Women entrepreneurs in the Pine Belt will soon have the opportunity to network, connect, find information and gather resources from other women entrepreneurs at the second annual Pine Belt Women Business Owner Summit, hosted by Emerge Events.
The theme of this year’s event, which will be held August 15 and 16 at Pearl River Community College’s Lowery A. Woodall Advanced Technology Center, 906 Sullivan Drive in Hattiesburg, is “Better Together.”
“I’m an entrepreneur myself and I organize a lot of events (as an event planner),” said Jennifer Clark, owner of Emerge Events and co-founder of Women Business Owners of the Pine Belt. “I organized a women’s expo for many years and last year I had the idea to organize a small conference event for women entrepreneurs because especially after the (COVID-19) pandemic, it’s much harder than ever to run a business.
“I’m just passionate about women in business and anyone trying to run a business. So I want to empower women entrepreneurs and give them more exposure and bring resources, information and each other together. (That way) we can have time to connect, learn and really grow. I think the more we support women entrepreneurs, the better their businesses can become and the better our community can become.”
According to 2024 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20.4 percent of businesses fail in the first year of opening, 49.4 percent in the first five years, and 65.3 percent in the first ten years. To counteract these statistics, the Pine Belt Women Business Owner Summit offers participants the opportunity to:
- Be inspired by the speakers for two days;
- Enjoy a meet-and-greet reception including complimentary chair massages, portrait photos, and food and beverages provided by women-owned businesses;
- Connect with other female entrepreneurs and find opportunities for collaboration.
- Find answers to questions about corporate governance;
- Enter to win prizes;
- Find new ideas and inspiration; and
- Gain new customers and resources, among other things.
“The Pine Belt Women Entrepreneurs group is really good and impactful, but we only meet about once or twice a month for an hour,” Clark said. “So we have this really good engagement for about an hour and then we go about our day.”
“So this summit is like an extended version of that, where we come together for two days and really empower each other with knowledge, information and mutual contacts.”
Expo topics include panels such as “How to Build Your Strongest Company,” “Harnessing the Power of Networking,” “A Crash Course in Marketing,” “Sales Tax and Your Small Business,” and “3 Steps to Increase Productivity.” Speakers include Kristynna Clark of Keller Williams Realty, Beth Hennington of The Vanillan, Penny Ross of 5×2 Marketing, and Kesha Smith of the Mississippi Department of Revenue.
A one-day pass to the summit is $90, and a two-day pass is $170. To purchase tickets and for more information about the event, including a full schedule, visit www.emergeevents.com/wbos.
Although the event is aimed at women entrepreneurs, participants do not necessarily have to own a business to participate in the expo.
“A lot of the content is relevant to anyone, especially women who are involved in business in general,” Clark said. “Whether you own a business or not, you can find something that is really useful.”
“I even have retired entrepreneurs come to me because even though they may not own their business anymore, a lot of them are still very involved in the community and just want to keep growing and stay invested. I find that very valuable because … their experience and the fact that they’re in the same room with us is very helpful.”
Clark said given the success of last year’s inaugural event, she is looking forward to the upcoming expo, which is sponsored in part by Hancock Whitney Bank.
“I’m still hearing stories about collaboration and information and things that came out of last year, so I’m really excited about year two,” she said.
