Theresa Carroll, a successful business woman who balanced family and career. And learned how to succeed in a male dominated business.Take a look at the top five women entrepreneurs in Greenwich, CT and you’ll find Theresa’s name.
A graduate of Western Michigan University, Theresa had grown up in an era where a woman’s main job was to be good a wife. So that’s what she did. Two years after her first child was born, the National Organization for Women was founded. The following years saw more women entering the workforce and things were going to change. Itching to do something while her children were in school full time, Theresa made her debut into the world of entrepreneurship.
As a result, in 1991 Theresa became co-owner of Carrol & Calani, a casting company located in New York City. NYC was the ideal location because the commute allowed her to be home to make and enjoy dinner with her family. Career and family balancing act.
Then Theresa found her passion in the hospitality space. And with 1997 came the co-ownership and building of the award winning restaurant Thomas Henkelmann and the Homestead Inn. Theresa applied her business expertise and acumen along with her insight into the international luxury hospitality market. Then she added those skills with her decades of interior design experience and the result was spectacular. Theresa had and continues to create, a modern showcase of elegance, warmth and sophistication.
‘Boy, it’s been an interesting time to be a woman because we’re groundbreaking.’
So how did this mother of seven become a successful business woman?
A successful mother and a successful business woman…here’s some of what you’ll hear:
- Balancing career and family
- Male aggression
- Fighting to be listened to
- Not being afraid to ask
- Passion
- Creating the Homestead Inn and Thomas Henkelmann
- Being assertive, not aggressive
- Reopening in the midst of the pandemic and what she has control over