“Never underestimate your worth, what you need to achieve, and what you want out of life.” -Gwen Jimmere
This past weekend, I along with a group of women from all over U.S.A and Canada, had the privilege of attending The Powerful Women’s Weekend conference in Ann Arbor, Michigan. And boy-oh-boy, was it a phenomenal life-changing experience for us all!!! Before I even get started on my experience, I’d be remiss if I didn’t share how much I prayed for something like this. Some time two years ago, I remember asking God to surround me with like-minded God-fearing women that were driven and on fire to change the World through the use of their gifts and talents, outside of my circle of friends and usual comfort zone. I’ve always wanted to be apart of a movement…a sisterhood where women supported and uplifted each other at every stages of life. I can tell you, being there was awesome. There wasn’t any cattiness, jealousy, fake support, false humility, or that nice-nasty interaction that women usually experience from other women. It was just genuine love. I believe God delivered on this one. The funny thing is, I accidently stumbled upon The Powerful Women Organization while searching for an Atlanta based woman’s group online. I’ve always believed in surrounding myself around positive people that can challenge me to be better in life. Ironically enough, when I googled the statement “professional women’s group in Atlanta, The Powerful Women’s Group link popped up. Excitingly, I clicked on the link and was directed to this vibrant and colorful website. I thought it was an Atlanta-based organization and was extremely thrilled, because this was exactly what I was searching for. After browsing through the website for a few minutes, I quickly realized that The Powerful Woman’s Group wasn’t located in Atlanta, but rather in Michigan. Nonetheless, I was still interested and reached out via email and subscribed. Although I couldn’t physically participate in the events that followed after me joining, I continued to check-in and followed along through their social media sites. A few months later, I get an email informing me about an upcoming woman’s weekend conference. I was in! Immediately I made up my mind to go despite the unexpected financial expenses my husband and I paid out recently. Finally, I received the notification that registration was opened, and I called my husband to get the go-ahead and told him about it. Without hesitation my husband fully supported the idea and purchased my tickets and booked my flights to Michigan.
The conference kicked off early Saturday morning at the oh-so-chic Weber’s Inn hotel, and I must add, it was the perfect venue for the occasion. The hotel’s ambiance perfectly gelled with the entire theme. As I entered the ballroom, my attention was quickly drawn towards the décor and setup. The different shades of pink throughout the lobby and ballroom was extremely elegant, chic, and purposely modest. You can tell there was careful and meticulous attention paid to the details. From the floral centerpieces to the professionalism exhibited by the team, the conference was definitely a success. It was very evident that these group of women truly poured there all to carefully plan this conference. It wasn’t just a typical woman’s conference and It wasn’t just geared towards one specific avenue of networking and business connections. It was purposed and filled with activities to unite us for one cause…the cause of womanhood. The activities that weekend included, networking, exercising, fellowshipping, meet-and-greets, photo shoots, food, partying, and lastly what all powerful women love to do…get really glammed up! Let me tell you, the fashion and styles that made its way through the pink carpet, was on a all time high. As a lover of fashion, I was indeed impressed by the uniqueness from everyone’s personal stylishness. There wasn’t any typical uniformity or dullness when it came to the fashion trends. The statements were bold, sophisticated, and trendy with a whole lot of class added to it. Everyone’s style spoke about their personae and who they were as individuals. We were all literally moving and active advertisements of our brands; so much so, many of the guests lounging at the Weber’s Inn hotel complimented us with praises and expressed how impressed they were by our elegance and grace. I even had an older gentleman asked me if there was a Powerful Girl’s group, because he’d love for his granddaughter to participate. The spirit of the conference was clearly evident. As explained by our Founder, Meagan Lyles and her powerful team, the mantra emanated from the conference that weekend was simply, womanhood-empowerment-self discovery-success, and social positivity.
The Powerful Women’s conference began with warm welcomes and introductions from the Founder Meagan and her phenomenal team, Brittni, Kimberly, Jasmine, and Toni. Shortly afterwards, all the attendees were asked to introduce themselves to everyone and share one word that described them as a powerful woman. My word of course was blessed. Following that, our first guest speaker, Toni Jones spoke powerfully. Toni focused on the inner parts of being a woman. I absolutely loved her perspectives on being whole, spiritually sound, and healthy as women. It really set the tone and flow for the speakers that followed. All guest speakers were powerful influential women in their own rights of influences. Women such as Ashley Joy, Gwen Jimmere, Ekiuwa (whom by-the-way despite a cold still poured her heart and truths to us) Britney Jeanine, Le’Trice Penn, Arian Simone, Agata & Justyna, Adrianne Medias, Heidi, Leslie Persin, and Natasha Cole, all phenomenally exhibited attributes of great strengths and perseverance. Every single woman shared their testimony and triumphs and gave us key points to building a successful brand. Their transparency, rawness, and truths about their journey of becoming better business women left us all inspired and motivated to pursue the things that God has placed in us to share with the World.
Undeniably, there were many memorable moments. For instance, Ashley Joy’s story of strength and Britney Jeanine’s joyful spirit added so much to the experience. However, there was a moment that stood out to me. The most extraordinary moment transpired the last day of the conference when Natasha Cole took the podium. What she shared was simply applicable yet profound. Her words permeated our thoughts and resonated heavily with all of us. The points Natasha shared focused on self-acceptance, self-affirmations, learning to celebrate our own accomplishments, and celebration others as well. Too often as women, we naturally shy away from sharing our accomplishments because of the fear of being labeled as conceited, too independent, or even stuck-up. We tend to down-play our greatness to appease others. Ultimately, Natasha wanted to hone in on this point by challenging us to write down our greatest accomplishments and sharing them with our table mates. Everyone at our group had to celebrate what each woman shared, which resulted with the entire room roaring with cheers and filled with thunderous claps. To add icing on the cake, one woman per table had to come up to the podium and share their greatest accomplishment. With us doing that, it helped us to affirm our greatness and also speak life into our situations. When that moment happened, for me it truly solidified the purpose of what The Powerful Women’s Conference is all about. Empowering Women!
“Your brand isn’t how nice your logo is, it’s about the experience. Branding is what people say about you, when you’re not in the room” -Britney Jeanine
Although it was just a short weekend of events, I can truly say that I walked away with a wealth of knowledge and new found understanding of embracing my womanhood in its entirety. Aside from learning the world of business and networking, I discovered a few things about myself and was also enlightened of a few bad habits needing adjustments. All-in-all, The Powerful Women’s Weekend left an impression on me. In a short period of time I was challenged, inspired, moved, and met new sisters from all over. As for me, I will affirm me. I am blessed and should not ever be apologetic about that. God didn’t make a mistake when he created me. I have purpose. I am needed in this World. I am a woman, and even better, I AM A POWERFUL WOMAN!!!!
