The Women's Congress!

Today I had the opportunity to attend DAY One of The Women's Congress, held at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami, Florida.

The overall theme of the event is "Your Network, Your Success." The purpose of the event was to be a catalyst for your success as a leader and entrepreneur and showcase the commanding buying power of businesswomen across industries, disciplines, careers and cultures.

The first words to come to my mind are INSPIRING, ENERGIZING and ENTHUSIASITIC.

Inspiring because of all the great presenters who spoke on a variety of topics. The ones I had the chance to listen to were:

Suzanne Bates who shared her strategies for "How to Speak Like a CEO"

Lena West who talked about Social Media for Entrepreneurs

and Vicki Donlan spoke about "Why it's Time for Women to Lead!"

Some of the programs I would like to have heard included and didn't have time for (I was too busy networking):

Back to Basics, Innovative Direct Mai, PR and Promotional Strategies for Increased Business Growth with Marsha Friedman and Joy Gendusa

Getting the Green Light: The Art and Science of Closing the Deal with Joy Baldridge

Fashion Meets Math with Janet Wood and Kathy McFadden of Fashion Fit Formula

I was ENERGIZED by all the amazing women I met and/or reconnected with including my dear friend Susie Levan, Publisher of Balance Magazine, Mark and Mira Halpert of 3D Learner, Nicole Wild of You're One in a Million, Linda Peterson of Peterson Harley Davidson, Lorna Owens, Author, Megan Connolly of Medelia Communications, Lisa Cherry-Perks, of the Opus Group, Rita Poyo of Women Presidents Organization, Marj Weber of Score Miami, Cheryl Culbertson, Coach, Jan Knight of Women's Wealth Strategies, Louise Harber of BizLanguages.com, Judith Glazer of Benchmark Communications, Kay Cioffi of Tex Zen, Susanna Goldstein, MD of Brain Aerobics, Bradley Clark of Living Celebrations, and Kamila Velan of Ethical Markets Media.

In additon, I (and several other attendees) enthusiastically swung a few clubs with Teresa Zamboni and Lynn Stellman of Ladies Links Fore Golf and listened to 3 great keynote presentions by Lisa Bodell of Future Think, Cordia Harrington, The Bun Lady and Rosa Sugrañes, Founder of Iberia Tile.

All in all, it was time well spent and I cannot wait until Mary Wong, Karen Vogel, Chyai Mulberg, and their team of professionals put the next one on! You can be sure I will be there. Who knows, they may even let me speak ...

Warmest regards,

Heidi