5th Annual Women in Business Summit

The Women in Business Summit is an event co-hosted by the American Marketing Association and the Association for Women in Business. These clubs are striving to advocate and bring opportunities to Women and underrepresented minorities in the business world who face a wide range of obstacles and experiences. Because there were very few seminars, courses, or events that specifically discuss women in the business field, WIB Summit was born, and the need was fulfilled. This will be the fifth annual Women in Business Summit. Over the past five years, thousands of individuals including students, small business owners, stay-at-home mothers, and other community members have benefited from this event.

The event will be held in the BMU at Chico State this year and is comprised of amazing guest speakers and breakout sessions that touch on relevant topics for women in business. Some of these topics include: entrepreneurship, networking, partnerships, building wealth, leadership, and more. The event will be interactive! Attendees will have the opportunity to learn and ask questions directly to the impressive line of speakers.

The keynote speakers are Krisma Root from Salesforce and Melissa Northway from True Path Financial. Light breakfast and a full lunch will be provided to all attendees!

At the end of the event, there will be a networking session. You can meet with speakers and companies with proven track records for treating women with respect, dignity, and fairness. This will provide great opportunities to network and even get internships or jobs!

To take advantage of this opportunity, buy your tickets now to reserve your spot! Ticket prices are $15* and are well worth the investment. All attendees will receive an awesome swag bag. Get ready to grow your network, career, and knowledge.

*We want this event to be equitable and accessible to all students, so if you have a financial hardship, we have a limited number of sponsored tickets. Don’t let the $15 hold you back. Please email kkminetti@csuchico.edu to get a sponsored ticket.

Keynote Speakers Include:

It’s your story, so write it! with Krisma Root from Salesforce: In a world full of distractions we are often left feeling overwhelmed, anxious about the future, or behind on where we “think” we should be. In this keynote, Krisma will be sharing her own unique journey to inspire the audience. She will share examples of persevering through college challenges and navigating her early professional career. You will walk away with renewed confidence that everyone’s story is different and wherever you are in your own story, you are on the right path.

The Power of Time, Discipline, and Diversification with Melissa Northway from True Path Financial: In the morning keynote address, Melissa will explain how you can become a millionaire before you retire with passive income. She will explain why discipline is important to reach your financial goals and why diversification is important when building your personal wealth.

Breakout Sessions Include:

Women, we need you! Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur with Kristine Nixon: Having been a resident of Chico for more than 30 years and graduating from Chico State, Kristine worked her way from the ground up in the healthcare IT industry to become a founder and CEO of her own woman owned small business. Personally and professionally she is committed to improving health outcomes for disadvantaged communities who rely on government healthcare programs. In this workshop you will learn how to combine your purpose with practical business practices to create a successful mission driven company. This session will touch on aligning your skills and knowledge to make a positive difference in our world.

Girl On Fire with Laurie Sisler: From the time she began, Laurie worked in a warehouse, delivered material to customers from the back of a pickup truck, took over a business hemorrhaging money, stabilized it, and is now running a business that exceeds $20M in revenue each year. Following trailblazers before her, Laurie continues to set the stage as a trailblazer herself; overcoming adversity, not only in the corporate world, but the construction world as well. Laurie has been able to advance in her career by learning from others and speaking up when necessary. She has had to make difficult business decisions to salvage the future of the company. Laurie has been able to stay strong and professional in tough circumstances with others. All of these challenges have helped create her achievements and growth within her career. The electrical industry is notoriously male dominated, and Laurie is now in a high-level position running a profitable business where she gets to be the decision maker. Laurie is here to share her experiences with you to show you there is no glass ceiling. Hard work and believing in yourself allows for a future full of possibilities. Make it what you want it to be

The Value of Partnerships with Melissa Northway & Velvet Brown: In this session, you will learn one of the best ways to start a business by forming a successful partnership. The right partnership can allow two or more investors to combine their strengths (and capital) to achieve high profit margins. In addition, partners can share the debt, equity, and even workload, allowing them to get one step closer to the many benefits these investments can provide. Two successful entrepreneurs, Melissa and Velvet, will talk about their own partnership, tell you more about the many benefits of working in a partnership, and answer your partnership questions..

Networking is Your Greatest Tool–I’ll Show You How to Use it! with Olivia Leavengood: “Your Network = Your Net Worth”. It’s cliche, but it’s true. Networking can land you your next job, help you pivot careers, close a big client, and meet new people in a city you just moved to. The key question, however, is where do you begin? This session will outline tangible and practical steps for how to make networking structured, stress-free, and effective. Olivia will use real-life examples to demonstrate how this technique helped her land her dream job out of college, pivot from Sales to Product Management and, most recently, start a company. You’ll leave this session ready to reach out to anyone and build meaningful relationships past that “first coffee chat.”