Walking up the staircase of Omlie’s converted townhome in Conshohocken, PA, you will see the faces of people that have paved the way across industries: Patsy Mink, Serena Williams, Steve Jobs, and Reshma Saujani to name a few. “Why are these here? Who is this person?” you may ask as you climb each stair, questioning the illustrative theme. At Omlie, choosing your pioneer, and becoming one yourself, is the driving theme of the business.
Omlie is a woman-owned and woman-led management consulting company supporting clients in the healthcare and wellness industries. They are on a mission to cultivate possibilities for their people, clients, and world by building transformational strategies and trusting teams.
As her business began amid COVID-19 three years ago, Sarah Burlew started calling herself a CEO— a realization that catapulted Omlie, named after aviation pioneer Phoebe Omlie, into flight. Alongside her first employee, Sarah turned to a white board and wrote their audacious goal in small print: “Make 1 million in year one.” Unbeknownst to them, this was an arduous goal as only 1.7% of woman-owned businesses in the U.S. generate more than $1M in revenue. In their first year, Omlie made 1.9 million. Omlie has only grown in revenue, staff, partnerships, and ideas from that first year.
Prior to the inception of Omlie, Sarah often found herself navigating industries and organizations dominated by male leadership.
“Before starting Omlie, nine-times-out-of-ten when I was in meetings with senior leaders, whether they were with my company or with our clients, I was the only woman in the room.”
While this never bothered Sarah, it gave her an awareness of this gap in representation and mentorship for women-leaders in her field. As a Founder and CEO, she saw even fewer women at the table. As recompense, she advocated for women-owned businesses by seeking out the Woman Owned logo on products and services she purchased.
When the time came to certify Omlie, a google search brought her to WBEC-East where she learned the connection between WBENC certification and that colorful sought-out logo. Gaining the prestigious WBE status only solidified Sarah’s determination to close the representation gap and lean into everything this community stands for.
“What’s most valuable about the WBEC-East webinars and events is not just hearing from procurement experts and tax professionals, for example, but also learning from the other women business owners and hearing how they’ve overcome the challenges they face.”
As an entrepreneur, Sarah knew that her goals would include uplifting not only herself and her business, but other women-owned businesses—a fundamental quality she saw at WBEC-East.
Through a combination of networking with corporates and moral support of fellow WBE leaders, Sarah secured a Fortune 40 client who sought Omlie’s strategic expertise to bring the COVID vaccine to market. Sarah describes this as one of the hardest but also most meaningful moments in her career. The Omlie team worked diligently to launch and ship the COVID vaccine within 24 hours of FDA approval, a process that typically takes six months. This project was made possible because of Omlie’s diverse supplier designation, which helped expedite the procurement process.
Omlie has received several awards recognizing them as a “Best Place To Work” and the “Best Woman-Led Workplace of 2023.”
The level of success and growth at Omlie is a testament to the business training and WBENC Certification benefits at WBEC-East. Today, Sarah proudly represents what it means to be a WBEC-East certified WBE, as she spreads the word about WBENC certification and Women’s Business Centers like WBEC-East’s.
Learn more about Omlie at omlieconsulting.com, follow them on social media, and connect with Sarah on LinkedIn.
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