Though Ferne Kornfeld initially began her work with Barry as a way to help fulfill the duties that come along with running a business, it soon snowballed, leading to a full-fledged career—and one that she was exceedingly successful at. Years later, still working side by side with her husband, Ferne and Barry realized that there was a gap within the financial services industry. Too many over-leveraged businesses and companies were in need of loans, but because they had already borrowed so much, they were denied access to much-needed working capital. 

Barry and Ferne Kornfeld began to understand that the reason these people were applying in the first place was that they were essentially looking to restructure their existing debt—not create more. Unfortunately, they also realized that this problem was mostly hurting small business owners like themselves. Thus began Value Capital Funding. With Ferne and Barry’s combined background in investing and deep knowledge of corporate finance, they began reaching out to investors and lenders and working towards specializing in debt restructuring. 

As a woman in business, Ferne Kornfeld is grateful for the tremendous opportunity to help small business owners, many of which are women themselves. She understands the incredible contribution female business owners bring to their communities. They offer a sense of diversity and perspective that helps advance their towns. What’s more, they are also usually more philanthropic than their male counterparts, giving back to the community, with both their time and resources, that gives back to them. 

Through the business and the networking it offers, she has been able to share ideas with other women and develop a deep sense of camaraderie. For Ferne Kornfeld, the ability to help empower women to chase their dreams is one of the most rewarding aspects of her career. However, that’s not to say being a woman in business is without its challenges. For example, Ferne had to learn how to communicate differently with male business owners who often prefer short, to-the-point methods of communication. 

To other women on the fence about starting their own business, Ferne Kornfeld offers this piece of advice: Network as much as possible with other female business owners prior to starting your own, as well as for the duration of running your business. Female business owners like to help other female business owners and are an excellent resource for information—as well as referrals. For Ferne, what goes around comes around. So, if you take care of your clients and the other small business owners in your community, they’ll help to take care of you. Relationships have always been the key to a successful business. 

To learn more about Ferne and her insight into the world of female business owners, be sure to check out her blog!

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