Entrepreneu-Hers from across Fayetteville came together at the Cape Fear Botanical Gardens on Monday, March 6 to kick off of the second annual Fayetteville #HerWeek.

#HerWeek is a collection of an array of events brought together for #HERFayetteville, a celebration for the empowerment of women through mentorship, education, networking, and collaboration. 

Created and held every year by the Women's Business Center of Fayetteville and the Center for Economic Empowerment & Development (CEED), #HERWeek’s goal is to promote opportunities for all women throughout Fayetteville.

The #HERFayetteville title showcases the main goals and mission of the event: “Focus on Heart, Equality, and Resilience, celebrating International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month.” 

To launch this year’s #HERWeek, working women of all ages and careers gathered for the Her Impact brunch and speaker event, the first event of eight planned between March 6-11. 

The first speaker was Women of Power Society of NC Founder, Kathy Keefe Jensen. Jensen, who serves as the Fayetteville Council Member for District 1, also owns and operates an Affair to Remember Prom, Pageant, and Formal Wear. Jensen presented a proclamation from the City of Fayetteville formally acknowledging March 6-10 as HERWeek. 

After reading the proclamation, Jensen also presented CEED with a portion of the money raised from the 13th annual Runway Extravaganza fashion show that was held in January. 

A total of $10,000 was presented  to help support CEED and their programs through the year. Jensen also announced that the show would be returning in January of 2024. 

Following Keefe-Jensen, Deputy District Director with the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) North Carolina District Office Aregnaz Mooradian came on stage to discuss the economic impacts of women owned businesses across the state. Some of the facts presented by 

Mooradian highlighted include:

• In the state of North Carolina, women make up 51 percent of the population and make up 43 percent of business owners. 
• North Carolina ranks 10th in the nation in women's business ownership. 
• The ratio of women owned businesses in North Carolina are 2:5 
• 91 percent of women owned businesses are operated by sole proprietors. 
• Women owned businesses across the state employ over 250,000 people and generate almost $40 billion in income annually. 
• In 2021, out of the total of  $5.4 billion dollars in federal contracts awarded in North Carolina to both large and small businesses, $259 million was awarded to women owned small businesses. 
• 41 percent of women are employed either in a managerial or professional occupation. 

Local Motivational, Transformation, Inspirational Speaker; Author and Ghostwriter Nanette M. Buchanan then took to the stage to share HERStory, speaking to the crowd about the tools and practices to reach success including your own “internal GPS,” and taking time to share her background and experiences throughout her life. 

As the first event of the week, there is still plenty of time to get involved. 

“Just be a part of celebrating women and celebrating each other,” said CEED Executive Director  

Suzy Hrabovsky. “So often we're so hard on ourselves and so hard on each other, and this is just about those wins and celebrating those and being happy about it. And it's just a great feeling to be around other people and supporting each other and feeling supported, so come out and be a part of it.” 

You can find out more about this week’s events online here: https://www.facebook.com/herweeknc

You can purchase tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/her-week-her-fayetteville-celebration-tickets-564993740487?fbclid=IwAR3m1LA2g7deY814_fpTb42qLKQfPNXmm2KicIvXb9nZjPuLCvncpkzHwUM