Category: Entrepreneurship

C.E.O. Women Graduation Night

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For the past month or so, I’ve been working with Yessica on building her jewelry business. Friday night was her C.E.O. Women graduation ceremony and I was so glad that I was able to be there to support her.

She is so passionate and determined, I can’t help but be energized and inspired when I’m around her. I got to meet her two young children, her mom and sister-in-law and her English tutor. All of whom were so proud of her accomplishments, too. In the program she built her business plan, determined her target market and created a marketing presentation. She also led a workshop through C.E.O. Women’s Shine Your Brilliance events where she taught participants how to make their own beautiful jewelry.

It was so great to also hear the stories of other graduates, many who are immigrant women, and to see how they’ve overcome challenges to now live the American Dream.

[tags]C.E.O Women, microenterprises, volunteer, non-profit, business coaching[/tags]

C.E.O. Women

In 2005 I started to do volunteer coaching with an amazing non-profit called C.E.O. Women in Oakland. They help to create economic opportunities and self-sufficiency for low-income immigrant women in the Bay Area through teaching English and entrepreneurship skills so that they can make a livelihood for themselves.

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My previous client was a massage therapist from Japan who was building her massage business. I was always so inspired by her tenacity and courage given the many challenges she faced in her life.

I just had a call with my current client who is from South America and is starting her own jewelry business. Her dedication and passion are contagious and it brings me so much joy to see her putting herself out there and trying new things even though it can be scary! I am also so grateful to the fabulous women in my networking circles that have generously offered their time and support to my client. Their experience and insights have been invaluable to someone just starting out! Thanks Nicole Kidd, Liza Sonia and Keren Peled. I love how women support each other so graciously. You guys rock!

Also, at this past weekend’s conference, C.E.O. Women was awarded a grant from the eWomen Network foundation. It was so wonderful to see this great organization get the support and recognition to keep on making a positive difference in the lives of women!

[tags]C.E.O. Women, eWomen Network, volunteer, non-profit, business coaching, microenterprises[/tags]

Meeting Carly and Stedman

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Carly Fiorina, former CEO of HP, gave a key note speech at the final day of the eWomen Network conference in Dallas. She shared personal stories of her humble beginnings in the business world, about the challenges she faced early on as a young career woman in a man’s world and her insightful perspectives on what leadership means. She describes leadership as seeing and seizing possibilities and helping others to do the same. She mentioned that it’s about helping people face and overcome fear. And it’s about making change happen. According to her, change is driven by leaders and is powered by collaboration, which is why Carly says, women are natural born leaders.

Not only was her talk inspirational and thought-provoking, it also rang true with authenticity and courage as she spoke from the heart. I look forward to reading her memoir “Tough Choices” to learn more about this amazing female leader.

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Stedman Graham also spoke to us this morning on building a personal brand. It all starts with really knowing who you are first and living according to that (not by what others label you – he shared in his case he was labeled with self-defeating thoughts growing up in a community that didn’t think he’d go far and now days being referred to as “Oprah’s boyfriend!”). He had some pearls of wisdom to share about making sure to fill your own well first before being able to fully give of yourself. In fact, he had asked Oprah if she could share some advice with the group. So he whipped out his Blackberry and read to us word for word an e-mail she sent him from South Africa telling us that she was replenishing her own well by spending time with the girls at her Leadership Academy!

Stedman was gracious during the book signing making it a point to shake everyone’s hand and being very present with each and every woman who stood in the long line to meet him. I picked up his book “Diversity: Leaders not Labels” and am excited to read his perspective on moving beyond race toward more collaboration and appreciation of the uniqueness we all bring.

[tags]eWomen Network, Carly Fiorina, Stedman Graham, book signing, conference[/tags]

Drumming to Our Own Beat

I arrived in Dallas, TX yesterday to take part in the 2007 eWomen Network Conference this weekend. More than 2,000 women entrepreneurs have descended upon the Hyatt Regency from all over the U.S. and Canada to connect, share and learn from each other. So many things have transpired already, but below are a few highlights.

Last night was the Femtor Awards Gala. Many amazing women won awards for all their wonderful achievements. The most moving part of the evening was when Julie Rems-Smario was honored as the Humanitarian of the Year for her work as Executive Director of Bay Area’s non-profit DeafHope which helps Deaf survivors of domestic and sexual violence get the care and support needed to protect themselves and their children. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house!

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The talented group from Drum Cafe led us in a lively tribal drum circle to kick-off the festivities this morning. The room pulsed with energy and aliveness as all 2,000 of us banged away on our African drums while chanting this year’s conference them “Daring. Determined. Dynamic.” I loved when they had one half of the room drumming and the other side listened while having our hands touching the drum. We could “hear” their beat vibrating through to our fingertips. What a cool visceral way to experience a form of “dialogue.”

[tags]eWomen Network, women entrepreneurs, conference, drum circle[/tags]

Dreaming With Others

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The second retreat of the Cheryl’s Dreaming Big Leadership Program took place this past Thursday through Sunday in Michigan. The retreat focused on developing the skills of connection, communication and collaboration to facilitate dreaming with others.To prep for the retreat, we had a staff day on the ropes course the day before the participants arrived. That’s my co-leader and dear friend, Brighid, and me almost 30 feet in the air! This element is all about leaning into your partner in order to get across the wires. Brighid, Allen, Wallace and I had a great time swinging in the trees and learning about our group dynamics along the way!

The participants arrived on Thursday evening and we had a jam packed weekend of practicing new concepts and tools through experiential exercises and dialogue. To help the participants build trust and to get the learning “in their bones,” they also did a ropes course together including using teamwork to climb over a wall and doing partner activities in the trees.

Rain drizzled down on us through the treetop canopy, soaking our clothes but not our spirits. The group really rallied together to balance both the tasks at hand and the relationships despite slippery surfaces and tenuous interactions. By the end of the day, we all were exhausted and exhilarated. I was so inspired by the courage, collaboration and inner strength I witnessed in the participants as they faced their fears and overcame challenges.

By the end of the retreat, the group was really embodying all the concepts we covered ranging from checking out assumptions to having really difficult conversations in the service of deepening relationships. From now until August, the group will be doing partner projects to put their learnings into practice. I can’t wait to see what they each create from their collaboration!

[tags]leadership, Cheryl’s Dreaming Big, mental health, ropes courses, team building, life coaching, co-leading[/tags]

It’s Yoga Part 2

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Graduation day was last Friday – I am now a certified Ashtanga yoga instructor! The training was an amazing journey. Intense, exhausting, exhilarating, integrating, inspiring and feeling like coming home. I had no idea going into it how much it would align with the work I do as a coach, leader and artist. So many of the concepts and the ancient yogic philosophy resonates with much of CTI‘s coaching and leadership approach. The ideas of detaching from your inner critic, getting in touch with your inner teacher, letting go of expectations, practicing compassion, etc. are so universal. It’s another language/access point/modality for me to explore the same ideas with myself and with clients. I love that I now have a deeper appreciation for and understanding of the mind, body, heart, soul connection and how yoga helps integrate all of them.The other amazing aspect of the training was the incredible synchronicity that emerged. The third week we talked about manifesting our dreams and how yoga helps to quiet the mind so we can tap into our higher selves and access our dreams. So much of this related to what I use my wish boxes for. I ended up getting the chance to share my wish box with the circle and took them through a guided visualization. They liked it so much that they invited me to do this with future teacher trainings! I couldn’t believe it! As Larry says, “It’s Yoga!”

[tags]yoga, Ashtanga yoga, yoga teacher training, It’s Yoga, coaching, creativity, wish box, art visioning[/tags]

Dreaming Big

This past weekend was the first retreat of the year for the 2007 Cheryl’s Dreaming Big leadership program. Our plans were to head off to the retreat center in Michigan so we could do ropes courses on Saturday. We ended up staying in Chicago and holding the event at Brighid’s due to the severe weather in Michigan – 20 degrees F and below 0 windchill factor! We got creative and transformed her place into a “retreat center” complete with a Quiet Room, Library and a Cozy Corner.

The group is absolutely fantastic. They have already totally bonded as a community and are calling each other forth powerfully. Each of them had huge transformations in just the few days we were together. They even called Brighid and me forward by challenging us. It’s definitely busting my assumptions of what these retreats are “supposed” to look like and opening up new perspectives, which is great for me. I can’t wait to see how the rest of the year goes in the program.

[tags]leadership, Cheryl’s Dreaming Big, mental health, co-leadership, personal growth[/tags]

Lotus Blossom

Yesterday I led my first painting and collage art visioning class with five wonderful women. I met Cynthia at a holiday fair last month (she designs beautiful bead-embellished utensils and serving ware) and she asked if I would come to her house and hold a workshop for her and her friends. At first I thought, “Why is she asking me? I have no formal art training and would hardly consider myself an ‘art teacher.'” (Us coaches call that “gremlin talk!”) Her enthusiasm was contagious and I found myself saying, “Yes!”

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This is yet another example of where I’m so glad I said “Yes!” to a new opportunity even though I had know idea what to expect. The afternoon turned out to be full of fun, exploration, creativity and of course much laughter. We each created unique pieces that said something meaningful about ourselves.

I painted an image of a lotus blossom, which represents spiritual unfolding and enlightenment. The lotus flower starts of as a small bud at the bottom of a murky pond and then, drawn by the sunlight, slowly rises to the surface to unfurl its beautiful petals. I loved that symbol of ascending from the darkness and muck to opening and blooming in full elegant expression. Just like what happened when I moved from the initial doubt and fear about the workshop to stepping into the gifts that I bring. And now I want to hold more painting workshops to provide the time and space for women to tap into their creative essence.

The lotus flower symbol resonated so much with me that I now refer to my Unfolding Your Life Vision collage books as Lotus Blossom Books instead of plain old accordion books. The pages open up like petals on the lotus flower, bringing purpose, clarity and affirmation to your life vision.

[tags]painting, art, creativity, workshop, lotus blossom, visualization, life coaching, art visioning[/tags]

Map of the Human Heart

The year 2007 holds tremendous potential and I need a map to guide me on the adventure ahead. During a recent session with my coach, she had me visualize the landscape of my future vision. Where does creativity, fulfillment and, yes, even fear reside? What are the colors and sensations of this place? Where am I in this picture?

Using my notes and memories of this vivid place, I picked up my art supplies this morning and started mapping out my path on a large sheet of paper. I laid down colors and lines. The forest of fear was easy for me to depict (I know it well!). Yet, to my surprise the rest of the landscape came with ease as well. Words sprouted up in the different areas — “growth,” and “fertile ground,” in the spring grass, “flow” and “connection” in the river and of course “playful” and “friendship” in the pink flowers.

When I finished, I realized that this isn’t a map of foreign, unchartered territory. It is a map of my current journey and I’m on the right path of following my heart!

Go ahead and pack your bags — visitors are welcome! Where will your map take you? What features are in your landscape? What’s it like on your journey?

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[tags]creativity, life coaching, art, future vision, painting, art visioning[/tags]