Create & Cultivate - L.A. Conference
Where there's a woman, there's a way!
Where do I start?!
This past Saturday, I had the amazing opportunity to attend Create and Cultivate's Los Angeles Conference. I was surrounded by move making, influential and inspiring, bad ass women, not to mention CHRISSY TEIGEN!!!
Graphic design above by Chloe Cecilia White
Create and Cultivate is an online platform and series of conferences that bring female entrepreneurs together and connects them with some of the best in various fields - I highly recommend checking the site out as well as attending a conference.
This year the conference was held at City Market Social House in Downtown LA and the C&C team did an amazing job designing + decorating the space!
I was placed in Track 2 and luckily so was my friend Rachael, from Entertain the Idea, so we got to experience and take everything in together (thaaaaank goodness!)
We knew ahead of time that our day was going to be jam packed and that there were going to be some awesome pop ups so we made a list of everything we wanted to hit and which panels we didn't want to miss.
As soon as we walked in, we were given a cute notebook and pen then headed to breakfast provided by Noosa and HealthAde Kombucha.
Rachael and I decided to skip the first panel and head to the pop ups where we got some really cute giveaways and I bought a Slip pillowcase (that I have been dying to get!).
Panel Time!
Our first panel of the day was "Body Positive - The new brands & babes breaking stereotypes & making bank". The boss babes that spoke were: Tess Holiday, Danika Brysha, Jessamyn Stanley, Ericka Hart and Mama Cáx. I had seen a few of them on commercials and social media before but didn't know much about them BUT let me just say, I loved this panel and they were one of my favorites! They spoke from the heart, were so real and didn't hold back on their thoughts. They told us that we needed to live our truth no matter what it looked like or shape or color it came in. They all said in one way or another that if we were our authentic selves, success would follow (*this seemed to be a theme that carried on throughout the day).
We went to the next panel, had lunch, explored some more, broke out into our mentor groups (I had Mr. Kate (Kate Albrecht) & Robin Li) and then joined C+C's CEO Jaclyn Johnson and Molly Sims for a discussion about 'Work Party'!
The big takeaways from this discussion were to enjoy what you do, be your own boss, and "Be a f*cking pleasure to work with"! I never knew how much I loved Molly Sims!
One of the panels that I was most excited for was up next, "Brand Queen Bees - Started with a concept now they're here". This panel was made up of: Anine Bing (Anine Bing), Justina Blakeney (The Jungalow), Katie Rosen Kitchens (FabFitFun), Gwendolyn Floyd (Soko), Page Williams (LinkedIn), Anne Reilly (Mott50), and Taylor Frankel (Nudestix). I have been a total fan girl of the Jungalow's Justina Blakeney ever since I came across her work and she was even cooler and bad ass in person!
She gave some of the best advice of the day:
We hit one last panel with Nina Dobrev, Arielle Vandenberg (follow her!), Aimee Song, Maria Hatzistefan and Julia Engel that spoke on having a million plus followers.
“Whatever you have been dreaming of doing... take the first step!!!”
“Good people find good people. ”
FINALLY...the moments we have all been waiting for... the Key Note Speakers!!!!
Up first was Lauren Conrad and Hannah Skvarla! Lauren is one of my career idols and I'm so happy I got the chance to hear her speak. These two women are so down to earth, and just overall good people. They spoke about their non profit - The Little Market and how they empower female artisans around the world, the importance of fair trade and fair wage.
How do you top Lauren Conrad and Hannah Skvarla... well you follow them with CHRISSY TEIGEN AND JEN ATKIN! Holy Moly, when Create and Cultivate announced these two as key note speakers, I just about lost my mind!
Chrissy is so authentic and real and I think that's truly why so many people love her. She told us to speak our minds..., to "say it but be ready for what it's going to bring...it's really important to say what you believe".
She spoke about her life, juggling her work and schedule and how it's so important to be excited to go to work everyday. Chrissy broke it down and said you have to grow and learn what makes you happy. She said we all have to go through the points where you can't say no and do things you may not love but you have to be smart about things - you don't know who you're going to meet, who will see your work or what you will learn. The point will come where you will be able to say 'no' but you have to grind, pay your dues and put yourself out there first.
Jen said something at one point in the conversation that really made me stop and think, she said, we grow and change with age and through the different life stages we go through and that we have to stop climbing ladders and start jumping lily pads -- I'm curious on your thoughts and what this means to you -- let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Alright, last but definitely not least was Kim Kardashian West. Love her or hate her, this girl hustles and makes the bank to prove it!
Kim stressed the importance of focusing on what you want to do business wise and not to put too much on your plate. She said it's important to focus on a few things and make them great opposed to working on five things and having them turn out mediocre.
Key Points:
- Don’t make excuses.
- Be involved in EVERY part of your business.
- Be on time.
- Have a great team and surround yourself with a solid group of people.
- Value experiences more than possessions.
- DON'T be lazy!
At the end of this incredible day, I left grateful for all of the women I met, the speakers that shared their stories and extremely confident in the path that I want to pursue.
I will definitely be going to the next L.A. conference - Will I see you there?
Cheers!
Ashlee
