Today was the kick-off event in Pasila, Helsinki, for “She’s Got This,” a mentorship program for female entrepreneurs in Helsinki, Finland, organized by Marika Peltoniemi.
The program will last a total of six months, during which mentors and mentees will be paired and meet in order to refine their business plan, strategies, boost self-assurance, skills, branding as well as expand their networks.
Almost half of the companies founded in the capital region of Helsinki are founded by entrepreneurs, but female entrepreneurs are shown to earn less and have significantly lower turnovers. Although Finland offers amazing programs for helping entrepreneurs with the startup phase, a little amount of support is provided for growth and expansion; that’s what “She’s Got This” is trying to solve.
Previously, I have been active in different entrepreneurial programs; I have received the Starttiraha Grant offered by Yrittäjät for my early business activities in Finland, and been part of the Startti Plus during which I was paired with Asko Mononen as my mentor. Both programs have been incredibly helpful in my journey as an entrepreneur.
But after a few years of operation and the economic recession, it became incredibly difficult for me to find new international clients willing to pay a living wage for Finnish standards.
Today, I was excited to meet with my mentor, Hannele Mennala, senior business executive, business coach & head of MovED collective. Meeting with her was such a delight, and I’m excited to start the work together. After the presentation, we had about 15 minutes to introduce ourselves and schedule the first meeting!
I’m very excited to get started and expand my horizons with new ideas and approaches. I’m coming into this project with a lot of commitment, trust, and willingness to challenge myself and go out of my comfort zones.
While at times I recognize it can be difficult to change my mind and trust outside perspectives, I’m coming into this program ready to challenge some of my beliefs and try things in a different way; Change doesn’t happen in comfort.
