wegg® showcase: Camille Burns, CEO, Women Presidents Organization

It started with a woman in Toronto who had somehow got connected with WPO and wanted to bring it to Canada. The next global location was Lima, Peru, because one of our chapter chairs here in New York—chapter chairs are the women who run the various WPO chapters—invited a woman from Peru to attend her WPO meeting. The woman came to the meeting and was like, “What do I need to do to get this started in Peru?” A lot of our global growth happened where there was some kind of champion on the ground.

We’re starting this year to put some real strategy behind our global growth. Since WPO is a US-based organization, we don’t have worldwide name recognition, or a lot of support for international chapters that our North American chapters have. That is one of the biggest challenges for the women trying to build WPO in global locations. So you need someone who’s a real go-getter, who is connected, and who will put in the effort to build it and make it work.

Bringing women business owners from various parts of the world together is wonderful because they learn from each other and from their different styles. Even between Canada and the US, people do business very differently. So much cross-cultural learning takes when it comes to entrepreneurship and women in leadership. WPO creates that space.

First, learn the market. Make sure that what you offer makes sense for the location you’re going into. I’ve seen people fail in growing globally because they jump into it without taking the time to learn the market. I’ve seen enough instances where it’s popular to go somewhere or someone has been told it would be a good business decision. “Oh, you really need to be here,” but they don’t do the research and the legwork to make sure it’s the right move for their company.

Also, build relationships. I’m a huge relationship person, so I’m a big fan of going on trade missions and connecting with people in a country. Ask your network who they know who can support you and can help connect you. You’re going to need resources, you’re going to need connections, and so you need people on the ground that can do that for you.

WPO is going through this right now. We are a US-based organization and don’t have entities in other countries. We currently hire consultants to run the programs for us. We’re looking at whether we are now at a size where we should start opening up entities on the ground in different countries. I’m taking it slow, talking to lawyers and accountants, making sure that it makes sense for the organization. Entrepreneurs are risky by nature and want to dive right in. Sometimes they move faster than they should.

As I’ve mentioned, I’m a big fan of getting out there and meeting people, connecting. Don’t do everything while sitting behind your computer. Make an effort to get to know people. A lot of things are changing right now—by the minute, it seems. It’s worth taking the time and thinking things out and maybe moving a little slower to make sure you’re doing things in a thoughtful way. We, myself included, need to not jump into things because we feel nervous or anxious, but be thoughtful about what decisions we’re making and what moves we’re taking.