Marketing and Mimosas event in Kirtland aims to help women business owners

Marketing and mimosas proved to be a popular combination on June 1 for women business owners and employees from Northeast Ohio who are aiming to build relationships and help one another grow professionally.

In fact, the business topic of marketing and the cocktail mimosa both were featured prominently at a women-only event held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Mooreland Mansion on the Lakeland Community College campus in Kirtland.

The program, appropriately named Marketing and Mimosas, provides not only networking opportunities for professional women, but also marketing education, said Frechic Dickson, one of the event’s co-founders.

“I believe that right now, women-owned businesses are growing and growing considerably,” she said. “But I feel as though with that growth, not as many resources are available to women business owners to be able to be able to connect, support and encourage each other in building their businesses.

“Also, many women who own small businesses struggle with the marketing aspect, maybe because they can’t necessarily outsource marketing because of budget concerns, and so they’re trying to do it themselves and don’t necessarily have tools and educational skills to do it. So having events like this hones in on teaching them how to build their brand’s imagery online and how to build their narrative and their story to achieve success.”

Dickson can speak on these subjects with authority, since she owns C7 Branding, a Mentor-based digital marketing firm. The idea to sponsor a marketing education and networking event specifically for women arose from a conversation Dickson had with another friend and woman business owner, Kamron Khan. She owns Kamron Khan Photography, which is based in her home in University Heights.

“Last year, around October, I came to her and asked if she would be willing to collaborate with me on doing a networking event that would embody professional headshots,” said Dickson, who lives in Concord Township. “Kamron’s a great photographer and she was ecstatic about the idea. She agreed and said, ‘Hey, why don’t we make it a bit bigger than that and also incorporate marketing education? And I thought that was a dynamic idea.”

The inaugural Marketing and Mimosas was held in January at the Social@Loft event venue in Cleveland. All 30 allotted tickets sold out in less than two weeks.

For the June 1 gathering in Kirtland, Dickson and Khan offered 55 tickets for advance sale only. All of those tickets were snapped up in nine hours.

Admission for the second installment of Marketing and Mimosas was $45 per person general admission and $65 if an attendee also wanted a professional photo headshot taken by Khan. The higher admission cost also entitled those guests to do pre-networking in a private Facebook group before the event.

Everyone on hand for the June 1 Marketing and Mimosas got the opportunity to network, and hear guest speakers on topics such as marketing, brand imagery and personal versus professional brand. Participants also enjoyed a lunch buffet and of course, mimosas.

One woman who attended the event in Kirtland was Chelsey Nietubicz, office manager of Carl Vajdich State Farm Insurance in Beachwood. She saw the occasion as a good opportunity for professional growth.

“I’m not as good at social media as I would like to be, so I hope to get some tips to help grow my business that way,” she said.

As for the future of Marketing and Mimosas, Dickson said she is enthusiastic about the event’s potential.

“We would love to continue to grow it bigger and bring more dynamic women business owners in the community in Northeast Ohio into the fold, as well to enhance their businesses and highlight what they have going on.”

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