Three members of the Phoenix chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners are part of the elite group of the top Women-Owned Businesses as named by the Phoenix Business Journal. Each Phoenix business owner learned early in her career that women do business differently from their male counterparts. Rosaria Cain, Robin Orchard and Ginger Clayton recently shared valuable advice for other female entrepreneurs.
Cain is the CEO of Knoodle, a full-service advertising and marketing agency. “I started my business 19 years ago because I was tired of working for men in corporate America,” she says. Cain attests that a large contributor to the success of Knoodle was knowing she was in control of her choices. She stresses the importance of creating a workplace where people can work in harmony to serve the needs of clients.
“As women, we all have these choices and should not fall prey to the ‘#MeToo’ movement or self-victimization,” Cain explains. “Instead, we should take it upon ourselves to create vibrant change, paving the way for future success for ourselves and other women.” Last year, Cain rejoined NAWBO to take advantage of its national reach to other successful women entrepreneurs through its conferences and NAWBO Circle.
For Orchard, president of Orchard Medical Consulting, a national leader in providing nurse care management, success came from not trying to build her business like a man. “Generally speaking, men like to learn by doing,” she explains. “Women tend to thrive in a group environment that is filled with talented people who readily and generously offer advice. I have found NAWBO to be just that place.”
Orchard has been a member of NAWBO for more than 10 years and uses the relationships she has built with members to receive valuable business advice. As a past mentor of NAWBO’s award-winning mentoring program, Orchard generously sponsors the program so other, newer women business owners can thrive.
Clayton is the owner of Elontec, a single-source provider of office furniture, relocation and technology solutions since 1997. Business success for her came by understanding how to balance all the roles a woman faces. Being entrepreneurial, Clayton saw that she must not only help others through her business, but through community service.
“As women business owners, we face great challenges from managing our business, servicing the nonprofit community, raising children, being wives and, often, caring for elder parents,” she says. “We have to continuously listen, learn and lead to create a legacy.”
And a legacy is definitely what Clayton is creating. In 2013, she founded the Diaper Bank of Central Arizona to build a sustainable diaper bank resource that enables Valley nonprofit agencies to help their clients by providing diapers.
“These three amazing women are an inspiration to NAWBO Phoenix members,” says Ronit Urman, 2018-19 NAWBO Phoenix President. “They remind us that, as women, we can accomplish anything. It takes a clear picture of the change you want to create, a group environment filled with talented people who readily offer advice, and the desire to create a legacy. And lots of hard work.”
For more information about NAWBO Phoenix, visit www.nawbophx.org.
