We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Three Ladies in Wilmington 3LW. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Three Ladies in Wilmington below.

Three Ladies in Wilmington, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Creating “Three Ladies in Wilmington” was a risk due to the innovative approach it took in providing casual but meaningful opportunities for Black professionals to meet and connect socially and intentionally. By focusing on fostering a sense of community and facilitating networking, the event aimed to address the lack of inclusive spaces for Black professionals in Wilmington.

The risk stemmed from the challenges associated with introducing a new concept and breaking away from traditional networking norms. The success of “Three Ladies in Wilmington” relied heavily on overcoming societal barriers and ingrained expectations regarding professional interactions. Encouraging a relaxed atmosphere while maintaining the intended purpose of networking required careful planning and execution.

Additionally, the risk involved the potential for resistance or skepticism from both the target audience and the broader community. The concept of creating an event specifically for Black professionals to connect socially might have faced criticism or misconceptions, leading to any possible backlash. Overcoming these challenges required effective communication, community engagement, and a commitment to the event’s underlying goals.

Furthermore, the risk was tied to the logistical considerations involved in organizing such an event. From securing a suitable venue to ensuring adequate promotion/attendance, maintaining social media presence, and meticulous planning and coordination were essential. Any missteps in execution could have resulted in low turnout or failure to create the intended impact, potentially undermining the credibility and future prospects of Three Ladies in Wilmington.

In conclusion, creating Three Ladies in Wilmington as a platform for casual but meaningful connections among Black professionals involved significant risks. Overcoming societal barriers, managing potential resistance, and ensuring effective execution were all crucial factors in realizing the event’s goals. However, the potential rewards of fostering a supportive community and empowering Black professionals to build valuable relationships made the risk worthwhile.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Constance, Sheri, and I recognized the question is how we retain people of color in this area, and what generally retains people is a sense of community, a sense of connectedness. We were lacking that,” Pellom says. “We know people succeed and excel in their respective roles and their families when they feel connected to their community. We see it as a multi-pronged approach to building stronger professionals but also building strong communities, so we’re not just here and present but here and thriving.” In this regard, Three Ladies in Wilmington create events that allow for maximum connection: day parties, themed events, happy hours, and speed dating opportunities. In the future, we hope to grow to create more live music opportunities.

We are proud that we are still thriving in our third year as 3LW. In addition to thriving, we have created great relationships with small businesses in the area and look forward to building more established relationships.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

As 3LW initially started with no fees for social event entrance, we have grown to a place where event fees are needed. This is to keep us able to pay for entertainment, such as photographers and DJs, and space rentals. Initially three years ago, as we built a base, we were able to maintain the cost; but now as our events draw over 200 people socially, we need to include security and space rentals. We tried to have our first paid event, October 2022, a Halloween costume party, and there were very poor ticket sales that we had to cancel the event. We decided to recalibrate and to try to monetize one of our largest events, the May day party, and although it was a smaller turnout, we were at least able to to pay some of the event fees out of the tickets sales. We will still need to work through how to monetize our events and turn a profit to pay for all the event expenses.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Our best source of new clients is the community and social media. Our only social media is our Instagram page: @three_ladies_in_wilmington. Easy to find and locate, our page and followers have grown tremendously. Additionally, having successful events have allowed us to have attendees spread the word about the 3LW events. In fact, our May event was more new attendees than event veterans! So we are very appreciative of word of mouth and our social media followers.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: three_ladies_in_wilmington

Image Credits: 

Jessica Leamy