Guest Blog from Michaela of A Dash of Michaela
girl boss noun 1. a female hustler, building her empire
About a month ago, Black Bloggers United hosted Power Hours in several cities, including Atlanta (which was hosted by Jordan Chapman, creator of thehatlogic.com and myself). As I chatted with the other ladies who attended the event, I was reminded of how important it is to always surround myself with ambitious women who are putting in work to achieve their dreams. In the past two years, I have attended every brunch and mixer that I could find that would allow me to network with other women with similar interests. It’s refreshing.
Being in the presence of other queens is beneficial in many ways. I could go on and on, but here are just a few of those reasons:
You’ll have your own squad of cheerleaders. We all lose motivation every now and then … we’re human, that’s natural. One of the best ways to refuel is to gather around other bosses who can give you the encouragement that you need. Sometimes all we need is to hear someone say, “Sis, you got this” or “Sis, you’re doing a great job.” We need to be cheered on will striving to reach our goals.
Take notes … you’ll learn a lot. No matter how much you know, you don’t know it all. I find it beneficial to take a small notepad with me when I attend networking events because the amount of knowledge I gain during those 2-3 hours is incredible. It’s almost like you’ve signed up for a really cool course that’s conversation-based. We can learn so much from each other that will help us perfect our craft.
Your creativity level will skyrocket. If you’re like me, you love to bounce ideas off of other people. Being at the Power Hour that weekend gave me the opportunity to share an idea with a fellow blogger and hear her thoughts on it. When I left the event, my mind was swimming with ideas … all because I talked it out with someone. All it takes is a couple of convos to get your wheels turning!
The connections you make could open doors for you. One thing that I’ve learned from being in grad school is that you never know who is sitting in the room with you. The same is true when it comes to attending networking events. You could be holding conversations with CEO’s, ladies who call shots in your field of interest, potential mentors, etc. Take full advantage of every piece of advice that you receive and every connection that you make. Many doors have been opened from networking.
You will get all of your life. This statement is extremely broad, but that’s honestly the best way I can describe it. I guarantee that you will feel renewed once you leave a networking event. Being around other girl bosses is so liberating, so magical, so inspiring. You will literally get ALLLLL of your life!
A Dash of Michaela is a blog that serves as a diary for Michaela’s life experiences and lessons learned. She focuses on sharing the challenging and inspiring moments in her life journey that has made her who she is today.
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