Empowering Women Entrepreneurs to Thrive: an interview with Persephone Zill of the Women's Enterprise Development Center

Persephone Zill, WEDC Program Director, brings a wealth of experience with entrepreneurial education and non-profit management to her role. She has been helping women start and grow businesses for over fifteen years.Persephone shared her growth story with money. Like her mother, she had a child like relationship with money; basically ignoring it and handing the power to someone else. Until one day, that someone else said that he was not going to pay for the $20,000 of credit card debt from her business. That was her wake up call. Although it was painful, it was the beginning of her growing up. She has never accumulated credit card debt since.Persephone's marriage ended in divorce when she was in her fifties. By then, she was already enjoying budgeting with her Excel spreadsheet, and had a full time job with benefits as a Senior Director with Feeding Westchester. She feels that her experience with money is very much connected to the work she does now, helping women entrepreneurs not be afraid of the numbers, not be afraid of Excel. She encourages them to be interested in the numbers. They're going to tell you whether your business is viable, whether it's worth doing, how long it's going to take to break even, how long it's going to take to be able to collect a salary from your hard work."I very much wanted women to have a voice and to stand in their gifts, to to self-promote, to be able to do public speaking, to be able to sell, to close the deal. " Persephone ZillKey Takeaways:- Though budgeting may sound like a dirty word to many of us, to Persephone, budgeting represents freedom. She describes being really resistant at first to the notion of budgeting, but now she enjoys it. It's freedom, she says, when you understand your finances. Persephone she feels that the personal work she's done around her finances Is connected to the work she does now, helping women have a voice and stand in their gifts.- Be willing to grow an edge. Growing an edge is how Persephone sees the financial journey she has been on. Similar to yoga, we don't shy away from the parts that are hard. Instead, we push towards it and then we are able to increase our balance, increase our courage, increase our flexibility and resilience.- Move forward while you're afraid. Persephone talked about moving forward while afraid to pursue a part-time career as an interfaith minister and a spiritual director. She sees her through story as helping people access their deepest knowledge and wisdom as they go along their path.- Find community. Persephone describes WEDC, the Women's Enterprise Development Center, as a safe space where women can learn to start their own businesses while being vulnerable.About the Guest:Persephone Zill, WEDC Program Director, brings a wealth of experience with entrepreneurial education and non-profit management. She was the Associate Director at Fordham University’s social innovation lab and a Senior Vice President at Feeding Westchester, developing strategic partnerships around solving hunger in Westchester. Ms. Zill previously served as the Program Manager for WEDC, training and counseling women entrepreneurs for over nine years. She received a BA in American Studies from Barnard College and an MBA in Management/Entrepreneurship from Baruch College and is a graduate of Leadership Westchester.Linked in :-https://www.linkedin.com/in/persephonezill/Website :- http://wedcbiz.org Interested in booking a free consultation? Schedule a call.Stay connected:Connect with Laura on LinkedIn@Rotters5 on TwitterConnect with Laura on FacebookSubscribe to my YouTube channelSubscribe to my newsletterGet your free copy of Unlock Your Money Blocks Workbook : Your step-by-step guide to unlocking your blocks to financial freedom.Disclaimer: Please remember that the information shared on this podcast does not constitute accounting, legal, tax, investment or financial advice. It’s for informational purposes only. You should seek appropriate professional advice for your specific information.