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Alumna opened WINC鈥檚 doors in 2011 and has since trained thousands of women across the country in business

When Myka McLaughlin (IntlAf鈥�08) finished her degree at CU Boulder, her sights were set abroad to fight global poverty. But every time she glimpsed those troubles, she couldn鈥檛 help but notice the scene right in front of her: her friends in Boulder鈥攎any of whom were living at or near the poverty level.听

鈥淭he majority of them were self-employed, but they didn鈥檛 think of themselves as business owners, and definitely not as entrepreneurs,鈥� McLaughlin says.听

She recalls a night in December of 2010, hanging out with several of those friends鈥攁ll sharing new year鈥檚 resolutions around their problems with money.听

What would turn out to be much more than a resolution came to McLaughlin later that night when she got home. It hit her suddenly鈥攁n insight that would transform her into a leader of entrepreneurial women.听

鈥淭here was a loud voice in my awareness that said, 鈥楳y name is WINK. I am here to help women build profitable businesses 鈥� to transform their lives, their families鈥� lives and, ultimately, our communities and economies all over the world.鈥欌�澨�

It shook her so much she stayed up all night trying to grasp the message. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know what WINK stood for. The W was pretty obvious as听women.鈥�

After days perusing the dictionary to decipher the I and N and some fiddling with the K, McLaughlin had much more than the letters translated鈥攕he had the beginnings of her own business,听听(Women in Community), which would do what the voice said it would do: help women turn their passions into successful businesses.

She opened WINC鈥檚 doors in 2011 and has since trained thousands of women across the country in business.听

McLaughlin tells the story of a waitress she met in 2013 making at most $300 a month with a hobby creating and selling jewelry. Soon after graduating from WINC鈥檚 90-day program, she was earning $3,000 a month, and within two years, she was generating six figures. 鈥淭his year she broke seven figures,鈥� McLaughlin says. 鈥淪he told me that no part of her ever imagined she鈥檇 have a seven-figure business.鈥澨�

McLaughlin says WINC鈥檚 focus is on 鈥渧ery tangible results鈥� and that the goal isn鈥檛 to make millionaires and billionaires but rather to 鈥渉elp women entrepreneurs generate the consistent revenue they need to provide real security and comfort鈥� for themselves and their families.听

鈥淎long the way, they become new versions of themselves with new belief systems about what they are capable of in life and business. Through the process, they learn to love themselves and believe in themselves, which is perhaps one of the greatest forms of wealth.鈥澨�

She says WINC鈥檚 curriculum is 60% business education and 40% internal training. 鈥淲hat women need are really powerful strategic skills to be a business owner, but they also go on a psychological and even spiritual journey.鈥澨�

McLaughlin isn鈥檛 surprised she became an entrepreneur; her dad owned a business.听

鈥淥ne of the first books I read on women鈥檚 entrepreneurship in 2011 was on the increased probability for a woman to be an entrepreneur if one of her parents was an entrepreneur,鈥� she says. 鈥淚nterestingly, my father鈥攍ike most of WINC鈥檚 customers鈥攂ecame an expert in his field because it was his lifelong passion. His business emerged out of his passion, not because he set out to be a business owner.鈥�

McLaughlin is a Denver-area native but her family moved around the western United States while she was growing up. CU Boulder was an obvious pick, and she says minoring in economics proved to be a good choice.听

鈥漌INC works because of the powerful number-crunching skills (the program鈥檚 leaders) teach,鈥� she says. 鈥淓conomics helped me develop expertise in problem-solving through math. Once we help a woman map out her dream in numbers and spreadsheets to make sure it is viable on paper, she can start building with a much higher probability for success. Plus, she now has a clear roadmap for what to expect, and on what timelines 鈥� for solving any problem or creating new dreams.鈥澨�

McLaughlin鈥檚 own roadmap continues to point toward WINC with plenty of miles and work ahead. She says there are 12.3 million women-owned businesses in the United States, and 88% are making less than $100,000 annually.

鈥淲e want to get them over that $100,000 milestone. We want to help 10,000 women鈥攖hat鈥檚 the goal,鈥� she says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a huge horizon.鈥�