WJA's "Women In the Know" Conference

On Friday, I took the day from work to attend the Women Jewelry Association's "Women In the Know" New York conference. Wow, what a motivating day! For anyone interested in joining the industry (or just need a boost of energy), the conference brought in some great speakers and topics including the following:

Susan Jacques opened the day with the inspiring story of her indirect path to becoming the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway and reporting directly to her current mentor, Warren Buffett (the wealthiest billionaire in the world).

Gail Blanke, President & CEO of Lifedesigns, is a best-selling author of motivational books including "In My Wildest Dreams" & "Between Trapezes: Flying into a New Life..." which has garnered her support and appearances on shows including Oprah. Choosing only one thing to incorporate in this blog about her, I found her words on "fact" vs. "interpretation" to be the most powerful. If all of us could truly remember to separate what we read or hear (which is fact in its raw form) and not let ourselves attach a negative "interpretation" (what we think that fact means), we could all be so productive and uninhibited in our efforts to freshly approach each day.

Debbie Goldstein of Triad Consulting & Harvard University's teaching team did an excellent interactive discussion on how to negotiate. More importantly, she focused on showing us how to alter your definition of "winning" - let "winning" be something for your opponent so that you can both win together and get the best possible outcome.

Bryan Dodge, Professional Speaker and Coach, finished the lectures of the day with a speech focusing on how to balance your personal and business life capitalizing on your best qualities. He had a few great recommendation and quotes for the day, but I thought I'd choose to share the following: "Good people appreciate what they have before they lose it, average people appreciate what they have after they lose it."

Lastly, we had some wonderful networking opportunities, a recognition ceremony of amazing women, and a moderated discussion panel of women in the industry. We even enjoyed breakout sessions on being a sole proprietor & entrepreneur, growing a designer jewelry business, entering the luxury market, dealing with both sexes in the office, and creating a public relations buzz for your line. Overall, a truly motivating, energizing, and great day to enjoy being in the jewelry industry and part of the women's jewelry association!