Phil Castle, The Business Times

Sylvia Scott has devoted much of her life to helping girls and young women succeed as entrepreneurs.

She’s organized national conferences, served as a mentor and coach and founded a global organization for young women in business. In the process, she’s met hundreds of girls and young women who’ve started and expanded prosperous ventures.

Scott shares her advice and insights — along with examples from female entrepreneurs who launched businesses as
teen-agers — in what’s intended as a kind of guide book. “I just want to see more girls become entrepreneurs,” said Scott, who moved last year to Grand Junction.

“Realizing A Vision, Your Toolkit for Success,” is set for release March 11 and will be available from Amazon.

While the book offers information for any female entrepreneur trying to grow her business, Scott said those in high school might benefit most.

Scott brings to her book more than 25 years of experience in business development, event management, fund-raising and public relations.

She managed national conferences for the Women’s Leadership Exchange, an organization established to connect, educate and encourage women business leaders. She also worked for the Center for Women & Enterprise, where she developed a financial literacy and entrepreneurship summit for middle school and high school girls.

She counseled women entrepreneurs for more than a decade — including a virtual mentorship with women entrepreneurs in Afghanistan.

Scott is founder, creative director and chief executive officer of Girls’ Creating Enterprising Organizations Connection. Girls’ CEO equips girls age 14 to 18 with the behaviors, skills and traits of successful women entrepreneurs. The group hosts conferences and podcasts and also offers coaching and mentoring.

While some girls and young women turn their passions into businesses, others look for alternatives to the corporate world. They all recognize opportunities, Scott said. “They see something that needs to change and set out to do it.”

The COVID-19 pandemic helped to accelerate interest in entrepreneurship, she said.

Still, girls and young women face barriers, Scott said, including access to money for startups as well as the stigma women can’t run businesses. Moreover, many girls and young women are still taught they should seek more financially secure occupations rather than risk pursuing their dreams.

At the same time, though, Scott said there’s never been a better time for girls and young women to start businesses. More funding and assistance is available, including free services offered through the U.S. Small Business Administration and Small Business Development Centers. It’s a matter, she said, of knowing where to seek out help.

Some basics also apply in honing communication skills and developing a personal brand, Scott said. That includes everything from listening more carefully and thanking those who offer assistance to  dressing to make the right impression.

Scott said she bases her advice and insights not only on her own experiences, but also the experiences of accomplished female entrepreneurs and what they said they wished they’d known early in their careers.

One of the examples of a successful female entrepreneur Scott includes in her book is that of Stacey Ferreira.

Ferreira joined with her brother, Scott, to found the online bookmark vault and password manager MySocialCloud.com. The siblings sold MySocialCloud to Reputation.com. They later launched Forge, a flexible scheduling and talent sharing platform that was acquired by WorkJam..

Stacy Ferreira worked with Jared Kleinert to write “2 Billion Under 20: How Millennials Are Breaking Down Age Barriers and Changing the World.” 

Now 29, Ferreira serves as director of new formats at GameStop. 

While every girl and young woman might not enjoy that level of success, Scott said she will continue to help them to realize their potential. She said her role could include organizer, mentor, coach — or author.

Scott said she sees entrepreneurship as an opportunity for girls and young women to change their lives and the lives of their families. “I realized entrepreneurship would make a difference.”