Some of you may know that I am the leader of the Lafayette TuesdaysTogether for the Rising Tide Society. If you are unfamiliar with the Rising Tide Society, it is a group for all creative entrepreneurs and small business owners. The Rising Tide Society's goal and mission is to educate and empower creatives to thrive in the spirit of community over competition. The TuesdaysTogether groups are a way for us to come together in local communities across the world and help empower each other. There are over 350 TuesdayTogether groups across the world, which is so amazing!
All of the TuesdaysTogether leaders got together on Monday and Tuesday to meet and learn and it was amazing! We all couldn't make it but there were about 150 of us there! We gathered in San Francisco at the HoneyBook office and The Westin and it was a blast!
We were lucky enough to have the amazing Laura and Rachel (who are leaders and amazing photographers) take photos throughout the retreat so ALL of the images that you see in this blog post are from them! I packed light and didn't even end up taking my camera so I am so glad that they volunteered their time to take these amazing images for us! Be sure to check them out and follow them! www.lauraandrachel.com @_laurahernandez @_rachelbench
The day started out early on Monday and we all gathered in the HoneyBook office for breakfast and mimosas! HoneyBook's office is BEYOND gorgeous! So many windows, amazing furniture, and amazing people! Side note: HoneyBook's office used to be Twitter's second location and is located in the heart of Silicon Valley.
So many mimosas, powered by the amazing One Hope wines!
We learned a lot on day one and heard from Natalie and a few of the local TuesdaysTogether leaders.
Of course we couldn't gather together without a group photo!
We also got to hear from HoneyBook's co-founders!
Day 1 ended with us breaking up into small groups and brainstorming ways to make it easier for leaders and members to connect. We all came up with apps and we presented them to each other and the HoneyBook product specialists. After this we headed back to our hotels and got ready for the 80's cocktail party which featured tons of neon and conversation!
We started day 2 off at The Westin and the day started off with tons of tears! So many moving stories from Natalie, the diversity panel, and other leaders! I am pretty sure every single one of us had wet eyes!
After lunch we broke out into smaller groups and participated in fun little workshops! I was in a workshop with Joni and she shared her knowledge of cocktail mixing with us! We made Manhattans and Mai Tais! YUM! Follow Joni at www.mintandmirth.com and @mintandmirth
We ended the day with the lovely Jenna Kutcher! She stripped down, physically and mentally, to show us that we're not alone as entrepreneurs, we all live in yoga pants with our hair up and pour our hearts and souls in our businesses and that it's okay to show our flaws. She also made sure that there was not a dry eye in the audience!
Lastly, I'll leave you with these two images of Natalie that really sum up all of the feelings that we all had during the retreat! Right after Natalie said her goodbyes I had to run off to the airport to catch my flight so, sadly, I didn't get to say goodbye to everyone. To all of you who were at the retreat, it was so great to meet you all! Until next year! :)
To close, I wanted to leave links to all of the amazing sponsors who donated items and their time for each of us!
Lexie Balanza with Locale 58
Words & Such
