The Atelier Collective Review
This past Thursday I attended The Atelier Collective conference hosted at the Ravine Estate Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake. The Atelier Collective is a conference designed specifically to offer women a day of professional development and inspiration in a beautiful, energizing space. Founded by female entrepreneurs Taryn Herritt and Angela Osborne, they recognized a major gap across industries for this type of collaborative event and decided to design their own. After hearing about it from my friend Brit, I jumped at the opportunity to be exposed to a group of successful women across various industries, network with like-minded women, and spend the day with Brit, a close friend who also is helping me build my own brand.
The day was jam-packed with panels, networking breaks and amazing snacks. I’m still decompressing from it all and as I do I’ve started my list of key takeaways that I hope you too can benefit from.
1. Priority list instead of a to-do list. We all have a never-ending to-do list that can continue to grow and overwhelm us. Rather than continuing to add to that list create a priority list. Things get completed based upon importance rather than where they fall on the list.
2. Strategy versus tactics. Identify what it is you want to accomplish and where you want to be and then implement the stepping stones (tactics) to get the ball rolling. It is one thing to identify what it is you want to be doing but it is another to actually take the action to get there.
3. Collaboration instead of cooperation. Finding ways to work together and complement one another is better than just coexisting and cooperating. Sometimes it takes a conscious effort to talk things through with other women rather than competing alongside. We can all achieve when we understand where each other stands and work together.
4. Have confidence! Be as confident as men are when they look in the mirror. As women, we have a tendency to undervalue ourselves and look first to the negatives within us. Be confident, be proud of your skills, recognize your hard work, take pride in all that you know.
5. Give before you ask. As you begin to build a brand and business there may be times that you have to ask for help, support, or expertise by others. Remember to always make time to give to others. Relationships and support go both ways and it is important to make time to give.
6. Understand your strengths, recognize your weaknesses. No one person is good at everything. As much as it is important to understand your strengths, you also need to recognize your weaknesses and recruit help and support as needed to fill in the gaps. At the start, it might be a one-person show but as you can, begin to focus your energy on your strengths and outsource the skills you need more assistance with.
7. Get closer to your sun. The sun is your end goal. Although we may make small steps forward or lateral movements, always ensure your next move is moving towards your sun. Not all moves are going to be drastic but they should all be positive steps towards your ultimate achievement.
8. Fail forward. Not everything you do will be a success the first time around. Take your failures and learn from it. Whether the outcome is a success or failure, make sure it helps propel you forward to your next step, goal, or achievement.
9. Comparison is the thief of joy. Don’t waste your time comparing yourself to others, especially when it is so easy to do with social media. Celebrate and elevate others who are successful. Be proud of yourself and acknowledge where you are at presently. Work hard and learn from the success of those you admire. One person’s success doesn’t devalue your own joy, pride, and success.
After being in that space with 300+ powerful, smart, inspiring and like-minded women, I’m hooked and can’t wait for the next one! There is need for more events like this in our community don’t you think? I look forward being a part of future events where we bring women together to celebrate, inspire, and learn from one another in a positive, energetic, inclusive environment.
“Fear, you can overcome by embracing it and allowing it to motivate you to move forward.”
Yours in self-discovery,
Rachel