YOUNGSTOWN - A discussion hosted by Dandelion-Inc as part of the "Dandelion Discussions" series took place at the Youngstown Business Incubator about continuing to move forward despite failure is encouraging women entrepreneurs to change how they view those moments of failure.

Keynote speaker Tanisha Wheeler regional director of the Minority Business Assistance Center (MBAC) at the
Youngstown Business Incubator (YBI), shared her journey as a young mother, working unfulfilling jobs and feeling defeated in life.

Wheeler said she started her collegiate journey at the University of  Akron but did not reach scholastic success. 

"For me that was the point where I just thought life was over. I felt like I was not going to be able to bounce back, I would never be successful. And then I came home and everything turned," Wheeler said.

After returning home to the Valley, Wheeler successfully earned her undergraduate degree which ultimately ushered in a leadership position as the aforementioned regional director of MBAC at the YBI. 

Wheeler said she does not classify her failures as negative, but rather a positive that reminds her to keep going.

And the same is true for Paige Collins. Owner of All Spruced Up Cleaning Company, she transitioned from a one-woman operation to managing a team and soon after that, she began losing clients who were accustomed to her personal touch

However, instead of giving up, it was that experience that motivated her to implement new organizational practices which helped turn her 10 clients into 80.

"It is that failure that just kick starts the wheels and puts you forward and allows you to change what you need to change and make it better," Collins said.