Via Community News Service, a VTSU-Castleton internship, for Rutland Herald
RUTLAND — On Tuesday evening, Treviso Vermont was filled with the smell of fresh cheeses and the roaring laughter of local businesswomen.
Made possible by a Vermont Women’s Fund grant, the night marked the Downtown Rutland Partnership’s third and final Women in Business Mixer of the year.
“I love networking with all the other women within the county, meeting new people and connecting with those I don’t get to see often,” said Shandy Patch, a full-time brand photographer.
Showcasing one of Rutland’s newest women-owned businesses, Treviso Vermont, the “Stories to Inspire” event was accompanied by their authentic Italian cuisine that holds a modern twist.
Along with the complimentary drinks, the night consisted of three guest speakers, a fun bingo-styled connection activity, and time to network with other powerful women.
“I’m most excited to network,” said Debra Lee Adams, owner of Gran-Debra Farms. “I have been trying to get my products in more stores.”
Then, Hal Issente and Alex Jakab break through the sound of women socializing to introduce the women of the hour. Issente and Jakab are the executive and assistant directors of Downtown Rutland Partnership.
“Seeing the growth from the first event to this one, networking and chatting nonstop, bringing the community together, that’s my favorite part,” Jakab said.
Sharing their journeys in business were Emily Bush, director of the Vermont Women’s Fund; Liz Patnode, owner of True Yoga Vermont; and Clair Purcell, housing developer and new business creator at Lyta Ventures.
Pantnode brought the audience through her chaotic path of renovation in Pittsfield with her cousin, fears of leaving her home community in San Francisco, and raising her two children by herself. She said she didn’t think she would end up in downtown Rutland.
“In the middle of all that, my lifestyle was nonexistent in the middle of Pittsfield,” Patnode said. “It was also not a smart business move to start a yoga studio in a town of 500 elderly people, but it was what I needed to do.”
Patnodes’ studio was built from the only vacant building left in the town — an old butcher shop — where she taught free classes for two years. People would trade her for bread.
“I was like, OK, I guess this is how Vermont works?” she said.
Patnode explained how an elderly gentleman and business owner would often read the newspaper in the lobby of her Pittsfield studio. He urged her to move to Rutland, saying, “Big things are going to happen there soon.”
“I was like, ‘When? I’m not sure if you have been to downtown Rutland lately, but I don’t go there,” she said.
Patnode found one building for sale and had bought it within 30 days.
“In my mind, whenever someone asks me about Vermont as an entrepreneur, it really is the land of opportunity. No one is going to stop you, you just have to work and believe in it,” Patnode said.
Purcell followed with her business journey, which began at her first wedding.
“I was 21 years old, and a virgin,” Purcell said, making the audience laugh. “Why was I a virgin? I grew up in a very Christian family.”
When she was 10 years old, her life consisted of going to three-hour-long church services three times a week; however, it wasn’t until high school that she felt a big push into her religion.
“I really felt like my mission in life that God had given me was to become a pastor and grow a really big church,” she said. “Sometimes my accent confuses people, but I don’t mean spaghetti,” she laughed, along with the crowd.
After falling in love, Purcell got married. Terrified by things she couldn’t control on her big day, she went out to find aesthetic white umbrellas to prevent her photos from being “ugly.”
To her surprise, each umbrella was $100; she wanted five of them. Finding the price to be outrageous, Purcell wondered how much the umbrellas actually cost the owner to buy, resulting in the creation of a pretend business name and a phone call to the manufacturer.
“Ladies, these umbrellas were $9.50,” she said. “I bought 10 of them.”
The weather at her wedding held up, leaving Purcell with almost a dozen big, white umbrellas and the idea to turn her fake business name into a real thing.
“Those who have had a business before, do you remember your firsts? Your first customer, your first email, your first person to walk through the door,” she said. “How amazing is that feeling? It is so crazy that there is this random person out in the middle of the world who wants my umbrellas.”
What inspires her the most is being able to use her experiences to help solve someone else’s problems. She is also big on the belief of never knowing what is going to happen in life, and as it turns out, she did become a pastor, but it led to a series of events that made her step away.
“I don’t actually believe in God, and that’s a problem when it’s your day job,” she said.
She resigned from the church, separated from her husband, and restarted her life at university. The hardest part, she said, was losing her relationship with God.
After graduating from college, Purcell sold her umbrella business for $90,000 at age 25 and used it to travel through Europe for 18 months.
Not one Women in Business event is the same, said Issente. One of Issente’s favorite moments of the night was the sound of the audience relating to Purcell during her story.
“That’s what really hits home of why we do these events, to have people build connections and inspire others,” he said.