Single Steps Strategies Turns 10!

We can hardly contain our excitement — ten years of empowering women! And what better way to celebrate than with so many of our friends and supporters, toasting to another decade and raising money for Dress for Success Pittsburgh.

We had a beautiful evening for a party, and the grounds at Metamorpohsis were in full bloom. Thanks to all who attended–it was wonderful sharing stories and laughs, recalling fond memories and planning for what is ahead. And a special thanks to the donors who made our Dress for Success basket raffle possible: Anytime Fitness; Bistro 19; The Children’s Museum; Edwina Kaikai, Mary Kay; First Commonwealth Bank; The Musuneggi Financial Group; and The Warhol.

When Christopher and I started Single Steps Strategies in 2003, we had high hopes and expectations. But what has happened in the last decade exceeded even our loftiest goals.

The idea for Single Steps came from my experiences with other women. I’ve been in the financial business over 35 years, and even early on I consistently met women who were facing life-changing situations—marriage, divorce, widowhood; raising a family, often as a single mom; losing a job; retirement—but they didn’t have the resources they needed to get through those situations. I believed that if we could give women access to those resources—knowledge, tools, strategies, support—they would have a much better chance of succeeding in the face of whatever life put in their way.

To us it seemed clear that resources started with education. And since our industry is finance, that was a natural starting point for us. So we began hosting workshops that would help women to learn more about managing their money and encourage them to do so independently of any partner. At Single Steps Strategies we love men—we really do!—but we feel strongly that every woman, whether she is single, married, divorced or otherwise, needs to know how to handle her finances. And then we started to look for other experts and organizations to partner with, helping to host and promote their workshops and share their information, and this broadened our scope well beyond finance.

Fast forward to 2014, and we’ve now done hundreds of workshops like “Move it or Lose It,” “We Have to Stop Meeting Like This”; “Shameless Self Promotion,” “When Love Hurts,” “How Are You Wired?” “The Humpty-Dumpty Syndrome,” “Re-entering the Workforce: What Do I Want, How Do I Get There?” and “Couples Financial Therapy”—and of course our signature Women Who Wine events. The list goes on and on.

We are very proud of the progress we’ve made, and helping Single Steps Strategies to blossom and grow has been a genuine labor of love. But we’re not settling down just yet. Now we’re looking ahead to the next decade, and we think it’s going to be even brighter than the last. We’ve launched our brand new website, and we hope you love the fresh design and exciting new features as much as we do. And because we want to reach more women with more great information and tools, we are now active on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn!

Here’s to the next ten years of empowering women!

For the full Birthday Party Photo Gallery, click here.