Meet Day Reed

Since joining the Xcelerate Women team in 2022, Day has played a pivotal role as the Peer Mentorship Facilitator.

Since joining the Xcelerate Women team in 2022, Day has played a pivotal role as the Peer Mentorship Facilitator. Her dedication to empowering business owners through collaboration and goal setting, combined with her personal experience and passion for connection, enables her to foster a supportive community and facilitate meaningful growth among business owners.

What inspires you about Xcelerate's work/mission? 

What inspires me about Xcelerate's work and mission is their dedication to reshaping the landscape for women in business, redefining success, and their unwavering commitment to helping women grow their businesses in the truth of the statistics and numbers that are still far skewed against women's success in business AND the deep knowing that when women are well communities are well. 

Xcelerate recognizes that systemic inequities persistently affect women in business. They don’t just acknowledge these challenges; they actively engage in helping women navigate and overcome them. By providing resources, mentorship programs, and fostering community connections, Xcelerate supports women entrepreneurs in reaching economic freedom to thrive.

We know that when women entrepreneurs thrive, they hire locally, support other businesses, and champion social causes. Xcelerate’s work isn’t just about business growth or individual success; it’s about transforming challenges into opportunities and individual dreams into collective progress. It's about weaving stronger threads into the community tapestry. There is so much to be inspired by, and I am truly honored to be a part of the team doing this work.

How has your identity as a woman and any other intersectional identities impacted your career journey? 

To answer this question I first want to share a quote that has traveled with me through this life from the time I was 18. Einstein said, "Sometimes you have to color outside of the lines if you want to make your life a masterpiece." I am navigating and experiencing the world through my intersectional identities as a white, queer woman. I have the privilege of reasonable access to find success within the status quo of Capitalism by what I call, "Coloring inside the lines" but seeing that these lines are not made for my femaleness or my queerness also helped me to see who else they are not made for. It has become impossible for me to walk where others are not welcome, so therefore I cannot "color inside the lines" This led me to starting my own business. As a business owner, I’ve walked the path of entrepreneurship—the exhilarating highs and the daunting lows. I’ve encountered the uphill battles, the moments of triumph, the sheer determination required to break through barriers. The barriers I face being a queer woman in business have at times been intensely challenging, lonely or isolating in ways I do not hear from my straight or male counterparts. These barriers are in stark contrast to the privilege I hold as a white woman in business where trust is given or belief in my abilities is invested in and I know this is not always the case for my Black and brown sisters in business.  But what these intersectional identities have offered me is a pathway to build the business and life that I want that is different from the status quo, that is collaborative and tied to the success of others who the lines were just never meant to serve.  Together we are coloring outside the lines and making our lives, community and perhaps one day the world a true masterpiece. 

If you could pick any super power, what would it be and why? 

My superpower would be the ability to forge empathic connections. One way this power would show up in my life is it would assist and support me in building relationships and community connections on a foundation of understanding and trust. It would help me be the creative problem solver and bridge builder that I yearn for but am limited by my own understanding or ability to communicate across perspectives. One way this power would show up for me in service and participation in the world is that I can use this power to serve as a catalyst to help those around me unlock or amplify their own powers. I wholeheartedly believe that together we rise. When each of us operates at our best and brings forth the unique abilities, perspectives or powers within us, we can build the world we need and live lives filled with joyful prosperity.

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