Empowering, networking event supports women in business
Published 12:00 am Saturday, November 2, 2024
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Deliah Hillie, right, visits LaShawn Sellers book table. – Karen Kistler
Christina Turner, left, looks at the various items at Miriam Keller’s Shopp Talk Boutique table. The boutique is located at Local Focal Marketplace in Salisbury. – Karen Kistler
Women gather foer the third annual women’s conference. — Karen Kistler
Tomeka Purcell, and Tionna McCoy, CEO of the nonprofit Build up & Believe, take time for a photo. — Submitted photo
Women listen during one of the sessions of the empowering women’s event held in China Grove. —Submitted photo
CHINA GROVE — Building connections, networking with others who are like-minded and learning to support one another were some of the important lessons passed along at the She-EO convention.
This third annual empowering women’s networking event, organized by Monifa Angle, a marketing and branding specialist, was held at 320 North Main in China Grove on Oct. 25 and 26 and as Angle said, allows women to gather from all around the chance to “come leverage their business.”
The two-day conference, which has grown over the years, both in the number of vendors and attendees, drew women in business both locally and the surrounding area and as far as Rocky Mount, Durham, South Carolina, Tennessee and the D.C. area
Desiree Wright served as the emcee for the event, and Deliah Hillie and Cynthia Neely decorated the room.
Speakers for the workshops included Tomeka Purcell, a financial expert; Christina Febles, owner of Prayer Box; Lexus Wilson, a television personality; Tramika Taylor, a talent acquisition specialist; Kevii Newbold, an operations consultant; Trina Boyd, who helps with getting grants and has opened two group homes; and Angle.
Some lessons shared included “overcoming failures and equipping for the real world and business funding,” said Angle.
As people visited the event, Angle said what she hoped they would take away from the days is for their “business to be functioning properly, and I want them to reach their heights and levels in their business.”
Kevii Newbold, owner and CEO of BOLD Consulting Agency in Lexington, said this was her first year to attend and speak and was “super excited.”
She spoke during her workshop about business structure and the importance of understanding operations foundations including customer relations, team management and leadership development.
Newbold said what she wanted people to learn was that “protecting your operations is protecting your business, and that a strong structural foundation helps with strategy, growth, efficiency and leadership development.”
Taylor said she was actually there from the standpoint of human resources and shared on the theme of “presenting your best self at all times.”
And while some that come to the event may not be business owners, but yet aspire to be, she said, “you’ve got to have the mindset long before you have it in your hand” and talk about yourself and skills.
As for the one message Taylor wanted the ladies to learn from her is to not take opportunities for granted but to be prepared for the moment.
“We do all we can to prepare ourselves on the exterior, but there’s a lot we can do to mature and better ourselves on the inside,” she said, “so we want to make sure that when the opportunity presents itself, we have been in the trenches, we have been learning, we’ve been growing and we’ve been doing those things that we can compete amongst others.”
Taylor wanted to be at this networking conference because she feels it’s important to take part in “any opportunity that I can get just to better people.”
Therapist and certified Master Life Coach Lafewanda Robbins said she has always wanted to help people, even before she became a therapist.
She said she came to spread positivity and “help others to know it’s okay to talk to someone when you’re going through life’s challenges.”
The message she wanted to tell people who visited her table is that mental health is real and that “if you’re not in tune mentally, it affects everything, every part of your life.”
LaShawn Sellers, an author and activity director at a recreation center in the D.C. area teaching seniors, said she saw the event announced on Facebook and definitely wanted to attend to get connected with women with skills and that are like-minded.
“I want to promote. I want to be an entrepreneur,” she said, “but I needed to connect with someone that’s driven,” and of the same mindset.
Believe in yourself and hope is the message that Sellers wanted people to receive.
She also wanted to share the message of being authentic as she said, “if you are that authentic self, then you can be whatever you want to be.”
Wanting people to be achievers and conquerters and take ownership of what you have, the God-given talent you have, she said, “you can achieve it, you can win it if you believe it.”
Copies of her book, “Believe It, Speak It, See It,” were on her table, and Sellers said, that “if you believe, speak, you shall see whatever you want, it’s your faith that has to make you whole. But it’s your faith and hope that’s going to take you where you’re going.”
Some of the vendors at the conference, said Angle, were providing information about their businesses and others had products to sell.
Victoria Connor, Angle’s mom, said she was thankful for those who came to participate in the conference, thankful they were sharing their expertise to help others and “grateful for these ladies believing in Mo.”
Connor said she was helping behind the scenes and served as those extra set of hands and hoped to see “a lot of women flourish, that believe in themselves” and learn, make connections and network,”because one person may come here doing one business and somebody else may need what they have and they are able to make new connections and then just grow from there,” she said.
Using her marketing skills and bringing the various business owners together, Angle created that platform for them to network and learn and support one another.
When one entered the venue, booths were placed all around the room for attendees to visit, and music could be heard, courtesy of Pastor Bradley Taylor of The Reach Church in Salisbury.
He said that Angle is a member of the church and on his media team there and helps him a lot. So this was a chance he could return the favor and provide the music for the event.
But he also felt it was important to be there to empower, encourage and support the women.
“Love is not love until its given away,” he said, “so I want them to see my face and see that we are behind their endeavors.”
In addition to serving as pastor, he also has a side business, a sound and media company called Master’s Touch, and he could learn from this networking opportunity as well as from hearing stories.
“I think stories are amazing because it gives inspiration,” Pastor Taylor said, “hearing where somebody started, where they came from, how they got through obstacles and tests. Stories are powerful and so inspiration is a word that really means breathing life into something or somebody.”
This post was originally published on here
