Elle’s: The guardian angels of female entrepreneurs

Château de la Saigne, Creuzier-le-Vieux, March 2022. Behind the door, laughter burst out. No doubt, we are at an Elle’s workshop. About twenty women are waiting for us, around a table, cluttered with the remains of a shared picnic. With each a life story and a common point: a need to find each other, to find each other, to meet and to exchange kindly on their experiences.

Originally a former merchant

Because Elle’s is a singular collective. Originally, Isabelle Lachaise. This former shopkeeper from Aigueperse chose to convert to sophrology. A journey she wanted to share. ” I needed connections and networks. A particularly strong need that arose during confinement to connect people who had projects and more particularly women entrepreneurs who were in difficulty. We have too often heard of them as ‘non-essential’ and that hurt me. I just wanted to show that we could support each other “.

Launched in May 2021 with a very small group, the bet has more than largely been won with nearly 130 women. ” This group is unitedconfides Isabelle Lachaise. We all have potential and skills. We offer it of course, while receiving. We are not intended to be a training organization. But we test ourselves on our projects, we experiment with our ideas and we take the risk of benevolence in implementing our practices, without judgment. “.

“Connect people who had projects and more particularly women entrepreneurs who were in difficulty”

Kindness

A state of mind that seduced Christine. This young woman has just launched ‘Cocoon Moi’ in Vichy. A massage workshop for pregnant women and babies and a prenatal dance proposal to accompany future and young parents. ” With Elle’s, we get out of isolation. When you decide to do a retraining, you can feel very alone, you leave a salaried framework. Meeting other women who have similar life paths allows us to be supported. We can talk about our weaknesses “. Same story for Laetitia who will open a second-hand clothing and image consulting shop for small budgets in Gannat. ” We know where to turn to ask our questions. Our diversity is the strength of the collective “. ” A circle of women that is needed“, adds Sophie at his side. This former nurse’s aide in transition in energy and personal development in Clermont was directed by her Pôle Emploi training to Elle’s. “I feel recognized, accepted in joy, in good humor. And laughter. I haven’t laughed for a long time. You can be vulnerable without being judged“.

In the Allier

” The world of work is complicated, especially for womenconfirms Isabelle Lachaise. The Elle’s allow you to reboost yourself, to give yourself a new orientation, to enhance all your energies. And we want to meet, not just be a page on Facebook. This is why we have created teams at different points in Allier and Puy-de-Dôme. We have some in Gannat-Saint-Pourçain-Ebreuil, Vichy, Nord Limagne, Montluçon-Doyet. But also Clermont and Thiers-Lezoux-Cunlhat “.

And from these are born little by little projects. Like at the Château de la Saigne. Nathalie, the owner of the place, has found the desire to do workshops. ” They have this energy and I have the places. I think about quickly setting up meetings around cooking or sculpture. As I will devote myself only to the castle with its lodgings and its event receptions, I also find a space-time for my projects during the week. “.

As for the future, Isabelle leaves it quietly to write itself. ” Things are falling into place. There is no competition, each of us does our job in our own way. For example, we are going to set up a workshop between a nutritionist in plant transition and a young woman who has a shop selling local products in North Limagne. Or even internally, create a meeting at the start of the school year at the Château de la Saigne with therapists around the body. Or a meditative walk in a maze “. And continue like this, as Laetitia says, to put “ stars in the eyes when we talk about our projects “. So, we know that everything is now possible.