Women supporting women isn’t just a hashtag or phrase pulled off a trendy graphic tee for members of Boss Babes Cville, an ever-growing support group of local female-identifying folks in all walks of their careers.
Started by downtown business owner and stylist Linnea Revak in 2017, the group took shape with the help of co-director Jessica Norby, a local social media strategist.
“I was a 27-year-old small business owner that needed community—to not feel like I was alone, but instead have camaraderie and support from others in my shoes,” says Revak, whom you’ve probably seen around town in flouncy pastels, or behind the counter of her stylish consignment shop, Darling Boutique, on the Downtown Mall.
Revak just opened her second storefront, Dashing Boutique, right next door, and, in part, credits her entrepreneurial success to advice she received at one of the group’s meetups from fellow Boss Babe Destinee Wright, a local writer and marketing professional: Release the need to control everything. Letting go is powerful. And so much good has come from just releasing.
That advice came from Wright in the summer of 2019, says Revak, when she was figuring out the next step for her business. “I’d just moved into our new [Darling Boutique] location, needed to hire staff and delegate, but I was still trying to control everything. It was in letting go and delegating to a team that I trust that I saw my business truly flourish.”
With a virtual Facebook group including almost 1,500 members and monthly in-person meetups, the local boss babe says she created the group to be an inclusive and safe space to exchange resources and insights, be vulnerable, to uplift, encourage, and learn from one another.
“I’m a better small business owner because of Boss Babes Cville,” Revak says. “I’m wiser, stronger, more vulnerable, teachable. Each time we’ve had a meetup over the years with guest speakers, I’ve soaked it all up like a sponge.”
The collective wisdom of the group has helped her make important decisions about everything from growth, hiring needs, systems and processes, accounting, and marketing.
“I would be googling so many things if it weren’t for this group!” she says.
Much like the term girl boss, boss babe has seen a recent shift in connotation, sometimes carrying a non-serious tone reinforcing that women in positions of power often aren’t viewed as equal to their male counterparts.
“I believe it’s still an empowering way to define our group, but I do think there’s room for growth in the language we use to talk about female-identifying individuals when it comes to entrepreneurship and business,” Revak says. “If this group’s shown me anything, we’re capable of adapting, learning, growing, and bettering ourselves—together.”
And all are welcome to join.
“The more engaged everyone is, the more sparks of magic fly in the group,” says Revak. “You get out of the group what you put into it. And we’ve seen so many beautiful things come out of it.”