One of my goals in bringing Cake & Whiskey to Baltimore was to get women in business together and make personal connections—real, genuine connections and not the impersonal exchange of business cards over rubbery chicken which we have all suffered through.
It may be my age, but I want to go back to a simpler time when we didn’t have laptops or smartphones which kept us swimming in the glow of a half-lit display. I yearn to actually hear the journeys of other women, to feel the emotion of a story told in a conversation and to hear laughter instead of writing “LOL”. My personal journey this year is to have conversations with at least 50 new women in business and hear their stories, successes and inspirations. To me, conversations are important and more substantive than just meeting someone at an event with a quick “hello” and “goodbye”.
My resolution this year is to meet (yes, actually physically meet) the women who have helped make Cake & Whiskey such a good event. It has become so large so quickly that it is virtually impossible to meet everyone. Last week, I met with Ann Margaret and Maggie, Real Estate agents with Marsiglia Realty in Lutherville and learned how passionate and amazing these women are about their beliefs, families and especially how they do business! It was also so enlightening to hear that they go through the same difficult issues I and every other woman in business go through–finding time for family, creativity, organizing and putting that special spark in our businesses that makes them stand out.
My second meet-up was with the lovely Tiffanie McCoy of Bird of Paradise Events. She is a wedding planner and an overall amazing woman. Not only have her events won her the title of The Knot 2018 Pick of Best Weddings this year, she also finds time to be a mom to her 5 year old AND give workshops on how to be an event planner. One thing that I was so excited to learn from Tiffanie is that even though she has an extremely full schedule, she’s always sure to plan her events around Cake & Whiskey because she knows they’re so well-attended. To hear that was confirmation of just how influential Cake & Whiskey has become.
I know I won’t get to everyone in the first year, but I vow to keep plugging through the growing list of attendees. If you don’t hear from me first, feel free to reach out to me for coffee at cwalsh@alphagrap.com. I also want to encourage you to go on a similar journey of your own and reach out to 50 women in your community. It doesn’t need to be in the same time frame, but just make it a goal to really connect with those around you and encourage them to do the same. If we all begin reaching out and really sharing these genuine connections, there’s no telling what we can accomplish. Tag your posts #BMOREcakeNwhiskey50 so we can see your journey and follow us on on Instagram @alphagrap using #BMOREcakeNwhiskey50!
Join Us! Our next Cake & Whiskey Women’s Networking Hobnob is December 2018 (date and location TBD). Follow along with all of the latest Cake & Whiskey news via Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.