4 Walls, One Roof and Many Women Working Together

By Kristin Fitzpatrick, Guest New England Bureau Chief  

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Starting a business in a profession traditionally male dominated, Tina Gleiser had to come up with a way to make herself comfortable and profitable. She knew that being fairly new to the area that she would have to do quite a bit of networking to get her name out there, and to get to know others both in the business and potential customers. One way to get those potential customers was to find other people in her area of business who didn’t do exactly what she did. She could take care of the odds and ends that other home improvement professionals come up with while they are doing a project. Who has ever had a home improvement project that turned out to be just what it started out to be?? That was the start of 4 Walls One Roof.

Tina Gleiser moved to New Hampshire in 1999, wanting to open her own business at some point. She didn’t know what she wanted that business to be. She had her MBA from many years ago. After doing research, talking with the Women Business Center, and doing some introspection, she decided to buy a franchise. Based on her research, she decided to enter into a My Handyman franchise.

This brought her into a role that was non-traditional for women. When she went to network with the contractors, and trades people, she was finding mostly men, and of course, a network that existed but one that didn’t immediately welcome and trust a woman. Looking for support, she decided to make a more suitable environment, so Tina decided to form a network of her own made up of women in the industries focused on “everything around the home.” She undertook this endeavor in May and June of 2004. She wanted to use this group to create a larger entity that benefited all participants. She knew she would develop a website where each member would have their own page, have shared marketing collateral that was better than any of them could offer on their own, and to have a booth at the New England Builders Home Show. There are approximately 40 members now and her goal now and is to have 100 professionals participate by the end of 2008. Check out www.4wallsoneroof.com, and think about what opportunities you can create for yourself, as Tina did.

Contact Kathy and Louis or Post a Comment via TNNW Blog.
 

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