Being fifty-something and a small business operator, I’ve been to a few business events in my time. Some might say: a few too many. I find them a bit ho-hum.
Last night, Clare Bowditch put ho-hum in its boring little corner and filled the space with hoopla, imagination and down-to-earthiness at the Small Business Festival Victoria event, Creativity for Business Success at The Pier, Geelong.
I shared the evening with My Girl and my niece E (a true Clare Bowditch fan who also arranged our tickets).
We weren’t sure what our $30 Earlybird tickets included and were giggling-girly delighted to be served bubbles on arrival. The bubbles kept coming along with wine and a two-course dinner. And freebies.
The crowd was unusually female-skewed (for a business event). Not the customary “suits” brigade madly networking at every opportunity. Instead, there were lots of lovely, bubbles-buzzed ladies in their twenties, thirties and forties. Oh, and some other fifty-somethings. The sisterhood was out in force.
Then Clare Bowditch swept in and showed Geelong what real business class is all about.
Thank you Clare Bowditch, for:
- NO big screen PowerPoint preso
- NO hyped up selling of your own products/services
- NO arrogance (not even a smidgen)
Thank you, Clare Bowditch, for:
- allowing us time to breathe
- the unexpected
- subtle networking
- balancing a microphone in one hand and a glass of red in the other
- group song (yes, I sang with Clare Bowditch)
- solo song
- heart song
- for laughing and caring
- for daring greatly
- for showing us, in the surest of ways, that business can be big hearted.
And for being maven of the selfie.
being fifty-something 