By: Debra Wallace
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 11/7/22 — When Violette de Ayala first envisioned FemCity® some 13 years ago, she knew she was blazing a trail by starting a unique female-empowered business networking group.
As a seasoned entrepreneur having launched her first small business at the age of 22, she admits that she is obsessed with business growth and helping FEMS [FemCity Members] grow impactful businesses.
Today, she is a successful entrepreneur, motivational speaker, author, and thought leader who is eager to help other women reach their full potential.
“I personally strive to create innovative resources, platforms, and webinars so that each FemCity member can create the business and life you envision, all within balance, prosperity, and happiness,” de Ayala explained.
“I know what it’s like to start a business, not knowing which way to go, and feeling alone during the process,” she said, “and I want other female entrepreneurs to always feel supported.”
Before she started FemCity, de Ayala was frustrated with the numerous networking groups in her community and everything she discovered seemed so cold, detached, and lacking community spirit – which is why she created FemCity.
“We have a team of leading FEMS who create local communities catering to women looking for an abundance of support, consistent uplifting vibes, and a community of women inspiring endless possibilities,” she explained. “I want to help cultivate connections and success for each and every member of FemCity.”
Today, FemCity has more than 20,000 members (with a 100,000-person social media reach) who participate in educational programs, mentorship, networking, community building, and other vital business growth endeavors that help them connect, collaborate and support one another with positivity.
Each FemCity community hosts monthly business workshops and social events with engaging curricula, and innovative workshops with diversity and positivity as its additional focus.
This formidable international women’s business group represents more than 50 business communities in the U.S. and Canada, and there is a virtual community for members in Europe, Latin America, and India.
What is being a FemCity member all about?
Violette De Ayala: A FEM is a positive, open-minded, driven, and ambitious businesswoman, who is desirous of forming strong strategic connections with similar-minded professional women to benefit each other personally and professionally. She is a woman that is motivated to succeed and desires the success of others around her.
A FEM is also giving and is more than willing to help when she is needed. She wants to make an impact in the world, starting with the betterment of her community. She is a remarkable woman that desires to grow as a business professional and as a woman!
When a member says that you and FemCity changed her life, that the connections they made helped their business, and it helped them personally and professionally, what does that mean to you?
It means that we have created a really good change and a positive impact in our communities. It means that all of the sacrifices that I personally made to create FemCity has been worthwhile because at the end of the day we have thousands of members that have not only grown their businesses but also have created great friendships that support them 24/7.
What was your initial expectation in starting this group?
My initial expectation was just to have a group of 20 women in Miami that meet once a month for lunch. I never envisioned it to be as huge as it is today.
How has it evolved? How did it get to where it is?
Really what changed us the most are three pivotal moments. The first one was Google reaching out to us to create content or classes for our members. So, they taught our members how to add themselves to the business listings and how to use Google Hangouts and Google Circles.
Then Yelp also was a partner of ours. They taught our members how to get their businesses on Yelp, and what to do when they have negative reviews. That was a really big evolution point where we started pivoting into an online curriculum in addition to our local programs.
With teaching through this online forum or platform, we started to expand. That was our first kind of step into the online curriculum and that was in 2011. I am proud of the fact that we’ve been doing online classes for more than 11 years.
Please tell me more about the growth of your formidable organization.
The second moment was when we changed our name from Femfessionals to FemCity. We had trademarked both, but FemCity had much more open energy. We are there for all women, they don’t have to own a business. They don’t have to be a professional, and they don’t have to have an MBA.
We’re there for all women that are looking to just collaborate and get the support that they need to go after their dreams. It could be a freelancer; it could be an at-home mom who’s just trying to navigate personal development. So that was the second part of our evolution, I think.
What happened with FemCity and its members during the COVID pandemic?
The third moment took place during the pandemic. We were there for a lot of our members with additional curricula, like mental health summits. We started doing a lot more DEI curriculum, as well, so that’s been an area that we stepped into. We started creating corporate programs for other companies, and municipalities, to help them with their women and DEI initiatives. That’s been like our third kind of I guess pivotal point of growth.
How have you changed during this time, both personally and professionally?
I have personally changed a great deal; I understand my mission in life a lot clearer. I definitely have stronger clarity. I also realize the responsibility that I have to bring women together and to ensure that they are growing and supporting each other. I recognize the ways to balance raising a family and then juggling.
I proudly run FemCity, but like other female business owners, I wear many hats. I’m an author and public speaker, and I do a lot of brand ambassadors with other brands, as well. So, I have all these other avenues, as well, and am trying to manage and balance all these areas that bring me joy.
Illustrating what it’s like to live a balanced and happy life and have everything as curated, as much as possible to show that we can all witness that, and take it on so that we realize that we don’t have to hustle. We don’t have to be grinding until we collapse, but there is a way to create wealth and enjoy life and be in balance.
What are a few of the larger FemCity chapters?
Some of the bigger chapters include Philadelphia, Des Moines, Toronto, Miami, and Roanoke, and I sincerely would like to get more women around the U.S. interested in launching a FemCity community. I think at the end of the day that would be a great goal.
What does the future look like for FemCity?
The FemCity aim is to help more than 1 million women through its program, platform, and diverse community. So, please check us out and join us.
Please share your social media handles with my readers
To join FemCity please go to, https://femcity.com/
For FemCity: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
For Violette Ayala: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
