Meggie Presti – Core Taekwondo

Unsure of her future, with no safeguard or backup plan, she treads carefully, hoping she won’t go bankrupt and leave her family with no income. This is the experience of many women starting their businesses without a company’s security to fall back on. 

Working at corporate jobs opens many opportunities for misconduct against women in the workplace. All these hindrances in employment for women can lead to them wanting to find their own way of making income. 

But establishing a business isn’t easy, especially for women. Some are unsure of taking the first step and are afraid their plan will not work, and biases — both conscious and unconscious — often stand in their way. According to Pew Research, about 42% of working women have faced discrimination at their job because of their gender. 

Meggie Presti, the owner of Core Taekwondo, mixed her passion for Taekwondo with business and started her own studio. She knew the journey of pursuing a business wasn’t going to be easy but continued to follow through, despite others’ opinions about it. 

“I had a number of men who made comments like ‘Whoa, black belt, you’re going to get beat up by a girl.’ The leasing agent who represented my first landlord apologized to me because he judged me on-site but quickly changed his mind after we spoke,” Presti said. 

Discrimination in the workplace can vary from differences in income to harassment and assault. These problems can be even more prominent in male-dominated work fields. According to Forbes, working in a male-dominated occupation as a woman can cause mistreatment or lack of a voice in the workspace.   

“Until fairly recently, I’d say in the last 10-12 years, Taekwondo has been very male-dominated. Even little things, like the cut of the uniform, have been designed for men. It is hard to feel confident when you are swimming in your clothes,” Presti said. 

Regardless of the rough start, once a business opens, the journey begins. Every business has its reasons for beginning, notably, a goal the owner wants to strive towards. To Presti, Core Taekwondo is a learning experience for those willing to pursue taekwondo, but it’s more than that. 

“Core Taekwondo has become a community and a family. There are a lot of taekwondo schools out there, but I think Core is unique because of the social aspect we have cultivated. It’s more than a business; honestly, it is a community, my social network, and my happy place,” Presti said. 

Aspiring to become an entrepreneur has its complications, but having a determined mindset can help achieve that dream become a reality. Being an entrepreneur requires a lot of hard work, but those hard-driven characteristics can lead to success. According to Forbes, the most commonly needed business skills are delegation, thought leadership, and basic communication skills. 

“Do it; it never hurts to try. Even if you fail, you will learn something,” Presti said.