I go to a lot of events! Like ALOT! I’ve met some amazing people just by being in the right place at the right time. People look to me to know what’s happening and where to go. I’m at at place now where I take that responsibility very seriously. I post events every week. Those events are carefully chosen. I would hate for someone to attend something based on my suggestion and leave unfulfilled. I try to make it to everything I’m invited to....and that’s backfired because I would literally be running around to make sure I show face at everything I accepted an invite to and while doing that my health would be in jeopardy. Dallas has become one of those cities where women get together and have an event charging ridiculous prices and literally have attendees hear about a speaker’s life or come up and give them no real guidance or “empowerment”. While yes, hearing another woman thrive is encouraging but where is the blueprint sis?
I personally made a commitment to not attend many “women empowerment” events (especially brunches) in 2019 and here’s why.... I’m over brunches!! Periodt! Dallas has a brunch or two for something every weekend. Every. Weekend. Yes, I’m a lifestyle blogger and a foodie but when I brunch it’s to enjoy my food and the cocktail that comes along with it. I’m sure people wonder why I’ve never thrown a brunch (outside of my Mommy Meet-ups, which aren't for me) and it’s because I see brunch as brunch...I just wanna eat and not have to think while doing it. Wait, I did throw a brunch, kinda. My first Divaday Donation Drive included a brunch but it wasn’t an “event”. Ellen’s was my first sponsor and I posted “I’ll be having brunch at Ellen’s at 11AM if you’d like to join me.” When brunch is included it’s usually a high ticket price attached to it. I suggest joining a brunch social group where you can meet differ people while enjoying the food.
“You can’t sit with us” This is the vibe of a lot of “women empowerment” events. Let’s be real, k? There are ladies in Dallas and other major cities who have that “mean girls” energy. Am I gonna name them? Of course not! I’ve gotten to know a lot of people and Dallas is very small. I have tea on some of yall's favs.
These women you idolize, did some people dirty on their way up and now like to act as if they are the sweetest of sweet. Or I’ve attended an events and speakers/guests gave a strong aura of “I’m here for the check”. I hate this sounds so negative but I’m here to be real. And please take heed to the female entrepreneurs I support and love. I ride for them because they have hearts of gold and want to see those around them do amazing things. They can be a waste of time and money. Nothing is worse than paying $50 or $75 for an event just to hear things you could get from Google, Pinterest, YouTube, or Half-priced Books. If I don’t leave an event with at least a page and a half of notes and 3-6 new contacts, why was I even there?
Whether you are an entrepreneur, a 9-5er, a stay-at-home mom, or a student understand that your time is valuable and no less valuable than the next women, whether she hosted the event or was sitting next to you. What I do when I see an event posted is check out the people who are speaking or hosting and see the response to another event they had. Some of us don’t have $35-$100 to spend on events and not get a great ROI.
Never, ever, ever feel bad for missing an event. 9 times out of 10 a similar event will roll back around in no time. We all want to show support to those around us but sometimes you might be unavailable or it not be in your budget. I love that Dallas always has something going on. There is no reason to say you have nothing to do, again I constantly share events. I just hope this makes choosing events a little easier. Disclaimer: just because I don’t post an event does not mean I don’t support the person having it. Sometimes I miss seeing them or I just ran out of space on my weekly post.
Until next time loves,
Curls n' Cocktails