In a time of unknowable economic stability due to changing world events, small business owners are often very important to the local economy and the community. This is especially important in downtown Cuyahoga Falls, where over 50 business owners (and counting) along Front Street are women. On the morning of March 3rd, these women were honored at the Portage Community Bank as “Women in Front.”
“When I was little, I would always look at leadership and at business owners and wonder why 51% of them were not women who looked like me,” remarked Abigail Poeske, Executive Director of the Downtown Cuyahoga Falls (DTCF) Partnership, as the women were honored. “You all have challenges that men don’t have to face…A lot of [women] are raising children, managing households, and doing other things [like] working part time jobs on the side.”
Indeed, despite progress and the growing number of female-owned business over time, women continue to receive, on average, 30-45% less pay for their work than their male peers, as well as only receiving 4.4% of conventional small business loans. Honoring the “Women in Front” helped shine a spotlight on some of the women who, despite these circumstances, are finding success in the Falls community.
“I am so impressed by the female business leadership downtown that continues to grow,” remarked Ward 4 Councilwoman Mary Nichols Rhodes in a press release about the event. “These women inspire and empower one another through collaboration, information sharing, and a lot of support. They truly share their success.”
To bring all of these business-owners together and allow downtown to continue growing, Nici Munyer, owner of HARVEST yoga + wellness, and the DTCF Partnership will be hosting a one-day workshop this summer called Catalyst. She is hopeful the workshop will help to bridge the gap between female business-owners’ dreams and reality in the Cuyahoga Falls community.
“[Catalyst is] for women in our community here, in the area of retail specifically, that are either hoping to start a business or really close in the start-up process but maybe have one thing holding them back, … [or] are in existing small businesses but are maybe seeking growth in their career or in their business,” Munyer told attendees of the “Women in Front” event.
Poeske sees the recognition of women business owners in Cuyahoga Falls as a first step toward continuing along the path of inclusion in the local business community as well.
“I think something that we also need to look at is how we continue to make our breakdown of business leaders and owners…reflective of and look like the rest of the Cuyahoga Falls community—racially, ethnically—and how we can strive towards that and work on that moving forward too,” Poeske said during the “Women in Front” event. “I know that for me, and probably for many of you, there was someone who opened up a door and welcomed you to this community and made things possible for you. I’d like to think about how we can continue to do that for others in our community. And not only open up the door, but hold the door open and really pull someone through.”
Ann Durr, Market President of Portage Community Bank, which held its official ribbon cutting ceremony on March 13th, is proud to be a businesswoman in Cuyahoga Falls.
“My heroine is my mother, and I know she looks down every day and is proud to see that we were able to bring community banking back to this corner,” Durr said. “But more than that, I know today especially, she would be extremely proud to have all of these powerful women leaders in this space.”
As part of Women’s History Month, the 53 “Women in Front” will be highlighted throughout March on the DTCF Partnership Instagram page @downtowncfpartnership. For more information about the Catalyst workshop, visit www.downtowncf.com/catalyst.
