Mentoring hub for women to blaze their trail in business comes to Waterford
WATERFORD TWP., Mich. (FOX 2) - A Pontiac mother is taking the next in her journey to pay it forward to her community. The story of Eisha Branner and her non-profit, E-Community, is far from over. But in a soon-to-be renovated space — she’s writing the next chapter.
By this time next month Branner plans to makeover this office space into a hub for women trying to build their own legacy.
"I’m still learning. Even though I have started something new, I’m still learning, and I feel like we can learn together," she said. "I want to share that with other women."
Eisha calls it the Women in Business Working Center. The goal is for female entrepreneurs to network and be mentored by other women who’ve blazed their own trail.
"I feel like when you come together and support one another, just magical things happen," she said. "I didn’t get here by myself. Other women and businesses helped me."
FOX 2 first met Eisha in October when she showed us her empowerment centers for teens and parents in Waterford.
The mom of four from Pontiac, built her non-profit, E-Community, from her kitchen. It provides baby formula, clothes, and other resources to families in need.
She moved her operations to a storefront on West Huron, and will open the Women in Business Working Center next door.
"It’s like a hub, that’s what I want to create," she said. "Like a space where like, alright, you need marketing? We got this lady that can do what you need this, you got that. Then, bring in some other community partners that I work with as well, saying like here is a group of women that needs your services. How can we do it on a collective effort."
As women continue to fight for equality in pay and opportunities in the workforce, Techreport says, in 2023, more women started a business than men. That is about 12.3 million women own businesses worldwide — compared to just over 400,000 back 50 years ago - and a third of women-owned and operated startups.
Eisha Branner hopes her space will help continue to lead women in Oakland County down a path of success.
"And you can be a mom and still make it, you can be a single mom and make it happen," she said. "You don’t have to have a degree, like you can still make it happen. So that’s what I want to come across to the Women and Business.
"Because we got some dope people that are doing some amazing things but they just don’t they don’t get that support."
The resource center will have its grand opening on Monday, February 5th.
