I finally went to Banff

When I was 16, my folks went to Banff Canada. I stayed home because I had a job and couldn't get the time off. When my folks got back, they waxed rhapsodic about the views and were so excited that I was disappointed I missed it. Well, 24 years later, I made up for it. I'm in this amazing group called the Women President's Organization. They exist to put women together that run businesses over $1Million in revenue. One of their groups is for women who run businesses that are larger in size. I'm in this breakout group of 14 women with businesses ranging from liquor to large-scale software installations to contractors specializing in disaster recovery. 

It is inspiring to be around women who do amazing things both for their communities and also balance families and vibrant lives. Pictured above with me are Paloma (talent management) and Sue (wealth management). The group is all women who founded businesses themselves and, one of the requirements is that you cannot be fired. So, you control your destiny, you call the shots and all the pressure for the success of the business ultimately rests with you. 

While business is rewarding and can be, at times, exhilarating, being in business can be confusing, scary and lonely at times. This group meets 3X a year for 3 days to talk about the issues surrounding business and do education. Members come from all over the world and so our meetings take place everywhere. This latest trip was in a Banff, British Columbia. It was a gorgeous place though - to me - looked a lot like Lake Samish. 

See - like Lake Samish =) The kids stay busy while I'm gone - Chris had them out at the lake the entire time I was gone to Banff, even spending the night on the dock.  

Because of the way flights worked, we had an extra half day in Banff so we decided to explore. 

We hiked to this amazing lake - Lake Louise - and went all the way to the top where there was (improbably) this tea hut. They boil water from the stream (for real!) to make the tea and the workers sleep at the top of the mountain in 1 week shifts. We had SO much fun hiking, laughing and talking business.

The actual education portion of the weekend was all about setting up sales teams, and properly compensating and incentivizing. Since Bramble Berry doesn't have formal sales teams, it was an interesting exercise to listen to and think about how we could implement something that worked for our customers and the type of business we have. 

The gal on the left? That's Jackie and she runs an amazing clothing design company (you've worn her clothes; you just don't know it). She flies in from the East Coast to all the meetings. 

Just like raising a family, it takes a village to have a successful business and I am so thankful for this group - and for an amazingly committed home support team (Hi Chris!) that keeps it all going while I'm away.