Last year, I created a women’s business conference called At the Helm: Women in Biz. I don’t normally create content and programming geared specifically toward women, but I have to say that I am so glad that At the Helm exists. Last year was fantastic and it was a great experience coordinating my first all day event. But 2012 was something else…
This year, the event was held in Santa Monica at the brand new Real Office Center’s location. The staff was friendly and helpful throughout and all I really had to do was SHOW UP. There were so many things they had on hand already and details they took care of that really made the experience incredibly easy for me. As the organizer, I was busy all day and was pretty much running on adrenaline…and Vitaminwater, rice chips, and hugs.
The content shared was amazing. I wish I could list the details that every single speaker shared, but I don’t have time to write a book, so I’ll just give you some of the bullet points:
Anat Baron kicked off the day by sharing her story and encouraging our attendees to think outside the box and create opportunities for themselves in order to grow their careers.
Christine Kwok and Jules Erickson gave us some great advice on keeping ourselves in tip top shape (we even had them analyze a few labels of products in the room).
Victoria Pynchon spoke the absolute truth on the importance of negotiation for our businesses and our careers. Two lucky attendees also walked away with copies of her book.
Attendee (all the way from San Fran!) Stephanie Harper of Career Magazine shared her tips on how to set prices when you’re moving from a 9-to-5 to a business. She also made a video that she included in her wrap up post here: Setting Prices As a New Entrepreneur
Attendees could not get enough info out of Lizzy Shaw (PR), Julie Brosterman (Social Media), and Celia Ward Wallace’s (Goals) breakout sessions. I’ve watched and interacted with these women, so I was not surprised at all.
Britni Danielle helped her attendees figure out what makes them unique and how that can help them engage their intended audiences. Blogger extraordinaire Marie Denee captivated her audience as well and I did my best to eavesdrop on the nuggets of wisdom she was dropping.
Tasha Oldham, who spends her days helping biz owners tell their stories, brought her magic to her audience while Nailah Blades inspired our budding entrepreneurs and Kelly Alexander captivated the audience in her packed breakout session.
In a short but sweet talk, Danielle Dowling broke down how important balance really is (or isn’t).
While there weren’t any immediate questions, all I heard about the Business and Social Good panel (comprised of Rebecca Pontius, Shivani Siroya, Matthew Manos, and Seth Matlins) was about how impressive they are were and how there was no ego and they were all so clearly dedicated to their missions.
We ended the day with Jessica DeVita, Linda Wang, and Kelly Alexander giving the not-told-often-enough truth about major mistakes entrepreneurs are making while they start and grow their businesses.
Also, check out reviews and photos from C0ldpiece Photography and Vee Beard, Stephanie Harper of Career Magazine and Kimberly Marie.
New connections were made. Existing relationships were deepened. Online friends met face-to-face for the first time. I had to play bad cop all day – pulling attendees apart and rushing them off to their next sessions. But seeing how people connected was great.
There were many special moments throughout the day, but two things stuck out to me. One – most of my friends are not business owners. Well, I have many business owner friends now, as a result of starting a business and doing lots of networking. But before I started a business, I didn’t have any friends that were on the path I was on. There was no support or community. That was one of the motivating factors behind me creating The Entrepreneur Connection at the end of 2006. So, having two of my friends from my college days at the event was incredibly special. Bringing them into the fold of my business community and hopefully connecting them with resources and people that will help them along on their entrepreneurial journeys made me really happy.
One of our speakers, Dr. Jennifer Johnston-Jones had some family drop in to hear her speak. When she was done giving her fantastic talk about the power of confidence, her mother stood up and shared that when she was a business owner in decades past, she’d be the only woman in the room sometimes and didn’t have that sense of community. She said she loved being in a room full of business women in 2012. As a member of Gen Y, I am well aware that the world hasn’t always been like the one I inhabit, but actually hearing someone express how different things were for her and how fortunate we were to have a community of women to lean on and learn from made me feel incredibly grateful.
We’re going to keep the At the Helm community going and growing throughout 2013. We will have smaller, informal and more intimate community building events leading up to the conference next fall. To get involved and receive notifications about events and opportunities, join the ATH community here: At the Helm on Facebook
I want to thank all of the amazing speakers who participated this year. This event would not have happened without their generosity of time and gifts.
I also want to thank our generous donors and sponsors who really went above and beyond in their giving to show their support for women in business.
