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Community Nourishment: Growing An Online Space That Thrives

Community Nourishment: Growing An Online Space That Thrives

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In case you missed it (because you truly don’t want to miss it,) Rose Kaz wrote this week about the origins of the LBI Backstage Pass, what motivated her to grow this community and the dream she has for its cultivation.

Just like a garden, cultivating a community requires patience, dedication, and a love for growth.

Both require a delicate balance of providing the right conditions for growth, nurturing development, and pruning and removing obstacles.

In the short time I have been with LBI, I have dazzled by the colors of this garden.

Here is what Backstage pass member, singer, songwriter and producer Bridget Lyons has to say about her experience on the LBI platform:

Being able to create together in a community, and tell our stories, and be heard and support one another has been wonderful to be a part of. It’s been inspiring and mesmerizing at times.

Listen to Bridget’s full testimonial:

gowingathrivingspace1

I keep coming back to this image of of a garden and of the gardener, tools in hand, dream in heart, sitting down with a blank page and drawing out the garden plan.

She must take into account the growing conditions, what type of plant is likely to flourish, what type would need extra care. She creates a design both pleasing to the eye and in harmony with the landscape.

She chooses a variety of flora and fauna 

In different shapes, colors, heights.

Maybe she plans an herb garden where she will grow plants to harvest for her healing kitchen, or a cutting garden of bright blooms to make bouquets.

Maybe she will plant with the intention of attracting butterflies or hummingbirds or restoring native growth, bringing balance.

Soul Coach for transformational women leaders, Ber-Henda Williams says:

What sticks out the most to me about this particular platform is that in many cases when we have female identified or female-centric programming, it’s usually focused on patriarchy. In particular, white feminism has caused a detriment and harm to communities of color because it is singular focused. What I have found in being a part of Rose’s community is this it is intersectional in all the ways. It’s not only inclusive, but it is welcoming. It does not tokenize, but takes into consideration the entirety of the feminine experience.

Listen to Ber-Henda’s full testimonial:

growing a thriving space

After the dreaming and planning is done, the work begins – the work of tending the soil and planting seeds – watering, but not too much, shielding tender roots from the frost, pulling way the dead leaves.

As someone who loves a beautiful garden but really has to work at having a green thumb, I can say, growing a lush abundant garden is difficult but deeply rewarding work.

And that is how we grow a community.

Clare Ramírez, the Boxing Yogini, says:

The Backstage Pass connects me with a like-minded group of women in a world and land that can feel very lonely. Just trying to provide for yourself as a woman, and provide life and health for your business, can become a lonely space. It can become an anxiety ridden space, and it can become a vulnerable space. To be inspired by other women has really been useful, plus it’s a joy to work and speak and listen to women on their paths.

Listen to Clare’s full testimonial:

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Growing a thriving online community means:

Planting the seeds. Just as in a garden, you carefully choose the right seeds for your climate and soil, a community requires the right mix of people to be the foundation. This can be a core group of people who share similar interests and values, and it can been a variety of different people who share a common goal or understanding, or who are open to sharing that understanding, but it is people who set the tone for the community.

Providing the right conditions. Just as a garden needs the right amount of sunlight, water, and nutrients to thrive, a community needs the right tools, resources, and communication channels to facilitate growth and engagement.

Nurturing growth. A gardener must continuously water, fertilize, and tend to their plants to ensure they grow healthy and strong. In a community, you must continually foster engagement, provide support and resources, and encourage members to participate and contribute.

Pruning and removing obstacles: In a garden, removing dead leaves and branches helps direct the plant’s energy towards growth. In a community, removing negativity, toxicity, and obstacles helps maintain a positive and productive environment for growth.

Celebrating milestones and victories: A gardener takes pride in watching her plants bloom, and in a community, it’s important to celebrate milestones, from a member’s first post to a community event.

Just like a garden, a community requires consistency and attention to flourish.

And by following this map, tending to this garden, you have helped this community grow into a thriving and vibrant space for members to connect and share.

This is what Therapeutic Image Consultant Marisol Colette says:

Of all the social media platforms, this is the one that has the most positive impact, because it’s about the sharing of valuable information around how to show up in the world as a better person with more support.

Listen to Marisol’s full testimonial:

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The LBI Backstage Pass is your community. Rose is the gardener, but so are you.

You are the gardeners and the seeds and the beautiful blooms.

In my part of the world, it is icy and cold. The sky is grey. But deep beneath the frozen ground there is a glowing ember of warmth. There is life. 

In a few short weeks, the first buds and signs of spring will arrive and if I am careful and consistent, I will cultivate the tiny piece of land outside my back door and create a sanctuary for the wild life, an environment where the flowers can flourish…where I can flourish.

Before I know what happened, it will be summer – lush and vibrant.

As Rose dreams into the lush and vibrant future of this community, she invites us to dream along with her, plant along with her, cultivate this space together, and grow.

Thank you for your presence in this process.

More About Lori-Lyn

More About Lori-Lyn

Website | Instagram 

Lori-Lyn Hurley is a writer and artist who wants her work to nourish the wild parts of you and inspire you to live creatively and be your true self in the world.

Click here to come Backstage, meet Lori-Lyn and the entire community of femme forward leaders. 

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How to be a Good Collaborator in Tech Without Even Being a White Guy! 

How to be a Good Collaborator in Tech Without Even Being a White Guy! 

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It’s the end of the year 2023 and I look forward to 2024 being the most collaborative year humans have ever seen. Though as I type this diary entry of a woman in business learning to speak tech, it’s only December 2022 and I’m not particularly thrilled with human collaboration as it stands. If I’m honest, I think we can do a lot better. 

In this last quarter of 2022, I have flexed my collaborative muscles to learn how to do tech better in collaboration studied with the tech bros over at Equifax, the badass women leaders at the Super Majority Education Fund.  I’ve done math with the Center for Creative Economy and perfected my pitch with the leaders of innovation in Chicago at 1871 .  Whilst I will be the first to admit that I still have a lot to learn, my notes from these last 2 years as a tech startup leader show me that the world of tech has a lot to learn, too. 

I will skip the overwhelmingly dramatized state of the world {see dumpster fire train wreck} we’ve been doom scrolling on for the past couple years and I’ll head straight to the SCREAM for HELP that I believe…no wait, I KNOW our species needs in order to continue not just into the new year, but into tomorrow, next week and yeah, 2023+. Arguably, tech isn’t going anywhere so can we at least use it as a vehicle for social change? There has got to be some other industry disruptors out there that feel the same way, right? 

Let’s face it, I wouldn’t be able to soap box as a thought leader on the topic of using tech for good without the use of all sorts of tech; from the laptop I type on, to the project management software my team & I are communicating on all the way to the particles that deliver this cheeky entry to your digital doorstep. Tech is here to stay but why can’t it be better, more collaborative and for that matter actually inclusive ??

How to Be a Good Collaborator in Tech Even if You're Not a White Guy!

Whilst Elon Musk and fellow Muskateers track the bajillionair tech giant’s personal aircrafts in their quest to follow his next dumb act, we women of the world are sitting here going 

WHAT THE ACTUAL F*CK !? 

Who cares where this guy’s jet is, how big his___ is or even what he will do next.

We have bigger catfish to fry! #amIright??

At least his most recent public opinion poll indicates that the general populace (still on Twitter) thinks Musk ought to step down from his leadership role with Twitter. You may have thought the open letter penned in early November of this year from the United Nations  asking Musk to consider human rights from the Twitter pulpit would have prompted such a pass of the torch sooner. But sadly, that’s just not how the ego lead use of big tech works. 

{ See Zuckerberg at the Senate hearing on his social network’s use of data or rather the misuse of it data privacy } 

Spoiler alert: big tech has not been built for anyone but the ‘early pioneers’ of the internet’s open, albeit wild wild west frontier that chiefly looks like Zuckerberg & Musk. They and their forefathers 

( literally) have been stealing the ideas of less known folks like Hedy Lemarr. Hedy was known for her late 1930’s Hollywood star power but also for developing a radio guidance system aka frequency hopping tech aka EARLY INTERNET for allied forces during WW2. Hellllllllo women in tech! Vintage, glam AND tech savvy. I would have totally swiped right on Ms. Hedy and also been sure she had proper credit for her advances both off the screen as well as on. 

Oh the patriarchy is thick, isn’t it! 

Though a collaborative nod must also be paid to Dr. Philip Emeagwali for his early work on integrating much of this same science Ms. Lemarr had worked with the modern day version of what we now know as Google. Dr. Emeagwali is amidst a long line of innovators including inventors Granville T. Woods (1856–1910) who’s patent for was bought by Alexander Graham Bell, most commonly credited as inventor of the telephone but it was really Woods who was key to its development. As well as Marie Van Brittan Brown (1922-1999), a nurse who developed a prototype for closed circuit television security, or as we more commonly call it, CCTV. You can thank Ms. Brown for your Nest and any other tech trinkets that allow you to spy on your own home!

But what if we framed the use of the internet in a fully different way? Like what if it was generative instead of its current use of being absolutely, 100 % extractive? (Hello data mining !!) Aside from the innovator grabs that have historically shown the white guys get to market first with groundbreaking tech, what if we shifted the way tech was built altogether?  This, of course, would mean we need to shift who holds the power of the tech, the check book and well, the mighty (Twitter) microphone!

The way that Musk and most of Silicon Valley have built their success has been on super rapey vibes, ya’ll. There I said it. Modern day tech is in no way collaborative. 

Modern day tech is non consent based. It’s exploitive at best and the super rapey vibes don’t just start in the dm’s. Ladies, I know I don’t need to tell you that. The way this “could be technology collaboration’ fails, is because it has not been built to better the human species; it’s been built to take and take and take. I think …no, I KNOW we can do collaboration better.

We can do tech better in 3 distinct ways: 

We can be more inclusive as we build tech. This is an obvious solution but it has to be said over and over AND over again. In creating advanced solves for humans to do better tomorrow cannot just be band aids for today.  Certainly, we could do better TODAY to ensure a variety of voices & differentiated lived experiences to be part of the build of that technology. But we have to ensure the moves today stick for tomorrow and the next day. Take AI’s freshest tech baby ChatGPT for example. Super cool way to shave minutes, hours maybe even days off of our busy work loads. But I am curious about this technology reflecting the insights of not just the white men who have historically run tech and been chiefly responsible for its procreations.

Sentient robots seem mildly helpful, if even a bit scary but even scarier are they if  they have the emotional band width of any of the dudes I’ve dated in the past.

Sorry not sorry, I’d suggest a swipe left on that. 

We can be so much more collaborative in the process of sourcing talent by building better pipelines to these jobs in the first place. I was recently talking with a fella industry disruptor, a black woman in tech, and she shared with me just how far we are missing the mark of diversity from those entering into the workforce in tech and related sciences. She reports directly from her post in tech that whilst women, particularly women of color are the most educated group in the US at present, she doesn’t feel like she has stable footing in her upper management role. Why, if women are becoming so well trained and educated, is it so hard to get a good, secure seat at the tech table?  And what about that good old fashioned meritocracy?  

After all, she had done her homework, is very skilled, qualified and merited but as layoffs are imminent in this current economy, she is well aware of how stable her small seat at the vacillating table isn’t. And this is likely the case in various other tech hubs as well as businesses regardless of the space they occupy as we work to fill optics but not actually lean into the social change that is needed to keep these posts as influential and crucial to their jobs’ objectives.  

It’s also worth noting that women make up 53 % of the United States population, 47.7% of the global workforce and contribute $1.9 TRILLION dollars into this US economy on average each year but yet we don’t have a strong footing in tech and its advancements for the human species. We also don’t yet have a space designed by, built for and with the safety of women in mind to commune online. 

Certainly there are such fine, niche groups as the Dow Janes who chat all things Money as it pertains to equity for women.    

Verve Romance is a space built specifically for women to connect about sex positivity by way of Romance literature, and She Should Run leads with civic engagement for women through a political lens. But notably, because women have not been taken into account when large platforms like FB, Twitter and the like where created, there are zero, non niched, online forums where women can show up safely to just exist and speak about things which matter to us without the worry we will be attacked, blamed or shamed for doing so. And so sub groups emerged.  As it is so eloquently pointed out in this recent Forbes article, we often see less women participating in larger conversations online, outside of niche communities on key topics in leadership like money, sex and politics  because we are disproportionately targeted in online bullying; even when we just show up to say “Hello, like my shirt!?” Because if we speak to our real voices, we may offer a possibly divisive opinion. And what if we did that? What if we used our voice to inform the way tech progresses without the chance we’d lose our social footing, sanity or sense of safety? 

The third and final way I can see us collaborating in the world of tech better in 2023 and beyond has to do with diligently preparing the youth for success in said dumpster fire, train wreck, recessioning world without them having to purchase a #45 NFT trading card 🙂 

We can share tech resources to young people sooner than later. And I don’t just mean buying them more tokens for Minecraft. Let’s assist the survival of next generations that will undoubtedly be tech centered by creating programs for kids at various socioeconomic levels. Big tech could do well to build stronger pipelines into their hiring pool by offering access to not just computers, tablets and smartphones but ensuring high speed internet access is as accessible as clean water. But, as we know, we are also still working on that!

Whilst this entry might be read as an attempt to save all the tech wales, it’s really a call to action around how we use tech daily, what we are willing to put up with and how we equip ourselves and our future selves for interactions that actually serve us instead of us serving the internet beast. As it’s been built, we are quite literally slaves to an extractive model. 

And, it doesn’t have to be this way.

 

How To Be a Good Collaborator in Tech

It may well be wise for us as a culture, as a species to invest in diversity and thereby true collaboration in all things innovation bc technology is not leaving the planet anytime soon, well unless Musk is driving and I, for one, am not on board for that mission !!  

If you’d like to join our mission through LBI’s digital ecosystem in building the safest and most important place on the internet for women, I personally invite you to #ComeBackstage. We are building new ways of using social media and thereby the internet. 

The LBI Crew and I know there is always a way to do better. As our girl Marie Forleo’s Mom always says, ‘Everything Is Figureoutable’ and we are here to figure out how to build a better tomorrow in tech. 

We encourage you to try doing something different today; particularly if you identify yourself as a thought leader, industry disruptor or business activist who wants to see the world change to a more equitable place. We know that when women have more access to information around money, sex & politics and a safe place to make those exchanges of thought into action, we see ripple effects in our own lives, with our families and in our work places. 

Love,

Rose

More About Rose Kaz:

More About Rose Kaz:

Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn

Rose Kaz  is the Fem Founder and she’s done this a time or two. Her photo & video production company has taken her around the world but her new app allows her female clients & even women she hasn’t met yet to lean into each other, learn about our opportunity as business activists to support, grow & shop directly from one another. We are building a new economy, globally. WOW!

And the app we are talking about is that which Rose + the LBI Crew has launched where the ask for women is  to: ‘ take center stage in their lives;  to stand up, speak out & get GLOWING like never before’ Think activism meets B school meets super hip, online resource center! Sprinkle in some new school networking and POW The LBI Backstage Pass is #trending!

Click here to come Backstage, meet Rose and the entire community of femme forward leaders. 

Build Your Community Within Our Community

Build Your Community Within Our Community

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We thrive when we COLLABORATE. There’s a gentle power in coming together.

There’s also an old stereotype that says women don’t support other women…but I’ve never found that to be true.

In fact, research shows women benefit from collaboration over competition. And we know this, don’t we?

Women who support one another, are more successful in business and in life.

The world is rapidly changing. Old paradigms are falling away. That means, we get to replace them. We get to create a world that is more equitable, a world of support.

What would happen if you reframed the whole idea of networking and poured your creative energy into nurturing relationships?

Build Your Community Within Our Community

What if growing your business felt less like striving and more like thriving?

There is definitely strength in collaborating with one another, and this is something we know at our core.

We also know that when major shifts are happening in the world, we need to move, think, and create differently.

That’s why we are doing social media differently by directly connecting thought leaders, industry disruptors and business activists in our OWN COMMUNITY!

We’re offering an alternative to business-as-usual.

As the new blog manager here, I’m having a great time exploring LBI Backstage and all of the genuine support that’s available here.

So, over the coming weeks, I want to share with you some of the benefits of joining us Backstage.

One of the many resources you’ll find Backstage – and this one is so exciting – is the opportunity to host your own storefront and build your community within our community.

It’s our mission to bring together women entrepreneurs who are motivated to grow their online business and profit by supporting other women entrepreneurs so that we can close the wage gap!

Grow Your Community Within Our Community

Host your own branded storefront to our audience of glowing Ladybosses around the globe.

You can build a foundation for your business with us OR troubleshoot your business.

Included in the plan, you get General Admission, a VIP deep dive call with Rose, and ALL access to one of our hottest shops in the LBI Mall.

Think FB group but in a loving, supportive and amazing community that can shop directly from YOU!

Here are the details:

  • 1:1 deep dive with brand boss & Backstage Pass founder Rose Kaz
  • All access to the LBI Mall: GLOW UP Your online presence
  • Connect on best practices to really amp up your marketing message through Rose’s own shop on the LBI Mall ( $480 value)
  • Networking within our Mighty Networks community
  • Hire from a curated list of amazing Ladybosses in fields like social media management, bookkeeping, financial advisors, marriage counseling & fashion therapists!
  • Be in the know about our incredible event series, online AND in person!
  • Grow and engage your brand in a safe space with a curated Community and glowing sales funnel!

Featured Benefits of having a Storefront in the LBI Mall on the Backstage Pass:

  • You can Go LIVE to our virtual audiences from your storefront for just your new clients OR in the main Ladyboss Lounge to connect with the greater community.
  • Have your storefront and any new projects, podcasts, articles, etc featured in our Ladyboss Lounge on the Backstage Pass.
  • Be featured on all our other social channels (Ig live, Clubhouse, Youtube… )
  • Wear your own LBI swag (a choice of T shirt, GOLD cap, hoodie or sweatshirt) comes with your paid annual membership.
  • You have access to our content, stock photos and inspo to post in your Storefront and in the Ladyboss Lounge.
  • Branding and Tech Support from our in house team up to four calls per month (based on availability.)

This support comes with your paid annual membership, but you don’t have to make that decision just yet.

You can fill out your storefront application here…

OR you can join us back stage right now at our FREE-mium level.

Explore, join in conversation, and feel the vibe of being in collaboration with other women.

We LOVE what we’re growing and we can’t wait to meet you Backstage.

Join us!

More About Lori-Lyn

More About Lori-Lyn

Website | Instagram 

Lori-Lyn Hurley is a writer and artist who wants her work to nourish the wild parts of you and inspire you to live creatively and be your true self in the world.

Click here to come Backstage, meet Lori-Lyn and the entire community of femme forward leaders. 

Spotlight Replay With Marisol Colette

Spotlight Replay With Marisol Colette

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As a new member of the LBI community (I’m the new blog babe on the block! Hello!) I LOVE that my first spotlight event was this one with Marisol Colette, who encourages people to dress their best by way of processing trauma that may be standing in the way.

You can listen to the replay here.

This week on the blog, Marisol talked about seeing the beauty in ourselves and one another.

You can read that post here. You don’t want to miss the wisdom she’s sharing, or the opportunity to work with her.

Here’s what Marisol says about her Fashion Therapy Package:

“I ensure you know your beauty, your worth and remind you every day to treat yourself the way you’d treat your own best friend – with love, kindness and the ability to see the beauty in them the way I see it in you.”

Does’t that feel like sweet balm for your soul? I know it does to mine.

The Power of Style

I’m a big believer in the power of style. In fact, as an artist, I see my wardrobe choices as an extension of my creative expression. The way I style myself communicates something about me.

It also communicates something to me in the way that it shifts my energy.

As someone with a penchant for vintage and animal prints, I was captivated by this conversation with Marisol, particularly the idea that the way we dress is a way of accessing our personal power. Why yes, I do feel powerful in my hot pink 1970s maxi dress and matching cape, thank you very much!

Marisol said, “We have to get dressed everyday and show up everyday so why not feel good doing it?”

That’s so simple and so true, right?

Spotlight Replay Marisol Colette

Be Yourself and Feel Good

When we feel good about what we’re wearing, and feel in touch with our authentic selves, we’re going to feel better in general.

I recently became aware of the fact that many of the choices I make in my life, I make to please my inner teenager.

I went to a conservative high school with a dress code (think khaki pants and button down shirts) and every cell in my body cried out against that same-ness. The conformity.

As a sixteen year old, I wanted people to know I was my own person and believe me, I made a lot of fashion mistakes in my pursuit of personal expression. Snakeskin print pink corduroy pants come to mind. But you know what? If I still had my satin blazer printed with old-Hollywood movie star faces, I would wear it!

I spent a lot of my youth receiving side-eye and critique of my fashion choices, my black eyeliner and enormous earrings, which my dad often joked looked like fishing tackle.

When I was in my twenties, I dyed my hair hot pink (Listen, I was ahead of my time!) and I can remember the feeling of people turning to stare at me. I remember hearing the criticism that I was just angling for attention or trying to be weird.

The truth was, I just really loved hot pink hair and thought it was beautiful.

When my hair was pink, I felt powerful. I felt like I was expressing something true about myself. (And, um yeah, I was weird. I still am. Weird is good!)

Listening to Marisol and the other attendees at this event, I was reminded of how important it is to me to reach out to my younger self everyday and tell her, I think she’s pretty cool.

And I respect her style.

Join us Backstage

This conversation was so inspirational to me. When was the last time YOU attended an event like this? What inspires you? (We really want to know!)

And we hope you’ll join us backstage because we know you’re going to love it.

spotlight replay marisol
More About Lori-Lyn

More About Lori-Lyn

Website | Instagram 

Lori-Lyn Hurley is a writer and artist who wants her work to nourish the wild parts of you and inspire you to live creatively and be your true self in the world.

Click here to come Backstage, meet Lori-Lyn and the entire community of femme forward leaders. 

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You ARE Beautiful, I Promise

You ARE Beautiful, I Promise

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My favorite sticker comes from a Chicago-based company you-are-beautiful.com whose mission is to “be a positive force and transmit a simple idea: Everyone deserves to feel good with who they are.” I give these stickers as gifts and have stuck it on my laptop right over the computer’s brand logo because it’s a powerful message in three simple words.

And I believe it. ABOUT YOU.

You Are Beautiful, I Promise

You ARE Beautiful, I Promise!

It’s easy for me to see the beauty in ALL my clients. But people often come to me with feelings of low self-esteem or worth. My clients talk about comparing themselves to friends, family, public icons and more.

We’re all sent the message that there’s more we could and should do before we’re deemed good enough to belong or to be loved just as we are. It’s harsh and not only are we sent these unkind messages, sometimes we send them to ourselves.

I want you to know that it is critical that we dismantle these thoughts & ideas from our society and from our souls. We do it for ourselves, our friends and our kids. Our brains know the message that our body is bad isn’t real and yet we freely think that and even double down when challenged by others to feel differently about ourselves.

I want you to imagine your best friend in the whole world. Would you tell them they aren’t pretty enough – that their arms, bellies, chins or thighs are too big? Would you tell them that they don’t measure up to their cousins, sisters or y’all’s other best friends?

you are beautiful i promise

HELL NO. You wouldn’t.

I call my 3-month 1:1 Fashion Therapy package the “Best Girlfriend Program” because for those three months, I treat you like my bestie. 

I ensure you know your beauty, your worth and remind you every day to treat yourself the way you’d treat your own best friend – with love, kindness and the ability to see the beauty in them the way I see it in you.

Try it for one day. Be kind to yourself and when messages that you are not enough come up in your head, resist them. Say, “don’t talk to my friend [insert your name] like that!”

 

This article was originally published on Sol Reflection.

More About Marisol Colette

More About Marisol Colette

Website| Instagram | Facebook

Marisol Colette is a Therapeutic Image Consultant, aka the Fashion Therapist.

She loves helping her clients embrace their self worth and reclaim their outer beauty through aligning their personal style to their soul.

Click here to come Backstage, meet Marisol and the entire community of femme forward leaders. 

3 Surprising Benefits of Networking

3 Surprising Benefits of Networking

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Written by Avery Thatcher

There are many different ways you can grow your business, but nothing quite compares to the power of networking. 

That being said, I’m really not a fan of transactional networking. I don’t enjoy feeling like I’m pushing my services onto people who are just looking for their ideal client so they can do the same for them. Networking can be so much more than registering for a meet up group and trying to find your ideal client in the room so you can sell to them.

This is where referral marketing changes the game.

With referral-based marketing, the networking events are geared towards connecting you with referral and momentum partners which leverage word-of-mouth marketing because, as my friend Scott King says all the time “relationships reduce risk”.  

Here’s how it works:If you were looking for a new yoga studio and a friend of yours recommended one that they go to and love – you wouldn’t think twice about it before registering for a class at that studio to try it out. So you see, networking, when it’s not about selling to the people in the room (virtual or otherwise) actually creates a lot of opportunity for this powerful word-of-mouth referral style of marketing. 

However, there are many benefits to networking beyond “just” growing your business.

Networking reduces isolation

 

Life as an entrepreneur can be very lonely and isolating especially when you don’t have friends or family members that are on the same small business path. This is especially true for solopreneurs, which is how many of us start out.

You don’t always have access to someone you can ask that tech question to about why your WordPress website just isn’t doing what you want it to do. Or how to set up email automations in your CRM tool. Or to figure out the ever changing Instagram algorithm to break through the noise and connect with your ideal client.

Growing your network gives you access to an abundant knowledge base as everyone operates within their zone of genius. The give-more-than-you-get mentality starts to work almost immediately, and then you will be top-of-mind and be seen as a go-to resource and recommendation for your network. Win-win.

Another way that networking reduces isolation is that it brings you and other likeminded people together on a regular basis to catch up, connect, have fun, learn and cheer each other on. There’s nothing quite like a Zoom Room celebrating your achievements with you!

Networking heals the stress damage at the DNA level

 

Entrepreneurs self-report the highest levels of stress amongst all working groups. There are a number of reasons for this, such as the emotional investment we all have in our businesses, the financial investments we may have made, and this deep desire to prove to ourselves that we can make a living doing what we love.

This increased stress, along with the typical modern day stressors that we experience, can cause damage to our body over time. In fact, this is the top reason why I started building my business in the first place. As a former ICU Registered Nurse, while I was working in the ICU I noticed that the majority of the reasons that adults found themselves in the ICU were because of illnesses and diseases that could be linked to chronic stress. 

The pace at which we push ourselves, especially in the first few years of growing our business, is a recipe for burnout and for the chronic stress to take a toll on our health.

The solution? 

Connecting with people who understand what you’re going through.

There was a study done with a group of mothers of children with special needs (which comes with it’s own unique set of stressors) and they brought the group together to talk, connect, and just feel less isolated in their experiences raising their special needs children. There was no program, no facilitated discussion, just a group of women talking about what was happening in their day-to-day life.

What the study revealed was truly profound, but in order for me to blow your mind with what it discovered, I have to give you a little science lesson first.

Our DNA strands are wound up in little helixes and each strand of healthy DNA has a little hat on each end called a telomere. At the beginning of the study, they looked at the DNA of the participants and noticed that the telomeres on some of the DNA strands had worn down or worn off completely, leaving the DNA strand unravelled and which puts us at risk for certain diseases like cancer.

After 8 weeks of the participants meeting with one another, the researchers looked at the DNA again and saw that the DNA and healed itself! It had wound back up and the telomeres (the little hats) had reformed.

Fascinating right?

Just by talking with a group of people who understand us and know what we’re going through and what our goals are, our body can heal itself from some of the damage chronic stress can cause.

Need one more reason to sign up for a networking event? I’ve got you covered.

 

Networking creates opportunities for collaboration

 

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “collaboration over competition” and “there’s enough clients for everyone” and nothing makes that more clear than with networking. Through networking, I have created many opportunities to grow my podcast referral network where I recommend new podcast guests for the podcasts I am interviewed on, and my podcast referral network does the same. I met my summit co-organizer through a networking event, have referred people to book authoring collaboration opportunities that are in alignment for their business, booked speaking engagements and so much more.

The key is to find the right referral partners so that your collaboration opportunities really benefit both of you.

Take a moment to think of your ideal client.

Now think about who else they might be working with besides you. Those people that they’d be working with? Those are your ideal referral partners.

Here’s what I mean:

A legal firm that helps entrepreneurs set up their LLC would have great referral partners in accountants, business coaches, and marketing agencies. None of these other businesses are in direct competition with that legal firm, but they all service similar clients.

For my business teaching stress management strategies, burnout recovery and prevention, and habit optimization to high-achievers, my ideal client also works with therapists, dieticians, business coaches, leadership coaches, and HR directors looking to create corporate wellness programs for their staff.

See how it works? 

Who else would your ideal client be working with, speaking with, or connecting with? 

Once you have those people identified, absolutely you can refer clients to each other, but it also opens up the opportunities to work together.

So you see, networking can be so much more powerful than just looking for ways to sell to the people in the room. As an introvert myself, I can tell you that there is no reason why you can’t make the most out of your networking opportunities. Anyone and everyone can benefit from growing and nurtuing their network – so when are you going to get started?

Find Avery here:

Find Avery here:

Website |  Instagram

Bio:

Avery Thatcher is the CEO and founder of the Inner Stillness Outer Chaos Podcast and the Flow State Membership. When she started her career as a Registered Nurse working in the ICU she noticed that the majority of the reasons people found themselves in the ICU were because of illnesses and diseases that could be linked to chronic stress. She decided to get out of the reactive side of medicine and now helps highly sensitive high achievers prevent burnout and reverse the negative health effects of stress.

After experiencing a significant change of health in 2018, Avery had to learn to redefine her identity and grieve the loss of who she used to be. Now she shares her story openly to help others realize that they are not alone in their struggles, and talks about the strategies that helped her heal along the way.

We Value Collaboration

We Value Collaboration

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We know being an entrepreneur is no joke. It’s a full-time job and then some, but we’re here to empower you out with the best tools, information and network, so that you can feel confident as you move forward and grow. A big part of that support springs from our core values, and you’ll hear us talk about them ALL the time.

We recently shared a bit of an overview – a brief introduction if you will – to our five main core values, but we want to dive into each of them a little further. Today we want to talk about collaboration.

There are so many ways to collaborate as an entrepreneur in this day and age – clubhouse, facebook, instagram, podcasts, blog swaps, influencer marketing, co-launching products and courses, and the list goes on and on!

Here at the LBI Backstage pass we believe that there is more to collaboration that just opportunities to join forces with others. When we took the time to get specific and intentional with what collaboration looks like inside of the LBI Backstage Pass, we came up with our own definition.

Inside the LBI Backstage Pass Collaboration is…

Expansive – pushing past out comfort zones, even when it’s a little scary. Builds connections. Creates a contagious energy and synergy that inspires and transforms. Momentum that becomes unstoppable.

Inclusive – We want a community/space/platform that includes all humans that are down for the feminine glow up. Collaboration includes accessibility, open programing, translates and welcomes globally. We are open to modalities and ideas.

A Variety of Perspectives – We want this aspect of collaboration to show up in how we create and run our community – you’re included and your voice/opinion matters! So we poll the audience, do market research, plan with intention and put the CO in community. This space allows people to be and feel seen and empowered.

Evolving – The collaborative community we aspire to create is a work in progress. Supports varying perspectives, doesn’t shy away from the opportunity to change and leans into exploring all opinions – even when we may not disagree. We’re ever changing and so is our opportunity to collaborate.

Community Driven – What we’re building is about more than just one person. We want to share our power collectively, as a community. And we definitely want to create “buzz” and excitement through community driven initiatives and ideas, with open hands and open hearts.

Ultra-Feminine – We are all about saying goodbye to the patriarchy and amplifying the feminine glow up! Looking at things with our unique view – soft, kind, supportive, divine and inviting.

Empowering – In the space we’re creating we believe in passing the mic, making room for all, sharing the stage, encouraging diverse opinions and and prioritizing diversity.

Inspiring – Our community is designed and being built to make sure that everyone feels seen, can feel and experience the change we’re making in the world, and that we embody hope. We’re leading by example.

This is just a small peek into our core value of collaboration and how we see our community being built on this piece of our foundation!

Collaboration, as it’s typically defined, is simply working together with others to achieve a common goal. But that definition isn’t nearly enough for the challenges we face today or the mission that the LBI Backstage Pass is on. We need more than just collaboration–we need community, and all that it entails, too.

So how do you collaborate? What does collaboration in action look like to you? Share your thoughts below!

Practical Ways to Connect with Other Women in Business: Resources and Communities for Solopreneurs

Practical Ways to Connect with Other Women in Business: Resources and Communities for Solopreneurs

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There are a lot of women in business these days, and many of us work from home. It can be easy to feel isolated or alone when you’re self-employed, but that doesn’t have to be the case. In fact that’s one of the main reasons Ladyboss International and the LBI Backstage Pass were created! So that solopreneurs, ladybosses, and women business owners don’t have to feel so secluded!

Today we want to talk about the diverse options for resources and communities available to help you succeed, specifically when it comes to connecting with other women in business. Whether you need advice or just want to feel connected to others who understand your challenges, these resources will help!

How to Connect with Other Woman in Business:

Some of these ideas won’t be new, or surprising, but they are worth mentioning as we have this discussion about building connections –

The first step is to find your community. There are women in business groups and communities for every industry, size, and type of business out there. You can find them online or offline, big or small. Obviously we recommend the LBI Backstage Pass – this is our inclusive and diverse community that is all about collaborating, elevating and inspiring other women!

We’ve seen so many amazing partnerships, friendships and collaborations happening because of our community platform and we’d love for you to join!

And of course there are so many other amazing, like-minded communities you can be a part of! (Feel free to mention your favorites in the comments below!)

Attend events! There are women in business conferences and events happening all the time. This is a great way to network and connect with other women who might be able to help you in your business journey.

We often host virtual AND in-person events as a part of the LBI Backstage Pass, these are open to anyone to attend! You can also find other, local events on sites like meetup.com or your local business associations.

Get involved with social media. There are tons of active women in business Facebook groups, Twitter chats, and LinkedIn groups where you can engage with others on a daily basis. There are even whats app groups and slack channels you can be added to for support and encouragement, you’ve just got to look around for them!

Look for mentorships and coaching opportunities. These relationships can be invaluable when it comes to advice, guidance, and support in business. You can find women in business mentors in your personal and professional networks, or you can seek out programs specifically for mentorship. We’ve got some very talented coaches inside the Backstage Pass and they love to support and connect with ladybosses that need their wisdom!

Many times women in business are more than willing to help other women succeed – so don’t be afraid to ask!

Online networking calls: Something that’s become more and more popular over the last few months is online networking events! Typically they take place via zoom, and you get to “e-meet” these talented and passionate women in business. You’ll find these opportunities happening inside of the LBI Backstage Pass, as well as other women run communities and groups.

These virtual meetings are a great way to get comfortable on camera, talking about your business, and making connections that could lead to great relationships for your business!

Don’t forget that you are never alone in your business journey! There are women in business all around the world, just like you, seeking out advice and guidance. These tips will help you get started on finding your community and connecting with other women who can help support you on your path to success!

Do you have any favorite resources or communities for women in business? We’d love to hear about them below!

And if you’re not already a part of our LBI Backstage Pass community, we would love to have you join us! You can learn more and sign up here. See you inside!

How to Go From Frazzled to Freedom

How to Go From Frazzled to Freedom

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Article written by Kylie Clark

Do you feel like you are constantly teetering between the role of CEO and Employee in your business?

I can feel your head shake from here.

As entrepreneurs we are very passionate about our business. We have broken the mindset of the 9-5 mentality and found a better way!

We have created the thing that we are passionate about, I mean, do we even call it work!?

And then comes the things we aren’t so passionate about.

The must haves that come with owning a business that you REALLY don’t want to do but seem to pop up on the daily.

Those are the ones that you hire out for first!

It has been engrained in us women as children that delegating is a cop out. We are supposed to take on all the new while keeping up with the old while standing on our heads and doing it all with a smile.

How many times have we had conversations specifically about being overwhelmed, over-tired, burned out, READY TO BURN IT ALL DOWN!!

All because we feel like we are failing if we delegate the things that drain us. We wear our overpacked, over-demanding, never-ending to-dos and schedules like a badge of honor. Until we can’t, until we wake the heck up and realize that we are doing it all wrong. This is not how we pictured our life or our business. Matter of fact, we literally started our business with visions of some R&R, some girl time, vacations, more time with our family.

So, what do we do? We hire a team and take a deep breath and wait for all that extra time and money to make its arrival! That’s how it works right? We see it on social media all the time! It works for everyone else… why not you?

But now you find yourself even more overwhelmed. You have people waiting for you to give them direction, you are answering questions from multiple people.

How do you want these tasks completed?

When do you want them completed?

Can you help me with XYZ?

And the list goes on and on.

What do we do?

It’s fine, I’ll handle it! Before you know it, you are right back to doing the things you don’t want to do, and you have added Team Lead, Project Manager, and Fire (putter outer) < totally a word! To your job description.

This is usually where I make my grand entrance (Insert Applause here!).

Hey there!

My Name is Kylie Clark, I am a Certified Director of Operations and Founder of Frazzled to Freedom Consulting.

I have made it my life’s mission to drag successful women like yourself out of the everlasting loop of the CEO/Employee teetering and giving them the time and financial planning that you so desperately want.

I come from a long line of strong-minded women who have built very successful businesses and names for themselves.

Even watching the entrepreneurs and business owners in my family, I never once considered that I may join the club one day.

Until the night before I started my online business that is.

I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up…. Matter of fact, I avoided the question like the plague!

I never knew how to respond and would just rattle off something that I felt may appease the person asking. I have always been multi-passionate to an extent (runs in the family), my problem was being put in society’s box of “how” to perform that profession and “what” was expected when entering it.

I didn’t want to live on someone else’s schedule or get paid someone else’s opinion of what my skill and time was worth or to have to ask for a day off in my own dang life!

What I wanted was to be FREE.

I remember shortly after starting my online business I joined a networking event, and would you believe that “What did you want to be when you grew up?” was the Ice breaker question!?

My luck, right?

I panicked, the sweating started and of course we were picked at random which made the torment worse! Lol

My name was called… And I half shouted FREE!! I just wanted to be FREE!

Silence… complete SILENCE!!

Yep, that’s it… Business closed; I’m done.

And one of the ladies responded, I’m sorry. Did you say FREE?

Ummm… yes, I guess I did. (I’m just as surprised as you are!)

And everyone started responding with positive feedback. They had never heard my response before, which didn’t surprise me at all considering I hadn’t either!

Confidence slowly started creeping back in…

And, that my friends, is where I picked up and ran with Frazzled to Freedom!

I already offered business planning and strategy which I loved! But of course, there is always more that can be done!

So, I reached out to a biz bestie of mine (Shannon) and gave her the news of a new collaborative venture we were doing together! Lol I offer business strategy and planning and she offers financial planning. The same exact services that we have specialized in for years… just with a few added personal touches and perks that makes us just as happy to do as our clients are to receive them!

Frazzled to Freedom is for online service providers and coaches that are ready to move into that work less earn more lifestyle that we have daydreamed about for so long.

It starts with your vision, your goals, and what works for you and your business only! Cookie- cutter is not in our vocabulary. We create a plan around your life rather than try to fit “our” plan into your life.

We find solutions for your problems, break your ideas and goals into projects, we pull needs and options for future hires and then give you the step-by-step strategy and plan that gets you closer to your vision by giving you the clarity you need, the direction you lack, and the plan that’s going to get you there!

I’ll let Shannon give ya the deets on her financial plan process… but I can tell you that she actually takes a cringe worthy topic and turns it into something that makes you excited to talk about and dare I say, the future!

I have literally built my life around the vision that I had all those years ago working in the brick-and-mortar world- you know, the one I said I didn’t want to do?

It hits me almost daily while I take a break and lay in the pool, while I’m at a school event with my children, or while I spend the afternoons with my grandpa and dad. I once talked about this life every single day during lunch… or while staring out my office window. Back then it was a pipe dream.

Now it’s my reality!

And I’m not done yet! I’m bringing more women with me!

I’m a giver by nature. So, I can’t leave here without knowing you have some concrete value that you can take and implement (*cough*cough) have your team implement for you today that will make your life a little easier.

So here are a few small tweaks that can make a BIG Impact in your business and give you a little more FREEDOM in your business.

1. Make sure you have an SOP for everything. Update them often. And make sure that the SOP is up to your standards of service aka how you would do it yourself.

2. Make your project management tool (if you don’t have one, get one- you can thank me later) your central hub. This is where your business lives and where ALL communication should live. All client information, links, instructions/request, EVERYTHING should be here.

3. Get to know your team… Get your team to know each other… HAVE FUN, reward them, acknowledge the good they do for you! A team that feels valued and knows who they are working with is going to be just as excited for your goals as you are AND be more likely to come to you with any bottle necks or suggestions that can improve your business.

4. Remember tip 1 & 2? Do that x 100! OVER DOCUMENT everything. No task is too small. If your team member checked an email for a client- have them document that they checked an email for said client. It saves so much time for all involved.

Quick example of “how” it can save you time (a lotta panic).

Ex 1: You (or your Project Manager/Team Lead) are checking in on a team members progress on a clients task/project.

You get two versions

1. You see Notta… Zilch… Blank EMPTY page. (You panicked just reading that, didn’t you?) Just a lonely due date (which is close) and a client wanting an update. You reach out to your team member… dang! It’s outside their working hours and now you have to wait until tomorrow.

You either “do it yourself” or stress and get zero sleep until you get their response of… Oh, yes! It’s all done! Just haven’t hit complete in the PM tool yet!

And you say *JKH&ST%!$%^RYDGug* under your breath for wasting precious time.

And my personal favorite

2. You see a complete time stamped outline of each action taken to complete this task/project for this client. You see that everything is running like clockwork and the client is going to be ecstatic paying for your services again. You do not have to reach out to your team member because you see their last time stamped note of: Final walk through completed and task/project is now complete.

Did this hit a little too close to home? Do you have a lot of back-and-forth communication with your team daily to ask questions that could be answered with a simple timestamped update?

You think these are good? These aren’t even our main focus points in Frazzled to Freedom!

Just a couple of teeny tiny fixes to some major pain in the butt issues.

Let me know if any of these tips helped you in your business in the comments!

Find Kylie Here:

LinkedIn | Instagram
Facebook | Website

Hi! I’m Kylie. I am a Certified Director of Operations and Founder of Frazzled to Freedom. I help online service providers and coaches create the time and financial freedom they are looking for by being certified and licensed to deliver Strategic Mapping along with 15+ years experience in business strategy and planning. I help create the work less earn more lifestyle by giving the clarity you want, the direction you need, and the plan that tells you how you are going to get there. 

For Women in Business Collaboration is Not…

For Women in Business Collaboration is Not…

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We talked earlier this month about what collaboration is. We shared some great insights from some of the women in our community. This article is all about what collaboration is NOT and once again we called on our community for their views and opinions on what our theme for the month is not.

For Women in Business Collaboration is Not... [ image of 8 women in colorful professional wear]

I’ve always found it a useful practice to look at what something IS and then what it is NOT when I am trying to truly understand something that is broad or open to many interpretations. We share what collaboration IS earlier this month. This time we focus on all that it is NOT.

For women in business, collaboration is not…

From our community:

Shaina, the Business Mystic, started us off with “A one way street. A collaboration should be beneficial to both parties!”

Yes. Yes it should be! True collaboration is mutually beneficial and supportive to all participants.

Tiffany, the Body Love Alchemist, joined in with ” Collaboration is not a one-size fits all.”

There are so many ways to collaborate successfully. Assuming that there is a right or wrong way to collaborate, especially in the world we live in today.

Marisol from Sol Reflections added a couple of great points to the conversation: “Collaboration is NOT power struggles and competition. It’s not suppressing your genius. It is NOT passive.”

There is definitely a lot of truth to each of these points from Marisol. Collaboration is not about asserting dominance or control over someone or something else. If it becomes that, then it’s not true collaboration. It’s not about playing it safe and not contributing your brilliance and gifts.

Community member Abi added “If you and your audience don’t learn, it’s not collaboration”

This is so important! When collaborating, both parties should walk away with something new, whether that be new knowledge or a new connection.

It’s safe to say we have a great understanding of what collaboration is NOT, especially for women in business. If you’re curious to read about our view of what collaboration IS, I invite you to check out this blog post too 🙂

I’d love to hear from you about what collaboration is NOT to you! Drop us a comment below.

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