As you know, Dots and I attended the conference mentioned above. It was great meeting all of the women entrepreneurs who are serious about networking and making/helping their businesses grow. We met Arbonne reps, Green and Black's Organic "stuff" like chocolate bars (yummy) and breafast treats, women who are coaches, professional speakers, ones in makeup, wonderful purses, some from Merrill Lynch, strategists, jewelry, consultants....and I could go on and on. If you want to see WHO was there, as far as vendors, please visit this page:

http://www.internationalbizconference.com/mplace.html

We had a great time, made some exciting contacts, and heard some speeches that will serve us better in the day to day of running our respective businesses.

I will say there was a tad of a language barrier with this being an International conference, but it really wasn't a problem that couldn't be quite easier solved. Speaking Southern AND it being an international conference WAS, I have to admit, a bigger problem. Some people asked me what country I was from...LOL!

Anyway, do check out the vendors and if you get the chance, get some chocolate. I swear to you it taste like the REAL THANG. I should know, I ate enough of it.

Continuing a bit about the conference, I thought I would share that we met some amazing people. I'd like to tell you about a couple of them. One was a team of women who measure you for clothing. Now that may not sound too amazing, but let me tell you, it is. They can tell you exactly (by a mathematical formula) exactly what YOU should be wearing as far as the length of a blouse, jacket, or skirt, the type of collar you should wear, the neckline you need to avoid, and the one to wear, and the list goes on and on. You can check them out at http://www.fashionfitformula.com/ This seems to be down to a science.

One of the other women we met was Joan Geisler, owner of Joan Gabriel, LLC, a custom handbag company. Now, having a purse fettish, I warmed up to Joan and her almost twin sister, Jane, immediately. We bonded. Not only were these two women delightful, but the custom-made handbags were to die for. I want a Joan Gabriel! I shall have one! I wanna...I getta. You have to visit the site. Its http://www.joangabriel.com/default.asp and they also have custom-made laptop covers/holders. You have to love her creativity!

I also thought you might like to see the view we had from our hotel room.



This image is one taken from the bridge in the picture above. We were walking across it and I thought it would make a great picture...only the day was somewhat hazy.


This last image is one of Dotsie's panel of experts who spoke on Baby Boomers, Where We've Been, Where We Are, and Where We're Going. They were wonderful! I apologize for the distance in the photo...I'm still learning my digital. Duh? They are from left to right, Pat Lambert, Jennifer Kalita, Sheri McConnell, Dotsie, Jennifer Campion, Barbara Friesner, and Dr. Carole Orsborne.

Really nice photos JJ. I bet the two of you had a ball!! I myself really enjoy networking in a room of professional women.

Thanks for adding all of this. I need to get my booklet so I can tell about a couple of the motivational speakers I listened to. I'll do that tomorrow

I especially enjoyed hearing the stories of entrepreneural women who are doing extremely well. Both the peaks and valleys of their journeys were so encouraging. I'll share more tomorrow.

My favorite motivational speakers were the following. At the end of their informatio, I'll tell you what I liked most about them.

Jennifer Groover, founder and CEO of Jen Groover Productions - I just adored this gal. Her energy was over the top and she shared that what you need for success is to be innovative, creative, set fears aside, and always follow through. Think about it. It's a great combination for success.

Here's what the program had to say about her:

Jennifer has enough energy to power the Eastern seaboard, but instead she pours it into simultaneously running a growing innovation-based empire and reaching out to entrepreneurs and innovators worldwide. With a flagship product, the Butler Bag, http://www.butlerbag.com/ that reached a million dollars in sales within only one year with expected second year profits reaching 10 million dollars, a position as creativity and innovation expert for a top national business magazine, an edu-tainment board game company selling out in book and toy stores nationwide, scores of patents in various stages of development, and multiple television shows and books launching within the next year, Jen Groover remains poised and focused on her ultimate goal and the goal of all her work: to change the way the country and the world look at business, creativity, innovation, risk, and ultimately the way they apply all of these values to their lives.

Jen will soon be able to reach out to even more people with her message, products, and unique way of thinking as 2008 sees her embarking on a global branding and licensing deal with the country’s leading brand development company which recently oversaw the re-birth of the Isaac Mizrahi brand. While her dynamic energy and innovative strategies have earned her the title “one woman brand” by Success Magazine, drawn comparisons to Benjamin Franklin and Walt Disney by business analysts and writers, and her upward ascent in the business world is inevitable; this business woman-innovator-inventor-entrepreneur–designer-mother-wife still finds the time to shut the phone off nearly daily at 6 p.m. and focus on her most important venture and professional inspiration, her family.

Jen is an oft-requested speaker with audiences ranging from leaders at Time Inc. and Ladies Who Launch to members of New York City’s famed Soho House to political figures to some of the most powerfully impacted – young members of the female leadership academy Girls Take Charge. Whether she is taking on the subject of ‘Re-Igniting Creativity’ or following your ‘why not me’ life goals, the audiences’ positive reactions are a constant testament to just that. Just ask co-founder of Ladies Who Launch, the national home to creative and entrepreneurial women who says of Jen (their newly dubbed “master in launching”), “Creative Powerhouse, Highly Energetic, Generous and Kind...just a few words I would use to describe inventor and entrepreneur extraordinaire Jen Groover. From her innovative Butler Bag to her ability to develop products in any area…we just watch in awe as she continues her upward ascent.”

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Debra Ruh has a daughter who has Down's Syndrome. She often worried about how her daughter would survive on her own. She launched a business to make technology more accessable for people with disabilites and it is now a 23 million dollar company. All she wanted to do was help others and look how far it's taken her. She employs many disabled poeple because she believes their is tremendous ability within disablities.

Following her speech, her daughter with Down's spoke. She is in college now taking courses in public speaking. She shared a bit of her story with us too. I was so moved by the mother/ daughter team.

Here's what the program stated about her:

Debra Ruh has more than 25 years of professional experience implementing and creating technology, compliance, policy, quality assurance, training and e-Learning solutions for government agencies and organizations all over the world.

Recently, Debra was appointed to the Olmstead Board by Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, and she serves proudly as a board member of the US Business Leadership Network (USBLNR). In addition, she is the 2007 winner of the Outstanding Achievement Award by the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities, Enterprising Women Magazine’s Advocacy Award, Northrop Grumman’s 2007 Community Support Award, and the prestigious Wells Fargo/NAWBO “Trailblazer” Award.

In 2006 Debra was awarded the Women in Technology Leadership Award, the Rising Star award by the National Association of Women Business Owners, and the Social Responsibility Award by the America-China Foundation to support international relations. In 2005 Debra’s received the SBA Small Business Person of the Year, and was picked as one of the “Most Powerful Women in IT” by Virginia Magazine. Debra’s company, TecAccess, was awarded the prestigious US Depart of Labor Presidential Freedom Initiative Award, as well as the 2005 Lighthouse International Employer of the Year for hiring people with Vision Impairments. Debra's work experience includes Founder and President of TecAccess, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Strategic Performance Solutions, Vice President and Dean of Distance Learning with Market Street Mortgage, Vice President of Training & Development and Quality Control for SunTrust Mortgage. Debra is a recognized leader in the E&IT Accessibility and Section 508 Compliance arena. She has been invited to speak on Section 508 Compliance and IT Accessibility Issues all over the world, including a recent request to present before the European Union and in emerging countries throughout Africa. In addition, she has spoken before the US Government Section 508 Coordinators and for many government agencies including the US Coast Guard, US Marines, US Navy, SSA, USDA, HHS, NIH, USPTO, DOT, DOC and GSA.


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Have you ever had Green and Black's organic chocolate?
Josephine shared her vision which came to her in one night. Then she acted on every little detail of that dream and launched her organic chocolate which was recently sold to Cadbury.

Here's from the program:

Josephine Fairley co-founded Green & Black’s, the world’s first organic chocolate brand, with her husband in 1991, helping to grow this pioneering company to the point where it was sold to Cadbury’s, in 2005. She has since opened an award-winning organic bakery and food store in her home town, Hastings (England), and most recently opened the doors of her latest venture: an 11-room boutique wellbeing centre. Throughout, Jo has juggled these businesses with a journalistic and writing career (she was the UK’s youngest-ever magazine editor, at the age of 23), and is co-author of the bestselling Beauty Bible series, with Sarah Stacey, and The Ultimate Natural Beauty Book (Kyle Cathie). She has been Chairwoman of Cosmetic Executive Women UK and is Chair of the Soil Association’s Health Products Standards Committee, helping to set the standards for organic and natural cosmetics; she is also a ‘Matron’ of the Women’s Environmental Network.

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Most fun preseantation goes to:

Janet Wood and Kathy McFadden

Janet Wood, CEO and Kathy McFadden, President of the Fashion Fit Formula have decades of experience as corporate executives prior to starting their own company Fashion Fit Formula a Pivotal Edge, Inc. company in July of 2003. Janet a world wide corporate turn around specialist and Kathy the former CEO of a major construction trade association in Washington, DC, have watch women succeed and fail while climbing the corporate ladder. Their goal is to help women SUCCEED in all areas of their life with the Fashion Fit Formula.

I bought it and so did another gal with me. It's amazing to see how simply changing the length of sleeves, pants, dresses, where you wear you pants on your waist, etc, makes. You wouldn't believe how you can go from frumpy to fabulous in no time.

I'm waiting for my results to arrive in the mail. They measure your entire body and then send you all the inforamiton you need to look your best.

So that's about it. While listening to these dynamic women was inspiring and motivating, I also enjoyed hanging out with Georgia, the NABBW associates, and all the other neat women we met throughout the weekend.

Another highlight was walking to Georgetown the day we arrived and having a relaxing lunch at Clyde's with Georgia.