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Mission
PWCC provides networking connections that support, enrich
and
inspire women to advance professionally and personally.
Goals
PWCC brings professional women together in a variety of
networking venues to share knowledge, experiences, and
resources with other women. Members have access to:
* Facilitated networking opportunities at monthly speaker luncheons
* Special member-only events
* Committee activities
* Board participation
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Beyond Mainstream: Creating Change
Jodi Bondi Norgaard, Founder of Go! Go! Sports Girls
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
Union League Club of Chicago, 65 West Jackson Blvd.
11:30 am-1:30 pm
$40 members | $60 non-members | $0 Premier Members and Sponsors,
but RSVP is requested.
Must register by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February 9th or the price increases by $10.
Register here.
Hear Jodi's entrepreneurial journey of challenging the status quo, achieving goals, and becoming a leader in breaking gender stereotypes. Jodi will discuss how to market for social good and the necessary combination of passion, determination, perseverance and grit needed to create change while running a successful business. Initially industry leaders dismissed her product because a sports doll was not mainstream. "Girls want fashion dolls," she heard, over and over. Jodi was not convinced and knew mainstream ideas never create change. By 2015, she made significant strides and her product was launched in Walmart stores.
Jodi is the founder of Dream Big Toy Company and the creator of the award-winning Go! Go! Sports Girls line of dolls, books and apps for girls encouraging healthy and active play over fashion and body image. Jodi is a keynote speaker, entrepreneur, activist, and consultant in the movement pushing media and retail to do a better job portraying girls beyond stereotypes.
Jodi is a leader in the toy industry breaking gender stereotypes since 2009, when she launched the plush sports dolls built in specification to a real girl's body. Her inspiration came in 2007 after shopping for a doll with her then 9-year-old daughter and finding a doll with belly baring clothing, high heels and make-up, named 'Lovely Lola.' Jodi knows girls are strong, smart and adventurous and the importance of emphasizing what a girl's body can do versus what her body looks like.
She has been featured on national media including The Today Show, The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson, Forbes, Upworthy, Parents, Shape, Self, Runner's World, Advertising Age, Good Housekeeping, Chicago Tribune, New York Times, and Huffington Post. In 2016, Jodi was invited by The White House to participate in a conference on breaking down gender stereotypes in media and toys.
She is a board member of Girls on the Run - Chicago, a board member of Kaskey Kids an award-winning line of sports action figures, and is a founding member of The Brave Girl Alliance, a think tank of girl empowerment experts. In October 2016 the Go! Go! Sports Girls brand was acquired by Jazwares, an established cutting edge toy company.
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Night at the Spa
Registration open, space is limited - click
here
to register.
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Sponsorship Opportunities
The Special Events committee would like to extend the following Spa Event Sponsorship Opportunities to those interested in supporting PWCC.
Each sponsorship level will be limited to 2 sponsors on a first come, first served basis. Sponsorship dollars will be used to purchase Spa gift certificates of equal value that will be offered as raffle prizes to members who attend the spa event.
Sponsorship levels are as follows:
- $300 - complimentary spa registration and treatments for 1 representative from your company plus offerings at $200 + $100 sponsorship level
- $200- your company logo on all marketing/advertising efforts: PWCC website, eblasts, FB/linkedin posts and onsite event + offerings at $100 sponsorship level
- $100 - your company collateral placed into goody bags for all attending members
All interested sponsors, please email
admin@pwcc.org
by February 20, 2018.
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Strong is the New Beautiful
This year I will be stronger, braver, kinder, unstoppable, and FIERCE. How does that sound for a 2018 goal? I am looking forward to February's PWCC luncheon speaker Jodi Bondi Norgaard, who will motivate us to challenge
the status quo, achieve our goals, and become leaders in breaking gender stereotypes. Not only are these important lessons for us, but also for the young women in our lives. What follows are some ways you can
commit to choosing to be while shedding negative stereotypes about body image.
30 minutes of exercise can have a positive effect on a woman's body image.
Think about how amazing you feel after you work out: There's nothing like crushing 3 sets of squats to make you forget what others think of your jiggly thighs. Join a sports team or mind-body fitness class like Yoga or Pilates that require developing a more sensitive awareness. This could help you realize there's more to your body than just the way it looks.
Re-connect with how awesome your body is for what it can do.
My body can ... heal when it is cut or broken, shut down when I go to sleep, dance, ride a bike, balance, carry my weight, walk, skip, run and jump...breathe.
Catch your negative thoughts.
When you start to have negative or insecure thoughts, make a mental note or write it in your journal. Think about the circumstances contributing to this particular thought. What triggered it? How did it make you feel? Sometimes, just writing down an unwanted thought can help shrink it down to size.
Try some journaling exercises to remind you how awesome you are.
- I was really happy when...
- Something that my friends like about me is...
- I'm proud of...
- My family is happy when I...
- At work, I'm good at...
- Something that makes me unique is...
Be Fearless.
Think about it, how many of your fears have ever come true?
Research has shown that more than 80% of our worries or fears NEVER HAPPEN. Now it's important not to confuse fear with forward planning - because there may be times where it's sensible for us to plan ahead and even look at worst case scenarios. This is required to help us prepare for possible future events. However, once we have mentally prepared ourselves for some aspects of our future, we need to stop trying to control it. It's only when we allow our imagined worst-case scenarios to repeat cycle inside our heads that we become fearful.
Turn the Ordinary into the Extraordinary.
You truly are an adventurous spirit: unleash your curiosity and live your own life of everyday adventures. Consider ways to volunteer your time to help others become adventurous. If you enjoy working with children, you could volunteer for Girls on the Run or a similar organization geared toward helping girls realize their full potential.
Remember to be fierce and sparkle and emphasize what a body can do rather than what a body looks like.
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Can You Be an Entrepreneur?
So things are beginning to go sour at work or
you just can't face working within your current business environment for much longer. Should you start networking to find a new job or jump off the working-for-someone-else boat and develop your own company?
Certainly, we're hearing more about people pursuing a passion they have to develop a firm and the growing gig economy that has inspired sites like Upwork that connect entrepreneurs with people seeking specific services.
Do you have what it takes to make this transition to self-employment? Are you inspired by things that have never been done before or things that have yet to be discovered? Do you have a vision that nobody else does? Do you have the makeup to create something unique and offer it to the world? In other words, can you be an entrepreneur?
Continue reading...
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How about incorporating a little networking into your healthy lifestyle?
If you are a regular at a gym or yoga studio or pursue other active endeavors, congratulations you are already prioritizing yourself and your well-being! But there's another benefit to a healthy lifestyle that we often overlook: an opportunity to expand your network with people who you already share something in common. It can be easy to miss out here as we just aren't thinking about networking while we are in our 'workout' mode.
Case in point, I have been to the same Tuesday night spin class for about six months and never exchanged more than a 'I'm wiped out too' smile with the red-headed woman who usually was on the bike next to mine. Last week, I noticed she was wearing a shirt from a bike tour I had been on and we struck up a conversation. It turned out she was a freelance digital video editor and I have a colleague who was looking for help on a tricky project. I connected them and now they are talking about how to work together.
Unlike approaching a room full of strangers at a conference or networking event, you'll find it can be relatively easy and comfortable to start a conversation with someone new in your shared healthy habits 'sphere'. Of course, you need to be considerate and appropriate . . .we all know not to start chatting while someone is focusing on their workout or in their underwear in the locker room. Below are some tips to put to work recently shared at the recent PWCC Best Face Forward event by member Jennifer T Holmes in her Initial Contact and Conversation Starters mini-clinic. (Thanks Jennifer!)
Jennifer's acronym is CAR (Putting you in the drivers' seat)
- C: offer a sincere Compliment (Easy right?! E.g. That's a cute yoga mat; I love the color of bike; you have a great serve)
- A: Ask genuine questions (Again, an easy segue E.g. Have you tried other classes here; who is your favorite instructor; do you have recommendations to help me improve . . .)
- R: Relate to the person (There's lots of common ground E.g. I also pulled my hamstring, I know it's hard to find time to get here when your kids are at home, I tried that technique too)
Have fun and stay active!
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6 Challenges Every Entrepreneur Faces and How to Conquer them
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Are you a new or aspiring entrepreneur? Are you driven to become an entrepreneur and doing it because you have a vision to "save your soul", gain freedom, make more money, or all of the above?
Many who make it through the growing pains of entrepreneurship never look back, make more money, and have a higher level of fulfillment and satisfaction. Can this happen for you?
Of course it can! Yes you will face challenges as an entrepreneur but there are ways to conquer them and prosper. But remember: your success will not be an accident. It will happen on purpose because you will make it happen.
To be successful, you need to first condition yourself and your mindset for and work make it happen every single day. And the first step to success is being clear on your mission -- your why -- and integrate it into everything you do.
To help you anticipate your journey, here are the six meta entrepreneurial challenges you are most likely to face and how to overcome them:
1. Your Passion + Desired Product or Service + Transaction = Business
90% of businesses fail the first year because they are only delusions of a business. A business is a two-part transaction:
- You have something people want (product or service) that you feel passionate about it.
- People want this product or service and are willing to give you something you want ($$$) in return for it. If your business doesn't help people, doesn't provide a solution, or doesn't give people something they want, then your business will not make it.
Pick a business that is transactional and about which you feel passionate and your work as an entrepreneur will be easier. Remember one very important thing: your customers aren't buying a product, they are buying you. Always remember to deliver what you have promised and add value at every step.
Continue reading...
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 Kris Martinez, President and Creative Director of Martinez Creative Group, is honored to be awarded as a Champion in Enterprising Women Magazine's 2018 Enterprising Women of the Year Awards. The awards are an annual tribute to the world's top women entrepreneurs. The award winners and champions will be recognized at the 16th Annual Enterprising Women of the Year Awards Celebration & Conference in March 2018 at The Four Seasons Hotel in Miami, Florida.
Learn more about the Enterprising Women of the Year Awards here.
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Calling all PWCC Members!
Do you have some news to share? Do you have a recent accomplishment that you'd like to highlight? Submit your professional or personal news to
admin@pwcc.org for consideration in an upcoming newsletter. It's a great way to share your accomplishments and continue to build and grow your PWCC Connections.
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Upcoming Events!
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
March Networking Luncheon
Alphas Leading Alphas: Leading and Winning with Strong Women
Amber Stocks, General Manager and Coach of The Chicago Sky
11:30 am - 1:30 p.m.
Union League Club of Chicago
Thursday, March 22, 2018
Members' Only Cultural Event at The Conservation Center
400 N Wolcott Ave., Chicago
5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
See all upcoming events
here.
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Connections & Conversations
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All First Timers, Experienced Members and Guests are Welcome.
Join us at 11am, prior to every luncheon at the Union League Club, to learn about the Professional Women's Club of Chicago and membership engagement. Ask questions, participate in discussions about PWCC, and network during this brief, 30-minute meeting.
Our next Connections & Conversations Event is on Wednesday, February 14 at 11am
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Please join PWCC in welcoming these new members who joined during January 2018:
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Andrea Blaylock
Cargill
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Nicole Casaletto
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Margo Fornes
Ductus Group Inc.
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Jill Glaser
Make Up First, LLC
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Mary Go
Walgreens Company
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Megan Hagans
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
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Rebecca Juhant
First Midwest Bank
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Julia Kline
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Margaret Manetti
Codilis & Associates, P.C.
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Abby Rath
Preferred Hotels
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Kelly Ryan
Wintrust Commercial
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Lauren Shanley, SAP
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Traci Weiss
NextGen Global Resources
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New Members:
Be sure to look for our New Member Ambassadors with their Red Ribbons affixed to their nametags at our next luncheon. The Ambassadors are keen to help you feel welcome, comfortable, and introduce you to opportunities available within PWCC.
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All reservations for the monthly luncheons are requested
no later than 5:00 p.m. the Friday before the luncheon.
Anyone reserving after Friday, February 9th, at 5:00 p.m. is subject to a $10 late charge and seating availability.
Please help PWCC and the Union League Club make the monthly luncheon experience a great one and reserve on time and observe their dress code policy.
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