Mainebiz

V O L . X X I I I N O. X X V I I I N OV E M B E R 2 7 , 2 0 1 7 36 B Y R E N E E C O R D E S O nce a month in Portland, Browne facilitates WPO peer learning sessions in a roundtable format. e Maine Chapter consists of 11 mem- bers from a variety of sectors. Browne says the organization is open to new members, from Maine as well as New Hampshire, "as long as they're com- mitted to participating" and meet the annual revenue threshold. Mainebiz: You've previously said you weren't one to join women's groups. What about this group spoke to you? Juliet Browne: It was the notion of an organization that was focused on growing and success and bringing peo- ple together to share experiences and collaborate. Not focusing on obstacles and challenges, but on opportuni- ties and success. Really it was just the people. Every conversation I had I left me thinking, 'Wow, these are people I'd like to spend more time with.' MB: What is your role as the Maine chapter chair? JB: I facilitate our monthly meetings, which means I try to make sure they're getting meaningful content out of each meeting I also do recruitment and out- reach to try to get new members to join. MB: Who are the members of the group? JB: e members are great. ey're successful women business owners in Maine, mostly the greater Portland area, with businesses that range from commu- nications to specialty seafood to home decor, so it's a diverse group. We don't have members from competing busi- nesses, because we share a lot of con- fi dential information in each meeting. We meet once a month for four hours. MB: That's intense. JB: It is, but people make the eff ort to get there, so you want to be effi cient, and instead of having multiple shorter meetings, we really found that the one four-hour meeting a month works. e hallmark of our meetings is confi denti- ality, so I can't talk about specifi c topics that come up, but the format is generally as a business roundtable, so members share issues, challenges, experiences, opportunities in a facilitated manner. MB: Would these women otherwise not have peers to talk to about these issues? JB: Yes, it's lonely at the top. A lot of times, a successful woman busi- ness owner doesn't really have a peer that she can talk to about issues in the business. She may be able to talk to staff and employees, so this is an opportunity to talk to other similarly situated women about the types of issues, challenges, opportunities that she might face in her business. MB: Generally speaking, what do they talk about? JB: In general the chapters tackle issues like human resources and personnel as well as access to capital, growth and how to scale your business. Obviously in Maine, one of the challenges we have is the lack of employees, which is particu- larly challenging in the service industry. MB: Are there also national gatherings? JB: ere's an annual conference in a diff erent place every year. What is really just incredibly powerful about the conference is you have 850 suc- cessful women entrepreneurs in one place. I leave each one inspired to grow my own business and take to heart some of the information from the other women there. MB: Are you a business owner yourself? JB: I'm an equity partner here at Verrill Dana, so I am a business owner. MB: What are some of the lessons you've learned from your experi- ence with the WPO that you apply to your own practice? JB: Lawyers are very task-driven and focused on providing client services, which is a good thing, but then we also need to think about running and grow- ing the business. My involvement with WPO has come at a time in my own practice where it's a nice transition to focus more on the growth of the busi- ness and mentoring of other lawyers, so it's been a nice segue. O N T H E R E C O R D P H O T O / J I M N E U G E R Juliet Browne, a partner at Verrill Dana LLP, chairs the Women Presidents' Organization's Maine chapter, which welcomes members who are "committed to participating" and meet the revenue threshold. The Women Presidents' Organization is an international non-profit membership organization for successful women entrepreneurs. Verrill Dana LLP partner Juliet Browne, who chairs the law firm's environmental group and co-chairs its energy group, chairs the WPO's Maine chapter. " " " " Colors Pantone 2747 Pantone 1807 IT Solutions Designed for Your Business Finding the right IT partner is one of the most important decisions your company can make. At WGTECH, making information technology work for your business is our core competency. We develop individualized solutions that help you grow your business, improve operations, and boost efficiency. We're Northern New England's resource for advanced technology – we'd like to partner with you. www.WGTECH.com 207.856.5300 Build a Better Technology Environment

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