Susan-Says

Enthusiasm, Passion & Persistence Connect Across Language Barriers

Women business owners from around the world may speak different languages, but there is one commonality that bonds us all together and that is the passion for delivering the very best products and services to our customers. I witnessed this connection first hand at the recent NAWBO conference in Phoenix, Arizona. The event attracted women from around the globe to network and share their enthusiasm, energy and expertise to help each other grow and build their business enterprises.

This is a picture of Renee and me at her booth in Phoenix. By the way, NAWBO's conference was held at the Biltmore Resort and Spa – a magnificent venue.

Renee Lombardi from Peru was one of the amazing women in attendance. Thirty-eight years ago, Renee had a dream of creating a business providing custom knits and woven clothing incorporating the latest fashion trends in designs most women like and can wear. Today that dream is a reality. Renee is the proprietor, designer and General Director of Tomati's – a company providing employment for more than 20 families and offering opportunities through an apprenticeship program to become a qualified weaver.

"We, at this company, believe that generating income to our benefit is not everything and that to grow means to have social conscience, proof of which is the formation of the theoretical/practical course called 'Weaving Dreams' which we provide at no cost to women artisans of limited resources," Renee explained.

I'm wearing Renee's jacket holding my traveling companion, Maxwell, in front of some of the Biltmore Resort and Spa's beautiful fountains. 

Although I love traveling throughout Mexico and South America, I only speak a few words of Spanish, but language barriers didn't prevent Renee and I from connecting through the beauty of her clothes. One of her jackets caught my eye while I was making the rounds in the exhibit hall. I walked over to her booth and if the jacket was for sale or display only. Through an interpreter, I learned all the merchandise was for sale. Renee took the jacket off the hanger and encouraged me to try it on.

Well, I put it on and it looked as though Renee had made it just for me. Renee beamed at me and we hugged. "Hermoso. Perfeccione el ataque," she said which I think means beautiful, perfect fit.

Still beaming with pride, Renee handed me another knit top with a matching skirt to try on as well. The items were not something I would have picked out for myself, but Renee was so excited I slipped into them. Oh my gosh: It was stunning.

Renee's apparel is now home with me in St. Louis, but in addition to the clothing items, I've found a good friend for life. Renee took such pride and pleasure in helping me choose just the right pieces -- two women business owners speaking different languages connecting and communicating nonetheless. I've been invited to visit Renee in Peru and I may take her up on that one day. In the meantime, I've worn the jacket on a number of television programs and I'm sending Renee copies so she can share with her staff.

Click here to see one of the appearances where I wore the jacket.

 

Watch for SBTV.com's full coverage of the NAWBO conference coming up, soon. You'll find NAWBO stories on its NAWBO landing page under the small business organization tab…

Published Jun 26 2008, 01:02 PM by Susan Wilson Solovic

Filed under: small business, NAWBO, Susan Wilson Solovic, passion, Renee Lombardi, Maxwell, designer clothing, Arizona, Tomati's, enthusiasm, Peru, expertise, a good friend for life, energy, ABC TV, Weaving Dreams, traveling companion

About Susan Wilson Solovic

Susan Wilson Solovic’s career in broadcast and print journalism, with a focus on small business, spans 25 years. She is an Emmy award winning corporate television producer, a former news reporter for NBC and CBS affiliates, a former featured columnist for UPI on businesswomen issues and a best-selling author of The Girls’ Guide to Building a Million-Dollar Business (published October, 2007), The Girls’ Guide to Power and Success, Reinvent Your Career: Attain the Success You Deserve and Desire; and Hanging onto the American Dream. She has been an adjunct professor of Women’s Entrepreneurial Studies at St. Louis Community College. In 2000, the Small Business Administration recognized her as a leading small business journalist. In addition to her CEO and anchor duties at SBTV.com, Susan is a frequent columnist for publications such as Enterprising Women, a frequent on-camera small business expert for Bloomberg, CNN, CNN/fn, Early Today Show on NBC, World News this Morning on ABC and is frequently quoted in Cosmopolitan magazine on career advice for young women. Susan can often be seen as a keynote speaker, emcee, panelist or moderator at many conferences such as:

• National Association of Women Business Owners
• Women Business Enterprise National Council
• New York Times Small Business Summit
• Business Marketing Association
• Women Impacting Public Policy
• National Women’s Business Council

Prior to leading SBTV.com, Susan created a series of satellite television programs focused on women entrepreneurs in the United States and Canada. Susan is an attorney licensed to practice in the state of Missouri and previously served as the Vice President of Corporate Marketing for ITT Commercial Finance, an international asset-based lending institution which had $28 billion in finance volume. Susan has served on numerous boards including the National Business Women’s Council, the Women Presidents’ Organization National Advisory Board of Directors and the inaugural board of directors of Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP). She is a member of the Board of Directors of the John F. Cook School of Business, Entrepreneurial Studies program at Saint Louis University. She served as a member of the John F. Kennedy School of Government Women’s Leadership Board at Harvard University until 2004. Susan holds a B.A. in history and political science from Columbia College and a JD from Saint Louis University.