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Walworth County woman is 'true' champion for businesswomen

Photo

Photo by Dan Lassiter

Mary Terry points out some details in the new cover of the True Woman magazine to founder Denise Schultz while working on the layout of the cover at Terry Print Solutions.

Photo

Photo by Dan Lassiter

Denise Schultz, left, and Mary Terry work on the cover of the new True Woman magazine at Terry Print Solutions.

Photo

Photo by Dan Lassiter

Mary Terry discusses the layout of the cover of the new True Woman magazine to founder Denise Schultz (not pictured) during a layout session at Terry Print Solutions.

WILLIAMS BAY — Denise Schultz has become the unofficial champion for businesswomen in southern Wisconsin.

“I think I was born to do this,” she said.

Schultz, 44, is the founder and publisher of True Woman magazine and founder of the True Woman Entrepreneurs Network.

Schultz in 1998 moved from big-city Milwaukee to small-town Walworth County to raise her family away from the hustle and bustle.

“I learned quickly that a lot of women who move here from the city are looking for a bond,” she said. “They feel isolated. Relationships are well established, and they feel like they can’t break through.”

But Schultz didn’t let that stop her.

“I got involved right away,” she said, “but a lot of women don’t have the life skills to do that, and being a catalyst for that is natural to me.

“It’s a big sisterhood with me.”

‘Priceless’ feedback

In February 2005, Schultz created the Women Entrepreneurs Network, a hybrid of women’s clubs and leadership organizations.

Women’s clubs didn’t provide the professional development she sought, and leadership organizations were too structured, Schultz said.

“I just saw a need for something like this,” she said. “I wanted to create a place where women can talk about professional development in a comfortable environment.”

She later merged the network with the magazine, and it became the True Woman Entrepreneurs Network.

The network meets monthly for dinner, networking and moderated discussion.

Tina Lendman, director of The Dance Factory in Delavan, appeared on the cover of the fall 2008 issue of True Woman magazine. She said a no-boys-allowed approach opens the floor to serious girl talk.

“What she’s done by not having men there all the time is taken the pressure off of women,” Lendman said. “We don’t sit around and talk about our personal lives. We talk about our business lives.”

Lendman said the network gives women a forum in which they feel comfortable addressing the struggles of being an entrepreneur.

“It is scary,” she said. “Let’s face it, 90 percent of women who own a business don’t make it within the first 18 months.

Maria Loomer, owner of Above & Beyond Concierge in Williams Bay, said the network is a non-competitive place for women to consult with other women.

“We encourage one another. We give each other ideas,” she said. “As a woman entrepreneur, you have issues, and so it’s good to talk to other women who’ve been there.”

Lendman said the feedback the women receive through the network is “priceless.”

‘Grassroots’ marketing

In August 2007, Schultz launched True Woman magazine as a way to spread the word about professional women to professional women.

“The publication is just a part of pulling women together,” she said.

The quarterly magazine features a local “cover girl” and the often-inspirational story behind her, brief write-ups about local women-owned businesses and feedback from readers.

Schultz has lumped her 20-plus years of professional experience in business, writing and marketing into a publication that celebrates what she calls “true women,” women who are real, authentic and genuine—three words found throughout the magazine.

“The magazine features real people, real stories,” she said. “And I believe that if you share these stories, it empowers and inspires others.”

Schultz said she never once questioned whether there would be enough material or even a receptive market for the magazine. But she was cautious anyway, focusing primarily on the Walworth County lakes area and gradually expanding her coverage and distribution west to Rock County.

Gretch Hladish, an entertainer and founder of Image 101 in Walworth, said True Woman isn’t like most women’s magazines.

“Entrepreneurs are using it,” she said. “They have 5,000 free opportunities to explain what their business is all about it.

“It’s one of the best resources from a grassroots perspective I’ve ever seen.”

Inspiring woman

Schultz said the feedback she’s received has proven that she made the right moves establishing the True Woman Entrepreneurs Network and True Woman magazine.

“They awaken what’s already there,” she said. “It empowers women to know there are other women who share their experience and that they feel connected to.”

Schultz embodies the network and magazine’s motto, “inspiring women who are realizing their dreams.”

She wants to grow membership in the network, increase the number of pages in the magazine, print more copies and publish more frequently.

She wants to blog.

Schultz’s colleagues say that’s not just lip service.

“She’s a fireball—a get-it-done gal,” Lendman said. “This is walking the walk and talking the talk.”

UPCOMING EVENTS

-- True Woman Entrepreneurs Network monthly meeting: 6-9 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19, Café Calamari, 10 E. Geneva St., Williams Bay. Cost is $25 for members and $35 for guests. Advance registration is required. E-mail Denise Schultz at denise@d3bc.com.

-- True Woman magazine (issue No. 5) unveiling: 7-9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21, The Lodge at Geneva Ridge, W4240 Highway 50, Lake Geneva. Admission is free. Reception includes complimentary wine tasting and live jazz by Diane Lewis.

-- “Be True to You” one-stop shop and spa day: 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 22, The Lodge at Geneva Ridge, W4240 Highway 50, Lake Geneva. Admission is free. Event features exhibitors, panel discussions with members of the True Woman Entrepreneurs Network and live dance by students at The Dance Factory. Child care will be provided by Above & Beyond Concierge.

For more information about True Woman, go to www.truewomanonline.com.