2019 has been one of those years. In my unofficial polling - I would say the majority of you are ready for the year to be done. Lots of ups and downs and maybe more downs for some.
When I stop and think though, what I realize is that with all the negativity out there, it is easier to focus on the downs than on the ups. And while it is helpful in my year-end reflection to look at both the ups and downs - I do want to take some time to celebrate the ups - because let’s face it - we just don’t do enough of that!
So here are a few wins I want to call out for 2019:
We celebrated 10 Years of Circles
We added 6 Circles - including our new Young Professionals Circle!
New BWC Team Members! Jane Zilch, Hannah Ubl, Lisa Walden and Suzanne Lyon have joined our team of Facilitators and Anna Lisa Mahley has become our Team Assistant.
Meeting Spaces: We moved to ModernWell! We also have a few Circles meeting at The Reserve, Steller Connect, Clockwork and The Riveter.
The Annual Forum was a great celebration of Connection! We sold out again! The fabulous Nancy Lyons emceed, Roshini Rajkumar and Falen from KDWB attended, we were back at the gorgeous Machine Shop, added a BWC Marketplace, got rid of SWAG Bags, had lunch from Breaking Bread Catering, launched the Myrna Marfosky Scholarship Fund... I could go on - but you can check out the highlights from Chelsie Lopez here.
Events we were at: we were a FeMNist Day Mentor, spoke at the Capitol in support of the Paid Family Leave Act with Main Street Alliance, participated in panels for Silhouettes of a Woman: Small Business From a Female Perspective (Queen Anna House of Fashion) and Small Business Week: Small Helps All and spoke at the Global Shaper Community's WomenConnect: Creating Inclusive Spaces Through Meaningful Relationships.
We continued a great partnership with WomenVenture. We helped create and share content for their new Accelerating Success Program which they ran twice this year.
We learned a lot! Our Circle learning opportunities were full of some great topics: Here were are few that we covered:
In the financial world we looked at - budgeting, Financial Hygiene, Personal Finance
Mapping Your Relationships and How to Strengthen Them
Assessments we worked with: The Kolbe, The Four Tendencies, Enneagram
Boards, Board of Directors and Advisory Boards
Delegation
Setting Boundaries
Stress and Resiliency with Nicole Lovald
Running Effective Meetings
Succession Planning
Commission structures, other rewards for team besides $$, market research for pay
Radical Candor
Strategic Marketing - what it is, how to think about it, …
Processes - why, what and best practices
I could add more, but in the end, I think there were more ups than downs. And even if “the score” were to say differently, I choose to focus on the ups.
With all that has happened, there is much to be thankful for this past year. And I can’t do it without - The BWC team, our members, our supporters and connectors. Together we create experiences for growth. My thanks to all of you.
Here’s to another decade of amazing women, connections, community and growth!
Best,
Lani