This week we gathered to celebrate the first 2019 Pop-Up Event for Babies, Business + Breakfast at the Discovery, Applied Research, and Entrepreneurship (DARE) District in Ottawa, Canada on Wednesday, May 1st.

We laughed, we cried, we commiserated. Naw, we mostly just laughed!

We heard from panel guests, Sunshine Tenasco, Karla Briones and Susan Richards on the topic of ‘How She Built It’, with questions covering business, mindset and parenting.

It was awe inspiring to have everything come together as it did: the speakers, the venue staff at Algonquin, the event photographer, Charlene Van Veit, my husband and kids supporting me on the logistics side of things. All gave their time and assistance in order to help get this event off the ground and I’m delighted to say it went well.

From the time I emailed my newsletter list to share the upcoming event date (without a venue or speakers secured), to the requests from the general public and business community to support it, things started to come together over the month of April.

A bit of magic with a side of prep

But I won’t say it was pure magic or intuition which guided the experience, as there were quite a few event administration steps and actions I took to keep things chugging along.

Think cold calls, meetings, pitches, follow up emails, promotions, research, interview prep, A/V testing and even catering and coffee making.

It’s the unglamorous side of event planning but it’s also the inspired actions, which enable the seemingly serendipitous and crazily coincidental moments to transpire.

In addition to taking action I also believe in letting go and seeing what happens, following my intuition, the power of reciprocity, the abundance of opportunities available and expressing gratitude regularly. I know there’s something bigger than me at work here.

When I pitched to the three speakers, asking them to give their time and share their honest experiences with my audience, they all said YES.

And like clockwork shortly after my second speaker request (as in hours), I had an ask from CreativeMornings Ottawa for ME to speak at THEIR upcoming event on the theme of ‘Inclusive’ on April 26th.

I would have a little over a week to prepare, my husband would be away for work–as in across the world in China–so I’d be solo parenting and it was a few days before my event on May 1st. But, I also said YES.

Reciprocity, baby!

I have learned (sometimes the hard way, sometimes the easy way), when you don’t ask, you don’t get. As I’ve become clearer in my ‘asks’, I have also become more gracious in my acceptance of things (love, help, time, advice, money) and I also in turn give what I can, when I can.

But oh my, I was not prepared for what I would receive over the past month!

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Love for my family and I from strangers, acquaintances and loved ones.
Help for my family and I from strangers, acquaintances and loved ones.
Time to listen and share stories from strangers, acquaintances and loved ones.
Advice for my community and I from strangers, acquaintances and loved ones.
Money for my community’s growth from strangers and acquaintances, in order to invest in themselves alongside their loved ones.

Also, I found a $20 bill in a puddle in the parking lot yesterday morning when I did daycare drop off! No joke.

And this morning I was asked to speak at another event in June.

Reciprocity, baby.

But please also know, I spilled coffee grounds in my car on the way home from a great event, forgot my charger at the venue and accidentally took their USB PPT clicker home with me. 😳

It’s not all good times, joy and laughter but lately, it mostly is and I will always be a bit clumsy, forgetful and quirky, so it’s to be expected.

A proper event recap will be coming soon, with photos and all.

And a SAVE THE DATE: I’ll be attending the Spring Market as an exhibitor on Saturday, May 11th from 9-11 AM at Buy Buy Baby (Ottawa Trainyards location) if you’re in the neighbourhood, doing some last minute Mother’s Day shopping or simply want to say hi!

It’s FREE to attend and I’ll post more about that on here, social media and in the newsletter over the coming week.

But for now, thank you for reading and have a lovely weekend!

Flexible + Remote Work Resources For You:

FREE Digital Resources, Templates + Guides

• Template – Remote Work (With Kids) Time Blocking Made Easy [LEARN MORE]
• Guide – Babies + Business Mini Guide To Navigating The Corporate Jungle (With Kids) [LEARN MORE]

Some of my other #BYOBaby into business settings experiences are detailed on these blog posts, if you want to learn more about:

• Parent-friendly presenting in real-time at CreativeMornings Ottawa
• Visiting Algonquin College’s DARE District with kids
• Visiting Invest Ottawa with kids
• Participating in Impact Academy with a baby
• Attending Creative Mornings Ottawa while babywearing
• Touring coworking spaces as a parent
• Bringing children into the boardroom

Learn more about Babies, Business + Breakfast™.