No one ever asks a man how he manages to balance his work and home. But, successful career-women, especially entrepreneurs are always asked this question. Celebrating the spirit of women entrepreneur was the Women Entrepreneurs Day of the Business Network International, BNI Benchmark Coimbatore.

As a mother, it was mandatory that PepsiCo, CEO Indra Nooyi attended the Wednesday coffee parent-teacher meeting at her child’s school. However, on some Wednesdays, her business commitment kept her from attending the meetings. On such days, her daughter would ask her why she didn’t come. Initially Indra felt hurt too, but not for long. Whenever she couldn’t attend the meetings, she would enquire from her daughter’s school the list of other parents who also did not attend the parent-teacher meeting on that day. When her daughter asked her why she didn’t attend the meeting, Indra ran her daughter through the list of other parents who, like her, had also missed the meeting. With this story, the BNI Benchmark meeting began, with the goal to celebrate Women Entrepreneur Day.

“We women have the power to manage our homes and our professional environments effortlessly. Women also tend to listen effectively and this helps in decision making at work and in our homes. It is an honour that I’m a part of this BNI chapter. It is an encouraging sign to see so many young women who are a part of this special meeting that celebrates the spirit of women entrepreneurship,” Devika Ramesh, Chapter Director, BNI Benchmark said.

BNI Benchmark currently has about 61 members and about 108 visitors attended this meeting. Each of the members read out their routine thank you notes. They also requested whom they needed to be connected to in order to do business. The next session was dedicated to the three women entrepreneurs – J. Mohanasundari, Devika Ramesh, and Deepa Kannan – who made their PowerPoint presentations about the respective companies they are heading. “I’m proud to be a woman entrepreneur. It takes great determination, focus, and perseverance to be a successful women entrepreneur. My company is my family. As a family, we will continue to keep our promise of delivering quality products.” Mohanasundari said, concluding her presentation.

BNI, founded in 1985, is one of the world’s largest referral organizations with over 185,000 members worldwide, and a presence in over 60 countries. The Coimbatore region has eight BNIs. BNI Benchmark, Coimbatore chapter, has been rated one of the top 10 chapters in India. This chapter has generated more than Rs.60 crores of business by passing 11,000 referrals to its members.