wiseHer will provide on-demand expert advice, education, career development and funding opportunities to help women succeed in the business world.
FRAMINGHAM – Kathryn Rose knows all too well the challenges women face in attempting to start their own business.
Rose successfully worked on Wall Street for a decade, but the 2007 market crash caused her division to close. The Southborough resident was seven months pregnant and her mother had had a brain aneurysm, leaving her a paraplegic.
Exploring her next move, Rose – a long-time sales professional – began calling former clients asking how she could help. Many needed help with search engine optimization, something with which Rose was not familiar.
Busy with raising her son and taking care of her mother, Rose did not have time to take a course on search engine optimization. Instead, she reached out to a professional, who quickly helped her master the skill. Rose started her own search engine optimization company and has published nine books on business, social media and marketing.
On Monday, Rose officially launched a new venture called wiseHer, a technology platform focused on connecting women who own or are looking to start a business to an array of specialists who can help with their needs. wiseHer provides on-demand expert advice, education, career development and funding opportunities to help women succeed in the business world.
More than 100 experts in business planning, human resources, sales and marketing and finance are on board. Rose said hundreds more are coming soon.
“I’ve built a huge network,” she said. “I’m so grateful to bring these people together to help them go father, faster.”
In 2018, the total number of female-owned businesses exceeded 12.3 million; however, more than 80% are either run by one or two founders and earn less than $100,000 in gross revenue. To understand why the gap persists, wiseHer conducted a survey of more than 200,000 women and found the most pressing problems for those businesses include getting valuable expert advice, finding the right tools for marketing and sales and overcoming financial obstacles.
“I faced the same challenges,” she said.
The service is also offered to male entrepreneurs, said Rose.
On-demand expert calls are available for $99 for a 60-minute call or $49 for a 30-minute call. Rose said the calls are much cheaper and less time-consuming than taking a course or reading an instructional manual.
wiseHer will also launch a podcast beginning next year.
“It’s an awesome idea that’s really small right now,” Erin Cox, a co-founder and chief strategy officer, said of the company.
The company will also provide grants to women entrepreneurs and business owners. wiseHer has partnered with several women-centric organizations, including Women in Tech, Innovation Women, Boston Women Connect, SheEO World, Ada’s List and Women in Tech Summit.
For more information, visit www.wiseher.com.
Jeff Malachowski can be reached at 508-490-7466 or jmalachowski@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @JmalachowskiMW.