Shelly Fisher, founder of Girls Nite Live.Photo: Courtesy Julia Farbman
It was April 2020, just weeks into theCOVID-19 pandemic, when Shelly Fisher decided to step up and help struggling female business owners and entrepreneurs.
“So many people we knew lost their jobs and businesses when the pandemic broke out,” she tells PEOPLE. “I knew my team had the bandwidth to help out, so I just thought, ‘What can we do?'”
For Fisher, the gesture was nothing out of the ordinary. An entrepreneur and philanthropist herself, Fisher often incorporates giving back into her business models, especially in her current role as CEO and founder of Pay it Forward Group LLC.
“All the different businesses I’ve done in my life, they’ve had some kind of helping component, but most recently it’s been female-focused,” she explains. “It was a natural fit… if there’s something that we can do to help the women, then that’s what we do.”
After brainstorming and planning over 10 days with her team, Fisher launched an online platform calledGirls Nite Live.
The site offers women the chance to share their skills and experiences through free interactive programs in return for tips. Anyone can attend the live virtual programs, which vary from teaching skills and networking to fitness classes and e-commerce segments.
Over the last year, the platform has continued to grow, with more than 700,000 attendees and over 450 programs — almost all of which can berewatched on Girls Nite Live’s YouTube page.
They’ve also recently introduced a Spanish programming lineup on Wednesday mornings.
“We made everything happen quickly because people needed help quickly. If we were to wait three months to do it, it wasn’t going to be as effective,” Fisher says. “In a world where there’s been a lot of divisiveness and challenges, we provide a positive, inclusive experience where all women of all backgrounds come together for a positive point of connection.”
One of those women is MaryBeth Beck, the owner ofPilates and More. As a mother providing for her 13-year-old son in Ocean City, Maryland, Beck tells PEOPLE she was struggling financially after her pilates business was forced to shut down amid the pandemic.
At the time, Beck worried about potentially having to claim bankruptcy, and was also busy helping her son Axel — who lives with a variety of challenges, including ADHD — adjust to remote learning.
But thanks to Fisher, who reached out and asked if Beck would lead a pilates class on Girls Nite Live, Beck was able to stay afloat.
“Shelly came out of nowhere really and changed my life,” says Beck. “It was like a godsend because that money went to my family.”
MaryBeth Beck in her studio with son Axel.Courtesy Tara Calabrese
It wasn’t just the financial support of Girls Nite Live that Beck says impacted her life — it was also the camaraderie and sense of “purpose” that came with the platform.
“It was very uplifting to be part of something like this and to be among so many amazing women,” she explains. “It made me feel empowered and worthy at a time when the world was going crazy.”
“I felt like I wasn’t alone and was given validation that I’m good at what I do and people notice and I needed that,” she adds.
Beck taughtweekly pilates classes on the sitefrom May through October until she says she had made it “over the hump.”
“If it wasn’t for Girls Nite Live, my son wouldn’t have had a Christmas,” she says. “The money that I could get every week from people tipping me, that is what put food on my table.”
“And I got to help others because, around that time, people weren’t feeling good about themselves. They were depressed,” she adds. “When they’d come on and work out, I made them feel good about themselves. I was like their ‘lipstick.'”
MaryBeth Beck.Courtesy Tara Calabrese
Though the platform was heavily reliant on tips at the beginning, Fisher says they’ve since moved away from that model as businesses slowly reopen and people return to work.
“It was supposed to be a short-lived experience, just like the pandemic for all of us,” Fisher says. “None of us expected that we would still be doing this a year from now, but we realized the good we’re doing, so we just kept going.”
“Our core was always to support and amplify the voices of women while building a positive community,” she explains. “Now, we’ve just pivoted from more of financial help for these women to giving them a platform and audience. We keep going forward and expanding what we’re doing.”
Despite the change, Fisher says the response from members has been no less powerful.
“It gives you hope for the world. It’s just a blur of these wonderful people who are really are supportive of each other,” she explains.
“We got one email recently from a woman who told us that she had lost her husband at the beginning of the pandemic,” she recalls. “Every day after losing him, she would lay in bed and watch our programming, and it gave her a rare moment of distraction and a little bit of peace at a time where she could hardly get out of bed. I get so choked talking about it, but it’s like, okay — we did something that mattered. It was worth it.”
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Above all, she wants people to take away the most important lesson: “When we’re able, we should do something positive to help others.”
“We’re alive for a reason and that’s what we’re supposed to be doing,” Fisher says. “One person can make a difference, and watching that light go on in these different people’s faces is a gift.”
For Beck, she couldn’t agree more.
“Girls Nite Live changed me, and made me realize I’ve got to keep helping women,” she says. “It’s about reaching out a hand. It’s a very much a pay it forward, and that is what should be contagious — not COVID.”
source: people.com
