Sometimes things in life just make sense. They happen at just the right place at just the right time. It’s like this month’s NAWBO ONE theme of embracing change.
First off, it comes at a time when we’re getting ready to install the new NAWBO National Board of Directors. In less than a month, I will be your Past Chair and Kathy Warnick will have stepped into the Chair position. And we’ll have some new National Board members as well. It’s been such an incredible honor serving as your Chair this last year—being such an integral part of an organization I love with amazing women leaders, members, sponsors and partners. NAWBO has such a long and rich history of propelling women entrepreneurs forward and I’m so proud to have helped NAWBO take this latest step forward in its journey. I know Kathy will do a tremendous job at leading and inspiring the women entrepreneurs of NAWBO in this coming year. Thank you again for the opportunity to serve!
Secondly, as women entrepreneurs, and businesspeople in general, we are constantly facing change. Whether it’s a change in our industry or the markets we serve or an internal change we make in our companies to be stronger and position ourselves for future success, change can be challenging, but it is also exciting and necessary. Here are some tips for how to embrace change that I recently read in Inc. magazine. I hope they inspire you, as they did me, to always see the opportunity to change as a positive.
- Be flexible: It will enable you to better adapt to new people, environments and situations.
- Consider change an opportunity for improvement: Without change, nothing improves by itself.
- See it as a new beginning: It makes life and business more exciting.
- Look for opportunities: When you adapt to change, you will find that different opportunities and choices present themselves.
- Seek learning and growth: Every time a change occurs, you have a new opportunity to grow.
- Move forward: Change has a funny way of triggering progress.
- Get out of your routine: Without change, life would be dull and predictable.
- Grow stronger: Change can be difficult, but when we overcome the challenges, we come out stronger.
What exciting changes do you have planned for yourself and your business in coming months? I’d love to hear from you!
—Teresa Meares, NAWO National Chair
Our Chapters Are Changing, Too!
We have lots of new faces in NAWBO chapters across the country, thanks to our chapter leaders and members who helped to spread the word about the value and impact of NAWBO during this year’s Spring Membership Drive. A few chapters really went the extra mile to build membership and win our chapter contest…congratulations to:
- NAWBO-Kansas City (Small Chapter Category)
- NAWBO-Cleveland (Medium Chapter Category)
- NAWBO-San Francisco Bay Area (Large Chapter Category)