Photography by Jennifer Silverberg
For Erin Joy, owning her own business was predestined. The St. Louis–based consultant learned early on what it takes to be an entrepreneur. “My parents owned accounting and real estate companies, and I went to work for them right out of college,” she says. “I saw how hard they worked but also the autonomy that came with running your own business.” After a successful career in real estate, Joy launched Black Dress Partners, a consulting firm for female entrepreneurs, in 2011. Through her job, Joy helps women navigate the often unpredictable landscape that comes with being a business owner.
Why focus on women in business? My real estate background laid the groundwork for this decision. After the crash of the housing industry, I knew I didn’t want to be industry-specific ever again—that would make me too vulnerable—so as a consultant, I’m a generalist. I can work in almost any industry and take on any challenge. However, from a marketing standpoint, I knew I couldn’t promote myself as “helping any small business with any problem.” That doesn’t resonate from a brand-positioning standpoint, so I decided to focus on women. I love talking business with women. Right now I have 60 clients across 35 industries.
What challenges and advantages are specific to female entrepreneurs? What helps women is that we tend to be relational. We build relationships and are loyal. This creates a rich and valuable working environment—and this is what the research says; it’s not just my opinion. A unique challenge for many women entrepreneurs is the added responsibility of caring for family members. Research shows that women bear this responsibility more so than men. Women are often expected to run a household and care for family, whether it’s children or aging parents. This can make women feel isolated. To counter that, they need a strong social network to help them grow their business.
At Black Dress Partners, clients can choose to gather monthly for roundtable discussions. Why is this helpful? Meeting others with similar issues and challenges helps entrepreneurs feel less alone. [The roundtables] give my clients access to the wisdom of people who have been there and done that. Clients share tips and advice and are introduced to an outside adviser network of their peers. Our discussions can also help shorten the learning curve.
What woman in business do you admire? Tamara Keefe of Clementine’s Naughty & Nice Creamery. Her business has so much heart, and she never loses sight of why she does what she does. Ice cream is in her blood. When she was a young girl, her parents would make ice cream in their home after church on Sundays as a way to build community in their small town. Tamara shows great attention to detail. Her stores are meticulous, she hires people that fit her company’s culture, and she understands what that culture is.
What is unique about being a St. Louis–based business? The challenge I see to being in St. Louis is that because we’re not in a first-tier city, we can’t drive prices. Currently, all of my clients are local, but they have clients around the country. I’m working with an interior designer who is charging St. Louis prices, even though her skills are of a designer in a first-tier city. Mostly, though, being in St. Louis is a real advantage because networks run so deep—and when you’ve built a professional network, you can leverage it for decades.
