This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending Christy Wright’s Business Boutique, a two-day event held in Nashville. It was awesome! Regardless of whether you are a dreamer, starter, or builder you must attend this event if it comes to your town. Read on to learn why…
First, you will hear from some of the most inspiring, engaging and passionate speakers working a room today. Christy Wright, who created the event, has an amazing energy level that never flags. She is funny and genuine, and knows firsthand how women struggle to juggle the many competing demands on their time. Christine Caine, who closed out the first day with her “Overcoming the Impossible” talk, spoke about her journey to Jesus and how she became inspired to start A21, an anti-human trafficking organization. She is a fast-talking ball of energy whom I would love to hang with and she was beyond inspirational. I was also glad for the guidance Amy Porterfield gave during her talk on using social media to its fullest extent (an area I struggle with). I heard a lot of speakers over the 2 days and all were uniformly excellent but the best speaker, at least for me, was the man himself – Dave Ramsey. BB is part of Dave’s financial empire and like everything else related to Ramsey Solutions it is first rate. I’ve been a fan of Dave’s for a long time so hearing him motivate the room to clap! clap! change! was a true highlight for me…
Secondly, the event is structured so attendees choose 3 breakout sessions from a diverse list of 14 offerings. Each session is limited to approximately 40 people to ensure an intimate experience where questions can be asked. The topics ranged from finding a work-life balance, to building a non-profit, to avoiding money mistakes and handling business taxes and basic accounting. I gravitated toward the blogging and website topics since these are areas where I want to improve. I randomly chose the Etsy Edge session as my 3rd choice and it turned out to be an incredible learning experience. I don’t have an Etsy storefront (yet) but when I finally do I’ll know a lot more about making it successful then I did before.
Last but not least, 3000 women (and a few men) spent two days laughing, crying, and learning with each other. There were lots of opportunities for introductions and interactions; I spoke with women from all 50 states in business as nail artists, rosary makers, real estate agents, caterers, web designers, iron smiths, home and business organizers, dog walkers and so much more. It was amazing, inspiring, and humbling to be surrounded by women of all ages, shapes, sizes, and colors gathered for the same reason – to empower themselves and each other in business. At the end of the 2 days I was exhausted by the amount of information I learned and believe it might take me the next 2 weeks to process it all. I took copious notes and leave you with some quotes that are still resonating with me:
“Don’t despise small beginnings.”
“A business that doesn’t make money is a hobby.”
“Tell your money where to go versus wondering where it went.”
“Fear is NOT a sign of bad, it’s a sign of BOLD.”
“Comparison is the thief of joy.”
Have you ever dreamed of starting your own business? Do you own your own business now? I’d love to know about your successes and your struggles if you’re willing to share…just leave a comment.
The Grey Goddess 