The Buffalo media and networking landscape has seen a huge influx of women-centric/women-run outfits in the last few years. From podcasts to magazines to Instagram to television news, the women of Buffalo are now taking the reins to tell their own stories over myriad information platforms to a plethora of audiences. Qween City wishes to highlight several of these incredible individuals and organizations who have truly given voice to our community of empowering thought leaders, organizers, movers, and shakers.
Our first spotlight on Kelly Dudzik of City Shapers can be found here, our second spotlight, on the events & networking team behind Virago Buffalo, can be found here, our third spotlight, on Miranda Bigham of She’s From Buffalo, can be found here, our fourth spotlight, on the professional networking group WINC Buffalo, can be found here, our fifth spotlight, on the networking and social media machine Buffalo Boss Babes, can be found here, our sixth spotlight, on the women-centric podcast Womankind, can be found here, and our seventh spotlight, on the business cooperative Buffalo Women’s Consortium, can be found here.
One of the latest social media platforms to highlight the women of Buffalo, New York, Be Femme Finesse (BFF) is an Instagram account started in July 2019 by brand and digital design strategist Alisha Collins.
“Be Femme Finesse started through my quest of finding women of all backgrounds and nationalities in Buffalo, New York, to be highlighted and celebrated,” Alisha said. From these digital beginnings Alisha hopes to see the expansion of the initiative move into the real world space.
“Plans for Be Femme Finesse include events and networking opportunities to usher in the spirit of collaboration and empowerment through all of the diverse women of Buffalo, New York,” she said. “The emphasis on diversity is a very important value to the group. Having a seat at ‘the table’ means you first are open to joining no matter who’s sitting there.”
Describing her initial inspiration for the project, Alisha mentioned those few key words: support and collaboration. “Through this journey of discovering fascinating women in Buffalo, I’m always inspired to think of new ways to provide a platform for them,” she said. “As a working entrepreneur myself, I know the difficulties of finding support and I believe that the true key to success is through genuine collaborations!”
When asked to tell Qween City her brief story, Alisha somewhat hesitated. After all, BFF was started to uplift and empower others, not put the spotlight on her own work, she said.
“Initially when I started the page I didn’t want it to be circled around me or my personal brand, but instead I wanted it to take on a personality of its own,” Alisha said. “I even decided not to feature myself or mention me at all because if someone was going to decide to support the page I wanted them to do it without considering who ran it…The true face of BFF is all of the women who you see on the page,” she said.
Due to Alisha’s work, more than 40 creatives, business owners, and general movers n’ shakers of Buffalo have been highlighted on the beautifully manicured page, along with a generous smattering of motivational quotes, random fashion #inspo, and shout outs to other favorite things and places in the city.
Looking to the rest of 2020, Alisha said she hopes to collaborate with other groups nationwide, and to find ways to build an even larger platform for the talented women who’ve been featured on BFF.
Alisha Collins is a Brand and Digital Design Strategist who partners with CEOs, executives and solopreneurs to grow their personal and professional brands. After spending nearly a decade working in Digital Design and Advertising, she realized that she had a newfound passion for empowering and uplifting others who were trying to reach their goals, or simply just figure out which direction to go in.