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Celebrate International Women’s Day at Selden Market

Posted at 6:51 AM, Mar 08, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-08 07:47:56-05

DOWNTOWN NORFOLK, Va. - International Women's Day is celebrated to honor success and achievement of women all over the world.

It's a good time to look into Selden Market, where 75% of the business owners are women.

Tonight they're hosting an event from 5pm-9pm to celebrate. There will be food, drinks, massages, manicures, clothes, and jewelry all from female business owners.

Selden Market is an incubator program in Downtown Norfolk that helps new businesses launch their ideas in a low-rent, low-risk environment.

"This is someones passion in 300 square feet," says Stephanie Dietz, owner of Doughminion Donuts. "This is my life's blood, this is what I truly care about."

After working in restaurants for ten years, she decided it was time to do her own thing. Selden Market seemed to be the perfect fit.

"We are all a team here," says Dietz. "Yes, we are individual business owners, but having another female to lean on to ask for advice, to give advice is so empowering that we are all these strong individuals together."

Passion and vision is what brought most of these women together. Ashley Branton started Velvet Witch, a platform for female vendors from all over the country.

"Unfortunately the world we live in right now women are still kind of on the back burner with pay and everything like that," says Branton. "It was important for us to really showcase women in the industry, showcasing their art and their talents and giving them a platform for them to sell their product."

Selden Market's been open for almost six months.

"It has been an adventure - that's the best way to put it," says Branton.  "But it has seriously changed me as a person."

And much of that has to do with her fellow female entrepreneurs.

"The relationship here has become like a family, we support each other," says Branton. "It's just seriously been a nice network, a nice community of businesses and its been a lot of support."