Female + Entrepreneur vulnerability project: I would love feedback!https://www.femmelab.co/
I recently created FEMMELAB to help entrepreneurial women who are looking for connection, vulnerability, and advice. It often seems that as women move up in the workplace, the glossy images and narratives of “having it all” replace the real challenges of being a woman in the world today. Throughout my own career, I’ve experienced a mix of comradery, cattiness, support, and isolation from women. I’ve met my greatest female friends at work and, admittedly, also brought my own judgment to the women I’ve worked with. Throughout this journey, I’ve craved connection to authentic and empowered women that could help me navigate the ups and downs of designing a career, launching a business, and finding my confidence. I’ve wanted to hear that others have the same self-doubts, the same fears, the same self-judgments, and that I am not alone in my struggles. At the heart of FEMMELAB is a simple reminder to all women struggling in their career or in life: You Are Not Alone.The ultimate vision of FEMMELAB is to implement a forum-like group (think YPO, Vistage, EO, or any Mastermind) with groups of 6-10 women that meet monthly to discuss both their personal and professional challenges. To execute on this vision, I've spent the past few months building a newsletter featuring a female entrepreneur expressing her wins and struggles. To start off, I've spent the past few months building a weekly newsletter featuring a female entrepreneur expressing her wins and struggles. I ask questions like:-What’s one great moment from your career that you wish you could relive 100 times?-What’s the best bad decision you've ever made?-What is one thing you’ve had to forgive yourself for?Here is where I could use some help, as I am juggling multiple projects right now and want to make sure this concept is resonating!1) Do you like the forum-like concept? Is this something you feel would help you on your own journey?2) Do you feel the newsletter is useful?3 If you enjoy the interviews from the newsletter, do you prefer them in written form or would you like an audio (ie podcast) option instead?Thank you so much for your thoughts and feedback! I'm so thankful that I have this community to turn to when I'm doubting my path!With gratitude,Samantha
Hey @samanthahenderson! I love this. 1) Yes! I started something similar with forum-type sessions (http://sarahikeda.github.io/startswithhello). I found it tricky to match entrepreneurs, cause they varied in stage of company and industry.2) Yes, it could be! It's hard for me to tell without the newsletter in front of me (sorry if I missed that! Is it the website?)3) The writeups on your website about the women who joined Femme Lab was the most powerful thing. It made it seem real and I was impressed with people's backgrounds!
Hi Sarah, thank you for such a thoughtful response. Here is a copy of the most recent newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/402aa1ddbaf8/issue4I'd love to chat and hear how your forum group is going.
I'd be down for a podcast. Or even just a trial to see how a first stab turns out. I think it's SO important to gather likeminded (ie. supportive, anti-catty) women. There's strength in numbers.