A (wo)Man's Field

It wasn't until I came across a post on HARO, an amazing site that "connects reporters to qualified sources," that I really began to consider the ratio of men to women in my experiences representing Soom Foods.  The question was, what advice do you have for young female entrepreneurs.

I read it as, what advice would I give myself.

Last month I was standing at an eCommerce Meet Up in Philadelphia, next to two (of maybe five total) women among 40 people.  Another woman and I laughed at the lack of female attendance, and I quickly realized that commenting with this woman about the lack of women was not the reason I went to the Meet Up,  networking was; so I politely excused myself to grab a drink.  I sparked up conversation with a group of men around the fridge.

Fast forward to the end of last week, and the same ratios of men to woman (yes, singular; me) began to emerge.  Omri and I finally began our sales process, meeting with several grocery, market, catering, and restaurant owners and managers in the Maryland/ DC area.  I was the only female in attendance at five of the seven meetings.

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I'm lucky to say I am not uncomfortable around men.  In fact, I think I would be less comfortable in a group of women.  I grew up loving sports, particularly basketball, which gave me more to do and talk about with the boys in my grade than the girls.  That comfort and ability to relate has continued through today, where a large percentage of my close friends are the XY mix, and I'd rather kick back to watch (any) sports game, than do (almost) anything else.

Just because I relate better to men does not mean they relate better to me, and I find myself in the thick of a boy's game grown up.  Just like in elementary school, when my close friend and neighbor had a boys only birthday party which I was not allowed to attend, I find myself an obvious outsider as I've worked to put Soom Foods on the shelves and into dishes.
In our entire supply chain, from manufacturer to warehouse, I am one of very few (majority of the time, the only) double-X.

How do I get myself into the game?  Well, I run it; by asking questions when necessary, giving answers when asked, and making the decisions for what's best for my sisters and my company.  With the help of two amazing men, I might add.  Brian Shube, a member of the supply chain boys club, helped me in organizing the supply chain; and Omri, the best brother a girl could ask for, is my voice abroad and ally in our initial meetings.

So what was my advice to young female entrepreneurs?
Get in on the conversations. 
For more, check out the 10th of the 13 suggestions from seasoned business owners.
The other 12 are great, too.

I felt like they were speaking to me.