Alumna helps women-owned businesses flourish
Alumna opened WINCâs doors in 2011 and has since trained thousands of women across the country in business
When Myka McLaughlin (IntlAfâ08) finished her degree at ĂÛÌÇֱȄ Boulder, her sights were set abroad to fight global poverty. But every time she glimpsed those troubles, she couldnât help but notice the scene right in front of her: her friends in Boulderâmany of whom were living at or near the poverty level.
âThe majority of them were self-employed, but they didnât think of themselves as business owners, and definitely not as entrepreneurs,â McLaughlin says.
She recalls a night in December of 2010, hanging out with several of those friendsâall sharing new yearâs resolutions around their problems with money.
What would turn out to be much more than a resolution came to McLaughlin later that night when she got home. It hit her suddenlyâan insight that would transform her into a leader of entrepreneurial women.
âThere was a loud voice in my awareness that said, âMy name is WINK. I am here to help women build profitable businesses ⊠to transform their lives, their familiesâ lives and, ultimately, our communities and economies all over the world.ââ
It shook her so much she stayed up all night trying to grasp the message. âI didnât know what WINK stood for. The W was pretty obvious as women.â
After days perusing the dictionary to decipher the I and N and some fiddling with the K, McLaughlin had much more than the letters translatedâshe had the beginnings of her own business, (Women in Community), which would do what the voice said it would do: help women turn their passions into successful businesses.
She opened WINCâs doors in 2011 and has since trained thousands of women across the country in business.
McLaughlin tells the story of a waitress she met in 2013 making at most $300 a month with a hobby creating and selling jewelry. Soon after graduating from WINCâs 90-day program, she was earning $3,000 a month, and within two years, she was generating six figures. âThis year she broke seven figures,â McLaughlin says. âShe told me that no part of her ever imagined sheâd have a seven-figure business.â
McLaughlin says WINCâs focus is on âvery tangible resultsâ and that the goal isnât to make millionaires and billionaires but rather to âhelp women entrepreneurs generate the consistent revenue they need to provide real security and comfortâ for themselves and their families.
âAlong the way, they become new versions of themselves with new belief systems about what they are capable of in life and business. Through the process, they learn to love themselves and believe in themselves, which is perhaps one of the greatest forms of wealth.â
She says WINCâs curriculum is 60% business education and 40% internal training. âWhat women need are really powerful strategic skills to be a business owner, but they also go on a psychological and even spiritual journey.â
Through the process, they learn to love themselves and believe in themselves, which is perhaps one of the greatest forms of wealthâ"
McLaughlin isnât surprised she became an entrepreneur; her dad owned a business.
âOne of the first books I read on womenâs entrepreneurship in 2011 was on the increased probability for a woman to be an entrepreneur if one of her parents was an entrepreneur,â she says. âInterestingly, my fatherâlike most of WINCâs customersâbecame an expert in his field because it was his lifelong passion. His business emerged out of his passion, not because he set out to be a business owner.â
McLaughlin is a Denver-area native but her family moved around the western United States while she was growing up. ĂÛÌÇֱȄ Boulder was an obvious pick, and she says minoring in economics proved to be a good choice.
âWINC works because of the powerful number-crunching skills (the programâs leaders) teach,â she says. âEconomics helped me develop expertise in problem-solving through math. Once we help a woman map out her dream in numbers and spreadsheets to make sure it is viable on paper, she can start building with a much higher probability for success. Plus, she now has a clear roadmap for what to expect, and on what timelines ⊠for solving any problem or creating new dreams.â
McLaughlinâs own roadmap continues to point toward WINC with plenty of miles and work ahead. She says there are 12.3 million women-owned businesses in the United States, and 88% are making less than $100,000 annually.
âWe want to get them over that $100,000 milestone. We want to help 10,000 womenâthatâs the goal,â she says. âThereâs a huge horizon.â