My Experience at the IGNITE! Damsels In Success conference, November 2013

I had a fantastic weekend at the IGNITE! Damsels in Success conference the weekend before last (23 & 24 November), so I thought I’d share a little of it with you.

I’m still typing up my notes that I took from the weekend, as I know otherwise I’ll go back to review them and wonder what on earth I wrote (my handwriting wasn’t exactly the neatest as I scribbled down notes).

Anyway, I digress.

Firstly, I should explain what the event was all about, and to do that, I’ll let Lucie explain:

“…If you’re a heart-centred female entrepreneur who believes in investing in YOU and that personal growth & business growth go hand in hand…

And you consider yourself a Leader who wants to be part of a legacy that pioneers the way women live & work.

Then imagine spending 2 intimate days with the most incredible women – the ‘who’s who’ of the Women’s Personal Growth industry – learning, laughing, growing together. It’s a truly transformational weekend where you’ll also discover how to…

–       Work less & do (lots) more

–       Adopt our ‘Success with Ease’ philosophy so you can have the time of your life AND have an amazing business.

–       Build a business that supports your lifestyle not fit your life around your business.

–       Find shortcuts to stand out from the crowd – raise your visibility, your credibility & your profitability

–       Re-invent your “self image” and be able to express more of it in the world through your purpose and identity.

–       Pinpoint your unique blend of gifts so you stand out in a crowded market place

–       Create an efficient and leveraged business model to bring you more business & more balance

–       Develop your personal brand so it’s reflects your DNA, totally in-line with your purpose & values

–       Heal visibility issues so that you’re excited to come out of hiding and shine your light in the world

–       Re-invent the way you (& all women) live & work in the future

And much, much more…”

(that’s just a small part from the sales page)

Something (well, a lot of things!) about the sales page spoke to me. You know when you’ve read sales pages before and you get bored about 2 minutes and it’s all about “I made millions in 5 seconds, and look at my flashy car…” – that doesn’t work for me.

But I felt inspired and excited, and there was an early bird special offer, so I went for it! I hadn’t done any personal development for ages, so thought it was high time I did something.

So that weekend I drove from Bristol to Birmingham so that I could be a part of this IGNITE! event.

As I said, it had been a long time since I had done anything like this, and I was there by myself. So I went off to the registration desk, and saw all these people that were happy to see each other and greeting each other enthusiastically. It only took a moment or 2 before I was also included in this, and a big thank you to Niki, Ruth & Natasha for grabbing me and chatting to me at the very beginning to make me feel even more welcome. I don’t think I’ve ever been hugged so much over the weekend, and it was great!

The whole atmosphere was one of supportiveness, enthusiasm, camaraderie, trust, and empowerment. I actually felt safe to share my ideas about this website, and receive positive feedback. I’d read an article a few days beforehand that once again emphasised the importance of having the ‘right’ people around you, which is something that I’ve realised is lacking at the moment. I have great friends, don’t get me wrong, but the vast majority (if not all of them) are of the mindset that you get a job, have a family, retire, the end. None of them are particularly entrepreneurial, preferring the ‘safe’ option of having a job and working for someone else (I say this; I am still in that ‘safe’ place too, but I am looking for my way out, and would love some support along the way).

So I felt like I was in the right place with the right people.

If you’ve read this far, then I would assume that you’d like to hear about the content of the event? Let’s get to it!

On Day One we heard from:

–       Lucie Bradbury, Damsels In Success Founder

–       Abi Griffiths – Lesson In Authenticity

–       Michelle Clarke, Damsels In Success Director, Cardiff

–       Natalee Tucker, Damsels In Success Director, Bexleyheath

–       Loral Langemeier, Wealth Diva, Millionaire Maker Mastermind (and also featured in The Secret)

–       Julie Foster, Damsels In Success Director, Stevenage

–       Lucie (again!)

–       Katharine Dever – Get Your Gift Out Globally & Change the World!

–       Then a Q&A panel with some of the speakers

Part of the event was to promote Damsels In Success, which is a UK-based community that has several groups that meet once a month (www.DamselsInSuccess.co.uk for more information).

On the evening of Day One, we were invited to a networking event with a difference, so instead of a business-card-swapping fest (boring!), we were joined by Rock Choir (www.RockChoir.com) and we had a great evening of singing with a little bit of dancing thrown in! I then went off to bed as I had a headache, but judging by the photos, a lot of friendly feminine networking went on (you know, where people chat as people, not just shouting & waving business cards around).

Day Two arrived swiftly, and we got to hear from:

–       Bernadette Doyle, The step by step plan to a business & life you love.

–       Lucie (as she was MCing the event as well as sharing valuable tips throughout the days)

–       Lulu Mungur, Damsels In Success Director, Salisbury

–       Diana Barden, Damsels In Success Director, Cambridge

–       Dan Bradbury – How to grow your business by 504% in the next 90 days

–       Carolyn, a Damsels In Success meeting attendee that applied to tell her story at this event (we were offered the option to apply for 2 speaking slots at the event).

–       Ruth, a Damsels In Success meeting attendee that applied to tell her story at this event

–       Lucie again, this time talking about visibility

–       Daf Schofield, Damsels In Success Director, Cowbridge

–       Laura Doyle – Surrendered Wife, Cherished For Life

Then the day ended, and after chatting for a while we all started to drift away, ready to journey home.

Photos of the event are on the Damsels In Success Facebook page (& I managed not to be in any of them!)

I did a lot of thinking in the car on the way home, about how much I had enjoyed the weekend, how much it made a difference to be around those that understand your dreams & support you in them, & how nice it had been to be welcomed. It really was a excellent weekend for so many reasons, not just the content delivered by the excellent speakers.

Suffice to say, I shall be going again next year!

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