Home

Name: B.I.G. LLC

Type of business: Women's support business group sharing their business ideas and guidance

Address: P.O. Box 51 Bernardsville, N.J. 07924

Telephone: (908) 376-9244

Web site: www.justthinkbig.us

Founded: Incorporated May 2009

Top officers: CEO Tara Gilvar, founder; COO Rebecca Hull, co-founder; Jackie Somers, director of leadership training

How would you describe your business?

"B.I.G. stands for Believe, Inspire and Grow. What we provide is the environment where this can happen -- like the Weight Watchers model. We start pod units for women in their communities. We call our meeting groups pods, because a pod is a vessel containing seeds and symbolizes what we are offering -- the environment of establishing a nurturing, supportive business environment. Pods consist of a leader and members. They may start by meeting in a home and usually grow to have their monthly meetings in a church, or other space.

"Women may be entrepreneurs or stay-at-home moms with a business idea. Whatever stage of life they are in, we provide the support to help them in their business passion. There are monthly meetings held with a leader in local community pods focusing on a specific business topic with expert speakers.

"We have pods in 12 communities now, including Summit, Chatham, Morristown, Bedminster, Somerville, Long Hill, Westfield, and we expect to be in 20 communities by the end of March around New Jersey. We also offer networking opportunities through our Facebook-like Web site where our members can make connections, network, find additional educational tools, and pose business questions to each other," said Rebecca Hull, co-founder of B.I.G.

What makes your business special?

"We are unique and special in providing a very supportive environment with local community support helping women find their business passion. We are not just a job board. We offer a monthly newsletter, teleconference seminars, quarterly business plan teleconferences, regional networking nights, membership discounts, and promotions. We fundraise and offer scholarships and in December held a members showcase, where members displayed the items they designed, baked, or are currently marketing."

What goals do you have for the business?

"Our goal is to grow to reach more women and establish the momentum to help them get to where they want to be as a business -- even for those who don't know where that is at the moment. Grow and reach more women who will be empowered to realize their business passion."

How has your business changed?

"We started more pods and got more women involved as they recognized what our leaders and the women within the group accomplish. Tara Gilvar and I moved into a larger space and more living rooms."

What was your most important deal?

"Tara Gilvar invited 42 women with professional backgrounds to her home and held the first meeting, and with the mix of women in the room it moved from a support group into a catalyst to create the conditions to provide women wanting to start a business with giving them the support and expertise from other members in the group to actually start their business.

"The meeting turned from a support group into a business when Patricia Lipper, who had worked for corporate America, spoke for the first time to anyone about her dream to start her own business, but she didn't know how to do it. When another woman said she could help her draw up a business plan, the magic started. Other women in the room spoke of the connections they had to places and people who could help her in setting up the bridal shop Lipper envisioned. The shop is now open in Morristown called I Do, I Do."

What changes do you expect in your business in the next 10 years?

"We expect to grow. We are concentrating on this year and we expect to have 1,000 pods in 60 communities in one year."

What is the most important thing you've learned in your business?

"The most important thing I have learned is that we learn something new from the women we work with every day. All we do is create a safe and supportive environment specifically designed to help women empower each other toward their business success."

What advice would you give to someone considering your line of work?

"To use all the social network resources to make your product or service known through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and even YouTube."

Is there anything else you would rather be doing?

"No."