Highlights: National Conference 2010
Submitted by Carrie Magruder, Chapter President, and Lori Gregg-Fernandez, President Elect
In late June, both Carrie Magruder, President, and Lori Gregg-Fernandez, President Elect, attended the NAWBO Women’s Business Conference 2010 in Washington D.C. The WBC was packed full of motivation, inspiration, networking and so much positive energy. Like all NAWBO national conferences, it was a multi-faceted event filled with many valuable learning opportunities.
The NAWBO Leadership day really reinforced what NAWBO is all about and provided a forum to share ‘best chapter practices’ from all across the nation. NAWBO’s primary purpose is to help women business owners take their businesses to the next level. We are all at different places in our business progression, so our challenge as a NAWBO chapter is to avoid being a “one size fits all” organization. Our chapter has recently adopted a 3-year plan that incorporates building an organization with programming, member support, and meeting formats that will meet the needs of diverse businesses at various stages of development. We are so proud to be part of a chapter that is acting progressively and proactively to meet the needs of our members.
The next 2 days were the Women’s Business Conference (WBC), hosted by NAWBO but attended by hundreds of women from all over the world and from many different organizations. The agenda was packed with diverse and dynamic programs for business owners at all levels.
Some of the topics were:
- What every business owner needs to know to plan your exit strategy
- Creating meaningful and lasting networks
- Policy Issues and your bottom line
- Access to Capital: Navigating the financial landscape
- Up-close and personal discussion with the winners of the Trailblazing Women awards
- Going Global
- Victory in Federal Procurement
- How to leverage social media
- Building on-line credibility: Dos and Don’ts
The diversity of women who attended, presented, and guided the NAWBO National Conference was amazing. From each conversation we gained jewels of wisdom, insights about common business issues and personal connections. “Dealing with day to day business challenges is often akin to ‘keeping your head down and eye on the ball’.” says Lori. “Meeting dynamic, influential and successful women helped me lift up my head and refresh my vision for my own business and for NAWBO.”
We are proud to be a part of a powerful organization that gets the attention and participation of high level government and business leaders. No matter your political leanings, it was astounding to us that Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President, presented at the National Conference. A panel presentation included three successful, diverse women who offered wisdom and insight from their own personal growth and business success: Anousheh Ansari, Astronaut; Annette Taddeo-Goldstein, CEO Language Speaks; and Jane Wurwand, CEO Dermalogica.
Finally, being in Washington DC, a first time for both Carrie and Lori, was an amazing experience in and of itself. Within walking distance of our hotel were all the major national monuments, the capital building, the White House and the Smithsonian Museums. “Besides all of the wonderful information that I received, my favorite part of the experience was having the chance to meet so many amazing women and share stories with each other about what is working back home in their NAWBO chapters as well as in their businesses.” said Carrie. “We would love to have a large group of our NAWBO sisters attend the national conference in 2011, which will be held next June in San Diego.”