The Sphere's Mission, Vision, & Values

Our Mission

The Sphere’s Mission is to connect and uplift driven women and nonbinary entrepreneurs so they can unleash their potential, thereby impacting their community and the local economy (inspiring others to do the same).

Our Vision

The Sphere’s Vision is to create a community that believes in building support among women and nonbinary entrepreneurs, nurturing work/life balance, and expanding access to monetary and educational resources.

Our Why

Childcare. Household obligations. Societal pressure. All entrepreneurs overcome tremendous odds to achieve success, with about 20% of small businesses failing within the first year according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But female entrepreneurs face even more odds as personal, professional, and societal expectations stack up against them and create an even more precipitous journey. With a reported 33% of businesses Massachusetts-wide being female-owned, the city of Northampton, MA, has an even higher rate of women entrepreneurs: 44% (based on brick-and-mortar businesses alone).

Percentage of female-owned businesses

Massachusetts

33%

Northampton (based on brick and mortar)

44%

But according to a study from FitSmallBusiness that was published in the Boston Magazine, Massachusetts is near the bottom of the list for supporting women entrepreneurs. Fifth from the bottom, to be exact. And within the Northampton community, as noted above, there are no organizations or formal networks aimed at supporting and encouraging women entrepreneurs. A 2021 report on female entrepreneurship in Massachusetts by the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership (MACP) and the City of Boston’s Mayor’s Office of Women’s Advancement concluded that “for [female entrepreneurs in Massachusetts] to continue to make gains, women business owners need better access to resources, financing, expertise and networking.” Our research conducted in fall of 2022, found that these same barriers – along with several others – exist here in Northampton.

The Sphere will provide Northampton women and nonbinary entrepreneurs with support to overcome those barriers, leading to better economic health in Northampton.

The Sphere created a safe space for entrepreneurs to talk about their craft and connect with each other. I am so grateful to be a part of this community and can’t wait to see how it grows!

Madeline

Socially Elite Media

Our Values

• Community-minded: This project must be about community and the intersectional identities within that community. The collective nature of our work must be in everything that we do.

• Relationship-oriented: Relationships are the fuel that powers almost everything in life. That is a keystone to our organization and came up many times in our research.

• Trust: As we build a community for women entrepreneurs, trust among those women must be central to our work.

• Personalized: There is no one-size-fits-all answer. This must be personalized for every entrepreneur and their ever-changing needs in their professional and personal lives.

• Flexible, adaptable, feedback + data-driven: We know needs are constantly changing and must build something that is adaptable to the needs of the entrepreneurs it serves.

• Welcoming and warm (like summer camp). How can you make an organization feel like a hug from a friend? We plan to find out.

• Educational (but only for those who want it). There are times that you yearn for learning and support to push yourself and your business forward, but there are other times when you just want to be in supportive company and share a great meal. We want to honor both, as well as the fact that the ebbs and flows of life can necessitate fluidity in the purpose of our gatherings.

The Sphere Northampton.

Our name, The Sphere Northampton, represents the circular nature of support we are trying to create to address the challenges identified in our research from phase one of the grant, as well as the organic ecosystem for women entrepreneurs that we hope to create.