The WPO is the kind of organization women entrepreneurs don’t know they need. Then they join and suddenly realize what was missing in their lives, says WPO CEO Camille Burns.
“Women don’t know that they need the WPO in their life until it is in their life. You hear that a lot from members who join and only then realize the WPO is where they have a safe space to talk about what’s going on in their business and get validation that their success is well-earned.”
Camille joined the WPO as an administrative assistant nearly 25 years ago and has risen through the ranks, taking over as CEO in 2019. Over and over again, it is the positive intangible benefits of being a WPO member that the top entrepreneurs she meets at organization events single out as the greatest benefit of belonging to the WPO.
“This is where women entrepreneurs find access to resources from other women in the community, but there are also a lot of intangible benefits: having a community; having other people who validate you; being able to learn from others’ mistakes and see what somebody’s done wrong, or understand what they would have done differently, and being able to utilize that as a way to think about your own business.
“I've seen WPO members gain a lot of confidence by being part of a WPO chapter. Sometimes successful women entrepreneurs struggle a little with impostor syndrome, so the validation they find here is vital.”
Given that women are entering an ever-widening variety of sectors, including the male-dominated fields of construction, engineering, manufacturing and heavy industry, having the rightness of your presence there confirmed by others can be liberating, says Camille.
She says that this expansion in the kinds of businesses that women run, which she has watched grow since 2000 when she joined the WPO, shows that the organization is doing its job of inspiring and supporting women whose businesses have successfully breached the start-up stage, whatever industry they’ve chosen.
Back in the early 2000s, most women-owned businesses were in the services and professional services sectors, says Camille. Now, in addition to forging a path in once male-dominated sectors, women are increasingly building businesses that serve women, particularly in healthcare, and they are running successful businesses in countries that are less open to women’s economic advancement than others.
“Women are starting businesses because they face challenges and find there is no answer to their problem, so they provide it themselves. Also, in some countries it’s difficult for women entrepreneurs to find other successful women entrepreneurs to work alongside. Organizations like the WPO often don't exist in those countries, and so expanding into them is something I’m really passionate about because I want to help support women and their companies all over the world. I want to help them grow their businesses and help create the community that they need.”
Until recently, the WPO’s growth was organic. It has more than 150 chapters across nine countries and will soon launch chapters in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Geneva, Switzerland. Now the organization has appointed a full-time staff member to expand its reach.
Camille lists this growth as one of the highlights of her WPO career. Another is the annual 50 Fastest-Growing Women-Owned and -Led Companies list, which honors businesses that have demonstrated remarkable year-over-year growth since 2020.
“I find the women who are on that list to be just so inspiring. Sometimes what they’ve overcome to build these incredible businesses is mind-blowing – the sort of resilience and fortitude they show. I honestly almost can’t get enough of it.”
After a short stint in human resources at a New York law firm after graduating with a Sociology degree from New York University, Camille decided the corporate space was not for her. She answered a job advertisement from the WPO, then a small organization of about 200 members and 17 chapters across the US. What she found excited her.
“I started to understand the impact of small and medium-sized businesses, what they contribute to the economy and in general, and I became passionate about wanting to help businesses grow,” she says.
That led to a Master of Business Administration degree from Baruch College in New York City and, eventually, becoming CEO of the WPO.
Camille has seen a lot of change, and a lot of grit from WPO members. Within her first year, al-Qaeda’s 9/11 attacks against the US were carried out. Six years later, the housing market bubble burst, leading to the Great Recession of 2007 to 2009 and then, in early 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic brought the world economy to a near-halt.
Through it all, the WPO provided a safe haven for its growing membership. All the while, Camille watched WPO members use the community they found, and their innate creativity and verve, to keep on surviving. She finds them an eternal inspiration.