You Betcha She Did! Life Advice, Business Tips for Rad Women Entrepreneurs, Leaders, Coaches and

85 | Tip for Women Entrepreneurs: Build Your Own Table

• Ladies First Digital Media Company • Season 5 • Episode 85

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Attention Women Coaches, Leaders, Business Saavy Women, Women Entrepreneurs and those of us dreaming of a career pivot- Tired of waiting for a seat at the table?  Oh, I do see some hands raised.

Here's an idea - Let's build our OWN table.  Meet small business lawyer for women, Stephanie Melnick, as she talks about her efforts to connect and support Milwaukee women-owned and run businesses. Besides being a powerhouse at her own female-led law firm, Stephanie runs Women Entrepreneur Week in Milwaukee (May 6-10) and the She Stands Tall Speaker Series.

Tune in as Stephanie shares:

  • the wide variety of amazing networking and collaborating events coming up at Milwaukee's Women Enterepreneur Week on May 6-10 - did I mention the them this year is "Building our Table."
  • Key advice on how to handle contracts in your business
  • Her motivation behind connecting women across SouthEast Wisconsin in order to build each other up.

Connect with Stephanie and Women Entrepreneur Week

  • Melnick & Melnick, S.C.
  • She Stands Tall, LLC (includes speaker series, Women's Entrepreneurship Week, and She Shines)
  • Instagram and Facebook: @shestandstallmke and melnickmelnicksc
  • LinkedIn: She Stands Tall and Melnick & Melnick, S.C. 

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Speaker 2:

Did she really do that? You betcha, she did. Hello, and welcome back to another episode of you Betcha. She Did the podcast where women entrepreneurs, changemakers, leaders, especially from the Midwest, share their wit and wisdom. We are here to help you own your voice, grow your brand and grow your influence. Last but not least, we want you to earn what you're worth.

Speaker 2:

So today I have the amazing Stephanie Melnick in the studio. I've been wanting to pick her brain for some time. She is a woman who blends seamlessly with the you betcha. She did whole meaning, the whole vision. Stephanie is a lawyer, a small business lawyer, in Milwaukee, wisconsin, and she runs the law firm of Melnick Melnick, and she also runs a whole bunch of pro-women events which we are going to dive into today. So, stephanie, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for having me. This is so fun. Yeah, I'm glad you're here. Let's kind of first just dive in to your background as a lawyer and how that kind of led you down the path of helping women. Now I know you guys focus specifically on small business and entrepreneurs and you're an all-woman law firm, which is pretty rad. Talk to us a little bit about that first, and then we'll dive into all the great other things you guys do, yeah, so we represent only small businesses.

Speaker 1:

Most of our clients are women-owned businesses and I actually started practicing way back in the day with my dad and we were doing business law for a long time and then, as he started to kind of wind down and ultimately retired, the practice changed so to be more woman owned businesses, which has been amazing and amazing transition, I guess. Oh gosh, it's Friday and it's snowing.

Speaker 2:

I know Exactly.

Speaker 1:

I think it's thrown everybody off.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I feel the same way. I was like all right, got to get my mojo back.

Speaker 1:

Right, Like I thought it was spring, Anyway. Okay, I'm going to move on past that. And so we started she Stands Tall and some of these events back in 2017. And it was really just out of a desire to say I think there's a lot of people doing really cool stuff, like you've also recognized, and we're really interested in what they're doing. So I bet other people would be interested in what they're doing too. And let's just start. We started with a speaker series. We partnered with a wine bar and we brought different women in to talk about what they do, and then we had wine and snacks, obviously. Yeah, who doesn't love that? Exactly Because that seems necessary, I don't know. Yeah.

Speaker 2:

You know for the she Stands Tall speaker series. I mean, I know you guys do those, so for those listeners who don't know what that is, it's a speaker series usually in Milwaukee. It's led by women entrepreneurs and it's usually hosted at a women business. Sounds amazing. I didn't realize you guys have done that from 2017. I thought it was more recent. So, yeah, that's fantastic.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it's been really fun. I mean it has evolved where you know we started out just handing people a mic and that I realized very fast, really stressed people out and then they didn't want to do it.

Speaker 2:

You're like sorry, I'll try to tailor this more.

Speaker 1:

So we started doing it as interview style and Q&A and that has made a big difference because people are very comfortable telling their stories. They just don't want to have to prepare a speech. You know, yeah, lately we've been doing a lot of them in our office. Sometimes we've gone to other businesses or other restaurants or bars. We were at the Charles Alice Art Museum once. We did an event there, so we've been kind of all over. But it's always an entrepreneur they're from Wisconsin so far talking about what they do and how they got there and why they're doing what they're doing. And we've lately in the past this year, in 2024, started putting the videos of those on our website. So that's been really fun to be able to kind of share. If you missed it or if you're really interested in that person, be able to see it later. So that's been really fun.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I love that option, because sometimes you can't make every event, especially, you know, as women, or if their mothers are like oh my kid's sick. Or lo and behold, it snowed in Wisconsin.

Speaker 1:

Can't make it to the event, but hey, you can catch it up later, right? Exactly, that's the best thing. And to some of them where you think they're going to be really good, but then once you see it, you're like, oh my God, that was so amazing that more people have to see this. And then it always kind of broke my heart a little when, like, the event was over and the content was just like all these, it was just gone, and so it took a while to kind of figure out how to do it and what it looked like.

Speaker 2:

And I know that that well, I'm assuming I could be wrong. Did the she Stands Tall speaker series? Did that lead into Women Entrepreneur Week in Milwaukee? I know you guys are hugely involved in that. Let's first tell our listeners what Women Entrepreneur Week in Milwaukee is all about, and then we can kind of get to the backstory.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely so. Women's Entrepreneurship Week is literally a week-long Monday to Friday of events focused on women entrepreneurs. So most of the attendees like I don't know very, very most, like very high percentage of the attendees are women entrepreneurs and people who identify as non-binary both who come in. There's inspiration, there's education, there's networking, there's kind of all the things together to try to help people, you know, be supported, learn more about what they want to do. Take the next step.

Speaker 1:

The evolution is we didn't start it. It started in 2017, coincidentally, by somebody else, and then somebody ran it for a couple years and somebody else ran it for a couple years and then they had a pandemic. So then, yeah, exactly. So then they moved it online for a little while and then it was sort of a hybrid online and in person. And then we took it over last year and because we had so much experience with events and because we we know the market, we know what people are looking for and we knew there was a need, we moved it back to be an in-person event, and so last year we did it, moved it back. It was all in-person events. This year, it'll be the same thing, only more, because you know I can't leave well enough alone. So instead we have like triple the price.

Speaker 2:

Why not keep growing it bigger and better? Yeah, there's definitely a need.

Speaker 1:

Like you know, you can't just, it would be too easy otherwise.

Speaker 2:

So that's been really, really fun. I know that's coming up in May. Right Is Women Entrepreneur Week, the first week in May in.

Speaker 1:

Milwaukee, may 6th to the 10th, um, we have 80 different speakers, 33 different events and seven different venues. So all the daytime events are in one place, and then in the evening we're going to a different venue every night to do a different keynote event. And then we also have some collaborators, some other people who apply to host events, and those will be in different venues too. So it's really, it's really going to be fun.

Speaker 2:

Awesome. So if you are an entrepreneur or someone who has a side hustle, or maybe you even just have a dream about starting your own business, this is an event you're going to want to attend and, like Stephanie was saying, it's right in Milwaukee. There's things during the day, during the night, to accommodate any schedule. It's a fantastic way to network and learn. I love in-person events because there's just this power that comes when women are together and we start collaborating. You really don't see competition. It's more like hey, how can I help you out? What are you doing? Oh, you should meet this person, so I highly recommend it. In the show notes I'll have links to Women Entrepreneur Week so you can check that out and block out some time in your May schedule to make sure you can go there. Stephanie, is there one or two events at Women Entrepreneur Week that you're super excited about? I know there's tons of great stuff. You said there's 70 different speakers, but is there one or two that you're like? I'm extra pumped about this one.

Speaker 1:

So we have some really great we really were. Last year, people told us we want more networking, but what we also learned was they wanted intentional networking. Like coming in a room with people you don't know and like, okay, go talk, it's not terrifying? I'm one of those terrified people who will go right to?

Speaker 1:

the person I know and stay there the whole time. So we tried to be. So we last year we did an event meet and eat. We're doing it again. It's like the first opening event. It's, you know, breakfast and networking, and we forced people to move around the room and talk to people they don't know, and that people loved it. It was awesome. So we're doing that again. And then we added we're going to have on Tuesday I think it's Tuesday afternoon where we're bringing different entrepreneurs together who have experience in different areas. We're doing it a long time to kind of do a mentorship meetup. We called it doing it a long time to kind of do a mentorship meetup. We called it. So if you really want to come and network, when you want to talk to those people and you want to ask them questions and you want to have your list, then you'll know who's going to be there, you'll know what they do. So you can really kind of have it be ask the questions that you've always wanted to know is what we're speaking about and meet other people who are there. So kind of like networking, just not throwing it to the winds and hoping that you meet somebody, but actually being really purposeful about it. So we're really excited about those events we're.

Speaker 1:

Our theme this year is build building the table, which arose from last year because there's all this talk about getting a seat at the table and lots of table analogies. And then, finally, on the actually the opening night, one of the speakers, kathy Thorne-Bias, who's head of Boys and Girls Clubs. She said she's well, she used some colorful language which I will not use, but she said at some point you have to stop demanding a seat at their table and just build your own table. Yeah, and that stuck. I love that, and so we're. So the theme is building the table. Yeah, and that stuck. I love that, and so we're. So the theme is building the table. So where the events, all the keynote events, are related to sort of different ideas around building things and Monday night we're talking about building communities so the speakers are really focused on building different sorts of communities, and so a lot of the different events in the evenings are focused on this idea of building not a table exactly, but something that is related to building something or creating something.

Speaker 2:

I think there's something very powerful about building your own table, building your own network. You know a group of supportive women who are going to help each other out and change the world.

Speaker 1:

Oh, and last year I wanted to do like an after party event and we just decided we had too many things, we couldn't do it. So this year we're doing a comedy show. Well, okay, I'm not doing that by a whole lot. We have. We have brought in three women comedians and we're going to do a comedy.

Speaker 1:

They are going to do a comedy show that we're going to go enjoy, okay, thoroughly enjoy um, after party style at the sugar maple, which is a bar in bayview oh yeah, I love that place, yeah, it's so fun, so that also. So there's like kind of, you're going to learn some things. There's a lot of daytime events where there's lots of opportunity to learn things. Um, for people who've been doing this a long time, for people that are just starting out and really need the basics to learning, to inspiration, to networking with intention and then we get some laughs too along the way Like yeah, humor is the best medicine and we can't go wrong with that at all the morning, like first thing in the morning there's no breakfast.

Speaker 1:

in the evening there's always some sort of like dinner. You know, we really try to treat people right yeah yeah, oh, that's great.

Speaker 2:

Well, I want to pick your brain a little bit too, because I know you've been practicing law for over 25 years. You know working with small businesses. What kind of trends and changes have you seen with women-owned businesses, like? I'm just curious to see if you've seen a huge influx, you know, over the past 25 years, like more and more women, or if there's things that have changed or shifted. I love hearing about economic trends. Oh, that's a hard question.

Speaker 1:

So I think, generally speaking and I think the statistics bear this out there are a lot more women owned businesses than there once were, whether it's part women-owned or only women-owned.

Speaker 1:

I have been practicing a very long time now and in the beginning we didn't I don't even think I had an idea of women-owned business as being not that there weren't some, but it wasn't a thing. I wasn't really focused on it because it just wasn't something that we sort of were thinking about or looking for back in the 90s. Yeah, and so just the explosion of how many there are and people are trying to find each other and support each other. And I think, as you said earlier, we seem to be as a community, at least here in Wisconsin, really good at collaborating and really good at helping each other out. And even for businesses I've seen where they do technically compete, they don't treat each other that way as you would anticipate, treat each other that way as you would anticipate. So in terms of trends, I think, just sort of an explosion of numbers and people across industries. Truly it's been remarkable. Now we have a long way to go. I'm not trying to tell you, I think, like all done or anything.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I know, it's like women are still getting paid less than men and, you know, denied opportunities, especially if you're a woman of color, and and so on.

Speaker 1:

So we still have work to do, but I'm glad there's been progress and there's challenges, you know, in terms of accessing funding, and that's been a long story for a long time, and so I think that's is it better. I mean, we can debate that all day, but, you know, hopefully it's moving in the right direction, but there's a long way to go there.

Speaker 2:

But you know, hopefully it's moving in the right direction, but there's a long way to go there. So this next question let me know if this is possible to answer. So a lot of the listeners if you bet you did are entrepreneurs or want to be entrepreneurs or just want to have a good sense of business. Are there mistakes that you often see clients do? That of course it won't apply to everybody, but just you know, just business advice from the lawyer side, where you're like, hey, if you have a business, here's something to be mindful of.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely. I think there seems to be misconceptions around contracts, and my theory for why that is is because you know you get a new phone or you start using a new like software, and it makes you say, yes, I accept. We routinely, without reading them, are used to accepting contracts and just saying yeah, it's fine, because if you say no, you can't have an iPhone, right, yes, but, and so I think that makes people really relaxed about just saying, oh, yeah, it's okay. And so when they get a contract in their business that is different, like a lease or a contract with a vendor or a services agreement, they're content with just signing what somebody else puts in front of them or Googling something and just pulling the first thing down and not negotiating and not realizing you have the power to negotiate, and that we've just seen burn people over and over and over.

Speaker 1:

Because even if you don't understand what that contract says, or even if you thought you were being promised something else, it's very hard to unwind it once you sign it and it's in writing. It's not impossible, but it's hard. And so the key there is you know, if you sign it, you're bound to it. If you don't understand it, you're still bound to it. If there's things you thought were going to be that aren't in there you've now doesn't matter, because you've signed something else, and so I think that you know this whole like oh it's fine approach to contract signing is really become a problem, I think problematic right for small businesses and other people, but small businesses in particular, because I think, or they have trust, which is very nice.

Speaker 1:

We like it. Like, oh, my landlord said they're going to do all these things to the space and they're going to build me all this great stuff and they're going to paint it and they're going to put a new floor and they're going to do all this stuff, but it's not in the league.

Speaker 2:

And so we, you know, like, but they're nice and so we trust.

Speaker 1:

They me, we're buddies, I know. No, they're not. No, they're not.

Speaker 2:

So that is really like a recurring thing over and over and over. That's great advice, because I never even thought about that, just how we're. It's ingrained in our culture. Yeah, to be like yes, I accept and yeah, it probably makes us way too comfortable without really examining what the contract is about before we sign it, without really examining what the contract is about before we sign it. Do you feel like whenever you work with someone like if you have a service-based business, you should always give them a contract? Do you see people who are like I didn't make a contract for them, like, do you see those people getting burned ever?

Speaker 1:

Yes, so the short answer is yes. I think what happens there is. People who have service-based businesses should definitely have a contract. Now a contract. I think other people also think it has to have magic, legal words in it, and there's a little bit of that. For the most part, as long as it's written in clear language and people understand what it is, it's okay. There's no magic like a lawyer has to bless it or something.

Speaker 2:

The official lawyerly blessing.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it was in writing. The old story is like I wrote a contract in the back of a napkin and somebody signed it. You both signed it.

Speaker 1:

Well, you've got a contract now, I mean whether it's clear or good enough, I don't know, but anyway.

Speaker 1:

And so I think those services agreement are really important.

Speaker 1:

I think where people kind of sometimes fall down is they pull something off the internet or they take something from their trade association that maybe doesn't exactly apply or they don't, you know. So they aren't tailoring it to what their services are or they're not writing it in a language that's clear. And because to me, the best contract is one we all understand it from the beginning. Everybody knows what it says, and so we put it in a drawer, we save it on our computer and we don't have to go back to it because we understand what we're supposed to do. And so that is where I think people really fail, because they not intentionally, but they just don't understand the importance of it and they don't know why. It's going to be an important thing later If somebody doesn't pay, or if they're late on getting you their stuff, or if they're, you know, start forwarding the things you send them to everybody and start sharing the content you drafted for them. It's going to be a big problem really quick if you aren't careful about that on the front end Everybody listening.

Speaker 2:

intentionality around contracts. Take the time, make sure it applies to you, make sure everybody understands. That's a very, very good reminder. And I love what you said about negotiating too. Don't be afraid to negotiate. I think often, as women, we shy away from that because it's conflict, right, but you can, absolutely.

Speaker 1:

What's the worst they can do? They can say no.

Speaker 2:

And you don't. You can be nice about it.

Speaker 1:

I mean, in fact, I get further by being nice about it. But you don't have to accept the first offer that they give you. You can negotiate, you can, and if you don't ask, you don't. What's the story right? You don't ask, you don't get, isn't that what?

Speaker 2:

So the answer is always no if you don't ask.

Speaker 1:

Exactly, exactly so. Contracts, leases, all those things can be very negotiable sometimes, and sometimes they're not, but it's worth asking.

Speaker 2:

Well, this was great. We got a whole bunch of tidbits about Women Entrepreneur Week, which I'm really excited about. I'm excited about the she Stands Tall. I love your background. I love the business tips. Is there anything else you want to share that you think would be valuable for our listeners before?

Speaker 1:

we go, we do events. I mean, that's part of what's great about Women's Entrepreneurship Week and great about building this community is that we do events all year long and so you get to. You get like a heavy dose of all this amazing support and love and cheerleading and all that in May, but then you can keep it going all year because we do events every month. We have periodic network events where we bring that Women's Entrepreneurship Week community intentionally back to say how's it going and what's new and to catch up. So it's a once a year event. That's like the highlight, I guess, or the most fun. But then there's lots of other ways to connect with the community all year long.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's okay. I'll have um for all the listeners. I'll have everything linked in the show notes so you can check out the events, get yourself signed up for women entrepreneur week or even just get in touch with Stephanie. Stephanie, I don't know how you find time to do all these things, but I'm glad that you find time to do all these things. So thank you from the Women Entrepreneur community. As always, if you like what you're hearing on you, betcha, she Did don't forget to share the show with a friend, a neighbor, a sister, a colleague. You never know who's going to need this information. There are a lot of people out there, so send it their way and, of course, leave us a positive review wherever you get your podcasts. Until next time, take care. Bye.