Although I carry with me every day many wonderful  “takeaways” after attending each WITHIT conference, see blog posting from last year,  I would be remiss in  “moving forward” without an acknowledgement by way of a blog posting from last week’s conference….besides, this is kind of expected from me by now eh..sharing said takeaways.

So, between hurricane Irene, and thus a power outage, and heading to Ireland, with husband to mark our landmark 25th anniversary, I am going to shoot out a few words, joining my many fellow WITHIT members who are similarly posting on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

The “takeaways” are numerous….

A reconnection with friends.

New connections….and GREAT to see so many students with us!

New opportunities for my business. You can anticipate reading about this in future blogs/newsletters 🙂

New opportunities to help others with their business. Thank you for the honor of leading your blogging roundtable.

A renewed appreciation for how and why WITHIT came into being in the first place. Thank you Jena Hall for sharing…

A true sense of this vision being just as strong today. Thank you to the leaders who remain so committed to the vision…

Opportunity to applaud,see, hear and be touched by iconic women in our industry/role models each in their own right.

WOW awards…..

An awareness of the “new world” we are in and what that means for how we approach our business. Keynote Elm Street Economics.

A better understanding of all that I can do with my iphone, in addition to grabbing emails, texting and oh yeah, using as a phone. 🙂 Pre conference workshop.

BUT, it is the pervasive Spirit that I am enveloped with me that anchors me/serves as my “core” …

For all of above is couched in a Spirit of…

Empowerment

Support

Encouragement

Professionalism

Acknowledgment

Understanding

Celebration

Acceptance

For the women of WITHIT share more than the commonality of being associated with the Home Furnishings Business, they are…

Professional….yet cuddly…I so know there are photos out of the snuggle bunnies on sofas at the bar.

Personable

Real

Dynamic

Colorful….in personality and in how they dress….many loving a “splash” of color…so fun!

Connected…in all the right ways 🙂

Have a Voice and are not afraid to use it….whether in written, spoken word or in song.

Are willing and eager to share, listen, support, uplift, encourage, mentor and be mentored.

Knowingly a little “gushy” here but I simply can’t emphasize enough the value of being part of a community of supportive and like minded women. So, if you are part of the Home Furnishings Industry, do yourself a favor and join WITHIT. If you’re not, go out and find yourself a community…and don’t let geography deter you, many online groups offer same...but do it.

I am able to nurture and grow my business, because I have taken the time to nurture and grow myself….and with that I am “powered on” and you can too!

Soooo, get Withit and feel yourself grow and glow!

Ruth

P.S. Am well aware of lack of photos in this missive and there are numerous reasons I am going against what I preached at my blogging roundtable re importance of having images help grab your reader. But I simply felt that this message needed be posted now…not a week from now, when I’d have a chance to get photos for this….gives me reason to “repurpose” and send with photos at a later date 🙂