The School of Business Administration at USC Aiken celebrated National Women’s Small Business Month with a luncheon on Oct. 28.
This event provides students with networking opportunities and allows women to gain valuable knowledge from women who have gone before them. The luncheon featured a panel comprised of local businesswomen Chrissa Matthews, Katy Lipscomb, Nicole Morgan and Daniele Ligons.
From curiosity to confidence, each panelist listed qualities they believe are beneficial for women to embody while progressing throughout their career.
“Resilience and never surrender,” said Morgan, director of Business Development and Physician Services at Aiken Regional Medical Centers. “I start and I just don’t stop. I celebrate the accomplishments and move on.”
Morgan was one of four women panelists who spoke at the Women in Business Luncheon.
Professor and luncheon program founder, Dr. Sanela Porca, moderated the discussion among women who work to improve Aiken community.
Although Morgan said being a woman had been challenging during her career, she does not view it as a hindrance. Other panelists agreed.
Matthews, owner of DayBreak Adult Care Services and Fairfield and Park Luxury Apartments, and Katy Lipscomb said, that in their experience, being a woman had helped them in their careers more than it had inhibited them.
“I love being a woman. You bring your perspectives and strengths to the table,” said Lipscomb, owner of Material Things, a design studio in Aiken that joins her passion for fabrics with home design. “I’ve never felt like I was inhibited, but I do know people that have been.”
Ligons said she has often felt overlooked as a woman in the corporate world, but was able to overcome this by making herself known in the meeting room, knowing that she could do anything a man could do and not allowing others to underestimate her or her abilities because she is a woman.
“I hope that young women leave the luncheon feeling empowered and knowing that they can accomplish even more than what the panelists have,” said Ligons, who works at Aiken Electric Cooperative as the marketing manager. Ligons was named the 2019 Young Philanthropist of the Year by the United Way of Aiken, was awarded the 2021 Walter Allread Award from SC Living magazine and was recognized as a 2021 Young Professional to Follow by the Aiken Standard newspaper.
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