On March 24th I will be at a workshop that is close to my heart- “Girl Boss Workshop”. My gal Ashley Green organized this event for business women of Prince Edward Island and it is an excellent occasion for networking and learning.

You can buy your tickets and find more details about the speakers and event here.

This workshop is first of its kind and I wanted to know more about what is going on behind the scenes and how this whole idea was born. If you are curious too, go ahead and read an interview with Ashley, the organizer of the Girl Boss Workshop.

How did you come up with the idea of a Workshop?

Ashley:

When I first took over the Girl Boss Group in October 2017, I started organizing small get togethers for coffee, games, drinks, etc. After a couple casual meet-ups, we started talking about incorporating more structure. So I sent out a short survey to find out what people were looking to get out of the group and it became evident that learning was a primary demand. Recently I ran a poll in the group to see what type of things members would like the learn and then from there I began researching speakers.

What do you hope to achieve through this workshop?

Ashley:

I hope to bring our Girl Boss Community, which is 350+ members strong right now, closer together. I want to help build relationships while also empowering everyone to grow their respective businesses through education and partnerships! The business community on PEI is powerful. We preach a lot of “community over competition” talk over on the Girl Boss group, so this is a great opportunity to learn from and alongside others in your industry.

Who do you think this workshop would be useful for?

Ashley:

No matter what stage of business you’re in you can always use more education in these areas. Early on, perhaps you won’t understand some terminology but it will all become clear as you go. I also want this to be an interactive experience for everyone, where you can feel free to ask questions and tailor the experience to your needs. This is the perk to having such a small group of entrepreneurs.

What did you learn while organizing this event?

Ashley:

I’m still learning! There are so many things I hadn’t considered and tools that I am using for the first time. It’s a lot of fun! I am learning that there’s a demand for more subjects to be covered though and a need for these workshops to happen more frequently.

Will there be more events of this kind?

Ashley:

Yes! My initial thought was to have this be an annual event, but as I proceed it’s becoming clearer to me that twice per year would be ideal. Once this event is over, I’ll be posting another survey to see what everyone thought of the format, speakers, etc. Then I will take that information as work towards improving the event

What was your process choosing the speakers?

Ashley:

I’ve watched the group closely to see who was being recommended frequently, and who was helping others the most. I also attended a series of local workshops at StartUp Zone in search of relevant speakers. Once I complied a list I reached out and was pleasantly surprised when everyone was eager to present! Not only is it a great opportunity for attendees, but it’s an opportunity for the presenters to position themselves as an industry expert, and continue to grow their business. I’m very excited for our day!

What activities are happening during the workshop?

Ashley:

Registration is at 9:45 sharp and we’ll be starting the day with bar1911 coffee, tea, and local juices supplied by Glow Juicery! Our first speaker is Chelsey Lake at 10:00. She’ll be covering Facebook Advertising, where to start, how do we decide what audience to target? How much to spend? For this we’d love for attendees to have their computers and Facebook ready to go. I’ll be posting some exercises to help prepare people in the coming weeks. After Chelsey we’ll be hearing from Suzanne Scott and Kim Roach, our fearless Etsy Team PEI Leaders! We’re keeping this open and interactive as a Q&A period that will run into lunch. For lunch we’ll be enjoying sandwiches, veggie trays, and salads from bar1911, and the bar will be open for whatever your beverage desires may be ;) After lunch, at 1:00 Cassandra Bernard will take the floor to teach us about Social Media and how to plan for success! Cassandra manages many social media accounts, including Glow Juicery, our juice sponsor! One of the leading topics I see on the Girl Boss group is women looking for bookkeeping recommendations and suggestions on time management. So Joyce Boles from Back to Back will be answering our burning questions and sharing some tips to set us up for success from 2:00-3:00 followed by Sara Roach-Lewis speaking about Time Management. Sarah uses a technique called the 90 day switch to show you how to make more money in less time so you can grow your business quickly and profitably. I sat in on Sarah’s presentation at the Startup Zone recently and was blown away by the simple changes she suggested that made a noticeable impact on my productiveness. And lastly, at 4:00, I’ll take over to chat with everyone about my passion, design! I often get asked where to start with design when launching a new company, or how to “rebrand” an established company - so I’ll be doing a deep dive on where to start and how to keep your brand and identity fresh so you can avoid a total overhaul down the road. I don’t often get to share my design knowledge outside of the design world and one-on-one with clients, so I’m nervous and excited to chat with everyone! There will be a variety of designers in attendance, so I’ll also be introducing them so there’s a large pool of designers to approach for your needs in the future. Everything should be wrapping up by about 5:00 assuming all goes as planned. I think we’ll all need a rest after all that learning!!