‘This is Her Way’ Founder Talks Accountability and Sisterhood

Sherry Williams  is driven by purpose and the need to motivate women through sisterhood, ambition, and inspiration. She built her online platform, This Is Her Way, as a means to drive positive change that creates shared value and meaningful relationships. Recently, Williams completed the second installment of her, Leadership Her Way Conference, an event led by emerging entrepreneurs and professionals in Washington D.C.–where women gathered to discuss work/life balance, financial freedom, and small business.

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BlackEnterprise.com caught up with Sherry to talk her thriving platform, the importance of traditional sisterhood, and the experience that is, ‘leadership her way.’

BlackEnterprise.com: Tell me a little about yourself, and what you do for a living?

Williams: I am a 34-year-old single mom of one, born and raised in the Bronx, New York, with a heart of gold and a passion to push women into purpose. I have a professional background in event and logistics management, yet, even after obtaining a degree in business, for as long as I could remember, I’ve always wanted to be something more than just a product of my environment.

However, it wasn’t enough for me to accomplish my own personal goals, as much as it was for other women to understand that those possibilities existed for them too. It took the move to D.C. to really open my eyes about life, and what it was that I wanted to be remembered for.

What inspired you to create Her Way?

At the height of reality TV and the wave of social media, I wanted to get back to the traditional sense of sisterhood.  I wanted to dismantle the myth that the only time women get together is when we are throwing bread at each other.  I wanted to bridge the generational gap among seasoned and young professionals. It was those negative images, and the lack of authentic communication, that ignited the will I needed to make this come to life. Although Her Way is going into its second year, the vision is at least a decade old. Fear kept me dormant for quite some time.  It almost stole my dream. So now, everything that I do, I do it in faith and for the women whose names I don’t know that, too, are waiting for a courageous leader and a voice that says, ‘your dreams are worth it.’

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What was your big “aha” moment that made Her Way more of a resource than simply a platform?

I can’t say that there was just one “aha” moment for me.  They come often. The first brunch I hosted in March 2014, I had just moved to D.C. from New York, and with zero personal and professional connections, it was more of a challenge to get out and be proactive about meeting people and cultivating new relationships. But it didn’t hit me until this past March, where we hosted the first installment of the Leadership Her Way Series.

100 young professional women came together for a day of inspiration, accountability, and sisterhood.  About  1/3 of the room was from the local area, and the other 2/3 had traveled from New York, Chicago, Ohio, Detroit, Philly, and the list goes on.  That is when I knew. I knew for sure, that in that moment, women, young professional women in particular, were craving spaces and environments ready to celebrate who they were, and they were willing to travel for that connection.

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Is Her Way a for-profit business? If so, what is your business model and what has your revenue been like thus far?

Her Way is for passion. Personally, I believe that a return on investment is

not necessarily monetary. I could never put a price tag on the invaluable relationships I’ve been able to gain from this platform.  In business, of course the goal is to obtain financial freedom, but for me, business is not a numbers thing, it’s a people thing.  You get the people right, the numbers will come. The business model has been to be 100% honest with who our target audience is and what it is they want, not what we want to give them.

Women are complex and forever evolving.  If I am to provide a service that supports ‘today’s woman’ and cultivate an agenda to build community, then I need to be honest and intentional about the experiences I create for these women to thrive.  Whether it be educational gateways, opportunities to network or giving access to resources, a successful business gives more than it extracts; and that is what makes Her Way different.

How much capital did it take for you to start your business and how did you fund it?

One thing my dad has always told me about business, is to pay yourself first. To me, paying myself first is to be of service to others.  It is to invest and take risks in the areas that you are most passionate about, without expectation.  It is the seed we choose to sow in others that allows manifestation to take root in our own lives. It took less than $5,000 of personal savings to host the first Her Way event in May 2014, and, even then, the momentum was focused on fostering a collaborative dialogue. The goal was to break event.  I had no idea that one experience had the power to impact so many.

So, of course, where there is momentum, there has to be continuity of that. Working a full- time job also helps to bridge the financial gap in some

areas, yet you have to be realistic about what it truly takes to sustain a business.  Momentum is great, but sustainability is what positions you. I started to work smarter. I taught myself web and graphic design, and that helped streamline costs for digital packaging of the brand, as well as create an additional income stream.

What are three big principles behind Her Way ?

The three biggest principles behind Her Way has a lot to do with me personally being able to live the advice that I give to others. To be in a space where I can take my own self inventory, without even realizing that my own transparencies give other women permission to do the same.

1. Her Success is not My Failure. It is our mantra and a daily affirmation that says, when ‘she wins, we all win.’ Collective leadership is not only a choice, but it’s the power to co-create without judgment or competitive advantage. To be able to cheer on our peers without fear that it threatens our own gifts and talents. We are women.  It is in our makeup to be great.  Show me one successful woman, and I’ll show you her front row. I’ll show you that she did not get there alone.

2. Unapologetic Ambition. We as women do not have to apologize for our creativity, for our life choices, for how and what we choose to give our time to, at the pace of which we do a thing, whether we want to take all day to get dressed, or how we wear our hair, or if we choose to leave a job after a year, or change a major during our junior year in college, or just live on our own terms.  We have the right to do what we want to do, at the beat of our own drums, in the way that it

will complement our life. We do not have to apologize for any of it just because it makes another person uncomfortably shift in their seat.  We can give ourselves permission to thrive, without validation.

3. You are Enough. There is so much pressure to be all things.  I am here to dismantle that superwoman myth and say that you, as you are, will always be enough. You loving what you do and how you can only do it, is enough.  As long as you can look at yourself at the end of the day and say  ‘I exhausted 100% of the best parts of me today,’ then that is enough.  You don’t have to stretch and compromise who you are to accommodate someone else’s views of what you should be.

What do your events offer, and what do you want women to gain from attending sessions like Leadership Her Way?

Her Way is an experience.  No two events will ever be the same.  Her Way thinks about every story and every journey in the room, and we use that to, not only foster community, but to really think about the overall experience. From the venue, to the speakers, to the content and to the tangible things that if women never attend another event, they can say that it did what it needed to do for them in that moment beyond expectation. We offer a feeling, one that is uplifting, empowering, and accepting.We offer a safe space for honest dialogue.  We offer camaraderie. We offer a network of people who are in transition, are still figuring it out, or women who have made it and are not afraid to reach back. We want women to walk away with the tools, resources, and most importantly, relationships.  We want to redefine friendship and sisterhood.