Hayley Foster, business coach and author of Foster Your Passion, will provide a keynote address Nov. 12 from 1-2 p.m. at Syracuse University’s Peter Graham Scholarly Commons in Bird Library as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week. The event is open to the public and will include a book talk, signing and reception.
The event is co-sponsored by the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, the Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars at Syracuse University, the Women’s Network student organization and the Syracuse Entrepreneurship Club.
Foster garnered an entrepreneurial spirit for as far back as she can recall and established herself as a hard-worker early on in life. She ran a newspaper route at 10 years old, and followed that up with jobs in babysitting, at a beach club, a yogurt parlor and, ultimately, an internship with her father’s company during college.
After graduating from college, she started to work in the advertising realm at Wells Rich Green and then moved on to Grey Advertising. Foster continued in the marketing and advertising space at Organic Inc., an online marketing and web development company, managing the first online marketing campaigns for companies like Reebok, General Electric and Chase Bank.
Foster then went on to start her own venture and co-founded Verge Marketing Inc., a bag and accessory design and manufacturing company. She grew Verge to over $5 million in revenues, but after 12 years, Foster lost her passion for the business.
Seeking new opportunities, Foster jumpstarted FosterInc., a network of women-owned businesses. Through peer-to-peer advisory groups, one-on-one consulting, boot camp workshops, masterminds and value-added networking events, Foster works with women entrepreneurs to help them either get started or take their businesses to the next level. She also has a podcast, and just published her first book, titled Foster Your Passion.
Foster wants to equip entrepreneurs with the ability and strength to assist in finding their passion and leading their lives with purpose. Her speeches are intended to help others find their vision, craft a personal mission statement and change their life views by embracing fears and stepping out of your comfort zone, as well as seeks to empower business professionals to have confidence in all realms of life and manage time.
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