Chris Holman welcomes back Kim Bode, Dog rescuer, community advocate, and proud Michigan business owner, 8THIRTY FOUR Integrated Communications, Grand Rapids, MI.
Watch Kim and Chris discuss supporting women business owners, growing established companies, smaller startups and tackling workplace conversations in the YouTube video shared below:
Chris had several questions for Kim in this conversation:
Kim, let’s start with the Women’s Entrepreneurial Fellowship. This is now your third cohort. What have you seen consistently among women business owners that has validated the importance of this program and what these women business owners need?
- The Fellowship is designed for women who have already built successful businesses. What are some of the challenges that show up when an owner moves from simply running the business to really trying to grow it?
- And new this year, you’re launching the Women’s Owners Network as an extension of the Women’s Entrepreneurial Fellowship, built for the smaller businesses and one-woman shops. How is the support those owners need different from what a larger, more established business owner needs?
- You’ve created this entire ecosystem of resources and support for women business owners, including your Uncomfortable Community Conversations, which are designed to get people talking about issues that don’t always make it into a business conversation. What do you hope business owners – specifically women business owners – take away from your September 24th conversation about perimenopause and the workplace?
- You’ve built all three of these efforts around people, relationships and having some of the uncomfortable conversations that businesses often avoid. From your perspective, what is one thing Michigan could be doing differently right now to better support the women business owners and the people who are helping them build their companies?
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The Women’s Entrepreneurial Fellowship is also open for applications, get them in before September 15.
The Big Deal Energy personal branding workshop is September 23. Grab your spot.
Uncomfortable Conversations | The Pause is September 24. We’re talking perimenopause, so buckle up. The event is free, and it’s gonna sell out quick.
Chris Holman interviews Kim Bode, owner of 8THIRTYFOUR Integrated Communications in Grand Rapids, on the Michigan Business Beat about her 
programs supporting women entrepreneurs. Bode discusses the Women’s Entrepreneurial Fellowship, now in its third year, a nine-month program through the Small Business Association of Michigan for established “second stage” women business owners (five-plus years in business, employees, and at least half a million in revenue) who often struggle to move from managing to leading. She also introduces a new offering launching in November, the Women’s Owners Network, a six-month program for earlier-stage entrepreneurs who don’t yet qualify for the fellowship but need help building a foundation and support system. Finally, she previews an upcoming free “Uncomfortable Community Conversations” event on September 24th in Grand Rapids, focused on how perimenopause affects business owners and their employees, held in partnership with the Small Business Association of Michigan and the Women’s Business Council.
