Have you seen or met any of them? They are some of Fresno Women's Network members who own small businesses and they attend the monthly luncheons and may be actually sitting at your table. Look out for them as they are very obvious and you will be able to identify them by the big round pin they wear that says "SBO - I am a forum member".
These women are inspiring and are out there in our community helping others in a multitude of ways and offering great products and services as they grow and expand theor businesses and follow their dreams.
On Tuesday night I had the opportunity to spend 2 hours over dinner with some of these ladies and they are the "queens" of networking. We talked, laughed, ate and got to know each other a little more personally and found out what current projects they are working on. To give you an idea of what that means we have Caroline Wade and Betty Goertzen working together on the "Build a Gingerbread House" project at Sierra Vista Mall for the holiday season, then there is Dr Treva Lee, our local dentist in the group who is gearing up for Halloween and the candy buy back program and the candy that is collected goes to Operation Gratitude and eventually sent to the troops serving overseas. One of our newest members, Alicia Hinton spoke about her project which is Lavender's Light and is a celebration of survivors and she related some stories that were awe inspiring.
So by now you are asking "who else was there"? Well, two women you know very well were speaking about their businesses and one was Karen Sorensen who everyone knows is a big key to the running of the FWN but, she also has 17 years as a Mary Kay Consultant and can keep us looking young and beautiful. The other is Sandra Rodriguez-Lucero who is a consultant with Gold Canyon Candles and is also training to make our nails and toes look awesome.
Close your eyes for a moment and imagine this scene, The candle-lit room, on the table a glass of wine supplied by Judy Wood, those lovely mood management oils from Kathy Mendoza, a beauty treatment from Karen all while having Sandra attending to your nails!
We also had a superstar among us in the name of Nykole Hibbs who was a speaker at the recent Central Valley Women's Conference. She and her mom both did the presentation and she was telling us about the change in direction that they want to take their business, Dinner My Way and how her mom was working on a book!
Trish Hughes, one of our new FWN members has started her own travel agency and took us on a short journey to places she has visited around the world and her favorites so if you are looking for something special, she is the one to talk to! Marjorie Donovan and that MedID card that is so invaluable to have for all the important medical information was telling us about a few new directions she has happening to get the card into the right hands.
As for me, I was the moderator for the evening and love seeing the interaction and sharing of ideas between all our group and really enjoy the time spent with these professional women. I have an speaking engagement on October 10th and will be working with the Central Valley Business Incubator at their upcoming Small Business University 2012 and will be presenting "What is the Cloud?" on behalf of Microsoft.
At the FWN luncheon on Tuesday October 9, you will hear the guest speaker, Beth Bridges speak about Networking and how important it is to find new avenues to move forward in both your personal and professional lives so also take the chance to spend some time with our SBO members. Maybe you might be interested in joining our group and making the journey forward into the unknown with your own personal cheer squad!
