some of the most intimidating aspects of running a business.

The first-time event will take place from 12 to 2 p.m. Friday at the O’Brien Community Center.
Participants can register online, but the coordinators said they welcome all who are interested to show
up.

Attendees will get the guidance of knowledgeable and experienced leaders within each of the
four local organizations coordinating the event. They include Paige Ruffner from Vermont Works for
Women; Faye Longo from the Center for Women and Enterprise; Rachel Goldstein from Champlain
Valley Office of Economic Opportunity; and Claire Wheeler from Mercy Connections. Each group is
centered on small business development and career support for communities throughout the region
and state.

“We see there’s a need for new and small business owners to network and talk about their
services,” said Ruffner, a career coach and program manager for employment and career services at
Vermont Works for Women.

“It’s an opportunity to really understand how to network in a business environment and feel
more confident doing that,” she continued. “It’s really an empowering event.”

So many business events are catered to white, heterosexual men, said Longo, project manager
of the Vermont Community Navigators pilot program at the Center for Women and Enterprise. Vermont
Community Navigators reduces barriers that small business owners often face.

“Women learn differently, and we engage differently,” she said. “So all these workshops catered
directly to women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, those affinity-based spaces, are really cool.”

The workshop will have a brief introduction and presentation on writing and carrying out an
elevator pitch, with most of the time set aside for small group learning and application. The organizers
want to challenge the participants to think through the unique characteristics that their businesses and
services bring to customers, the benefits that only they can provide, when crafting an elevator pitch.

In addition to learning from professionals, brainstorming business strategies, and connecting
with like-minded women, workshop attendees will also have the opportunity to practice their newly
formed pitches and get feedback from the coordinating leaders.

Oh, and just as important: There will also be cake.

And not just any cake from any baker. The coordinators made a point of promoting two local
women entrepreneurs for the event’s all-important menu. Tara Haskoor, owner of Taste of Traditions in
Bennington, will provide lunch. Sundus Al Tameemi, a microbusiness client of Goldstein’s coaching team
will bring cake.

Sundus, an Iraqi baker out of her home in Essex Junction, has wanted to build a wedding cake
business for years, Goldstein said. “So when this event came up, we thought, ‘what an opportunity for a
women-supporting-women event.’ I love that she’s going to get her business out there.”

For Goldstein and her fellow coordinators, those are the connections that drive not only the
Sisterhood event but their work for women entrepreneurs. “It’s been our passion and purpose.”

For more information about Sisterhood of the Dreaded Elevator Pitch, visit
https://cwewbc.ecenterdirect.com/events/979046