Of dogs, guacamole and groupies

Disclosure, though I hope you already know this: I’m editor of Women Grow Business, a Network Solutions-hosted blog community by, for and of women entrepreneurs. I’m paid to do this, though I was not paid (or asked) to cross-post this announcement. I chose to do so because I think it might be useful for some of my readers.

When I started editing Women Grow Business, I knew it would be a trip and a half, but I don’t think I realized what a wild ride it would be. Seriously, I think WGB has spam groupies who insist on trying to sell men’s shoes. Whaaa… ??

Couldn’t we get a flash mob instead? (Image: Richard Wood, Creative Commons)

But anyway, founding editor Jill Foster came over one afternoon in January to walk me through the ins and outs of it, and afternoon turned to evening, through which we fortified ourselves with wine, olives, chips and guacamole (my dogs were particularly interested in the latter).

As we worked, we chatted about our hopes and dreams for WGB. We already knew what a phenomenal community we had (I give you the terrific contributors as well as the many guest bloggers who bring so much value when they share their thoughts and experiences). Of course, we wanted to grow that (which we’ve been doing slowly, not just on the blog, but on Twitter, LinkedIn and Amplify as well, are you connected to us there?).

What we really wanted to do, though, was take this vibrant, thriving online community and move it offline.

Particularly in a world where so much of our work and interaction is virtual, we’ve all seen how important it is to actually do stuff “IRL.”

Drum roll, please!

So it truly gives me great pleasure to announce (drum roll, please) the first-ever Women Grow Business Boot Camp, which will be held from 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 19, in downtown DC.

If you’re a woman entrepreneur in the DC area (or want to be one), I hope you’ll attend this half-day, FREE workshop where you’ll hear from women business owners, many of whom contribute to and/or have supported Women Grow Business since its inception.

I mean, it’s not every day you get a chance to meet Kathy Korman Frey aka @ChiefHotMomma and our keynote speaker (W00T!), as well as powerhouses like Marissa Levin, Patricia Frame, Shana Glickfield and many, many more.

What you’ll learn

Speakers will share their experiences in growing their businesses, and after the keynote, you’ll split into four breakout groups to learn more about four key areas of growing your business:

Money, Honey: the financial and infrastructural side to your business
Legal Eagle: the legal, IP and related issues we need to be aware of
What’s the Buzz?: marketing your business, including using PR and social media
Are You Being Served?: defining, reaching and retaining your ideal customer

We’re going to repeat these tracks after a short break, so that you can move to another group and learn about another area (and the speakers will change as well).

So by the end of the workshop, you should come away feeling empowered, armed with practical tips, and have done a ton of networking… at least, that’s what we hope you’ll come away with.

It’s on a Saturday, so hopefully that will make it easy for you to carve the time out of your busy schedules. And did I mention it’s FREE? Thank you, sponsors Network Solutions and the Intellectual Property Group and Diversity Committee of Steptoe & Johnson LLP.

Sign up!

You can register here, and do share the word with those you think would be interested… and maybe we can even come up with a flash mob of our own. Whadja say?

Cross-posted from Women Grow Business.