Top 3 Takeaways from Bizwomen Mentoring Mondays -

Last Monday, I had the privilege of attending the Austin Business Journal’s BizWomen Mentoring Monday event for female founders. As a first-timer, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but wow, did it deliver! See top 3 takeaways from Mentoring Mondays below.

Mentors I met:

Elizabeth Davis – Founder & President, Authentic Impact LLC
Kristin Ashley – VP, Partnerships, Everlywell
Jennifer Stevens – Founder & Pres., JHL
Oksana Malysheva – CEO, Sputnik ATX
Gay Gaddis – Founder & CEO, T3
Jeanette Ward – COO, Texas Mutual Insurance
Chris Plonsky – SR Associate Athletics Director/ Chief of Staff, The University of Texas at Austin
Shelli Taylor – Pres & COO, United Planet Fitness
Ellen Wood – CEO, VCFO

Takeaways:

1. Flexible hiring trend is not slowing down

I am always looking for the latest in hiring trends. Luckily, I chatted with Jeanette Ward, COO of Texas Mutual Insurance. I had no idea that they insure 43% of the companies in Texas. She assured me that hiring contractors, especially contract-to-full time is not slowing down. Great news for Prowess and women needing project-based work.

2. Parental leave coverage could be a great GTM strategy.

With the parental leave being a hot topic in the business world, we believe that our talent network could fill bandwidth gaps while new parents are out with their new family member. Oksana has worked with big and small companies alike, so I was eager to hear her feedback. She agreed that it was a pain point and a bandwidth need that requires quick onboarding and immediate execution. Both things that our talent has proven – see case study here. Foreshadowing for what’s to come 🙂

3. Messaging realization – Our talent network are leaders

After explaining what Prowess Project is to Gay Gaddis, I asked her why she would hire someone in our talent pool. Without missing a beat she said “Ashley, you have a pool full of leaders. That’s invaluable,” Gay is correct. I knew that all our talent were indeed leaders, but I needed to hear it from someone within our target market to help it sink in. She pointed out that adding leaders into your existing team can help uncover opportunities that they can’t see. Thank you, Gay. I can’t wait to test out that messaging, but I suspect it’s gold. Oh, and I’m already 1/3 way through with your book, Cowgirl Power, How to Kickass in Business and Life. Readers, check it out.

Thank you to all the mentors who took a morning from their very busy schedule to help budding female business leaders like myself. Already excited for next year!

Until next time,

Ashley