my YWiB story: sasha

With YWiB there is always a story to tell – featuring Sasha Evans  ~written by Darya Niknamian I sat down with Sasha Evans, a YWiB fan, a go getter and most importantly a good friend. Sasha’s story and overall YWiB experience drove me to volunteer with the organization and I am writing this in hopes of sharing a glimpse into one person’s experience with Young Women in Business.

Sasha’s exposure to YWiB began with the 2008 Beyond Pink Conference, an event she called “inspirational, welcoming and educational.” She met many inspiring women and speakers who taught her that you can do anything you put your mind to, you just need to follow your passion and have a vision. After the conference Sasha could not sit still, Beyond Pink and all of its elements provided her with a great platform and a spark that led her to develop a fundraiser.

Sasha knew she wanted to do something she was passionate about – dance! At the time she was involved with Global Agents for Change (a non-profit organization) and decided to incorporate her love for dance and desire to raise money for a good cause and voila, a fundraiser called “An Evening for Arts” was cooked up. Working to produce the event for four gruelling months, Sasha was able to raise a total of $10,000 in one night.

Throughout our conversation, Sasha reiterated time and time again that you can do anything you want but it is extremely important to know why you are doing it! She had to put up her own money to rent the dance hall and was turned down by several companies when searching for sponsorship and in-kind donations. At times the whole planning process was discerning and difficult and Sasha found herself asking “why am I doing this?” Her answer always turned out to be the same, I believe in the cause I am supporting and I love dancing.

Now working at a finance firm and pursuing her 3rd level CFA, Sasha is working towards another goal – to be taken seriously as a young female investor. One experience she reflected on at Beyond Pink was an activity where everyone had to write down their biggest life goals and whether or not they had the resources to help them. She remembers an individual writing ‘I want to cure cancer’ – a goal which reminds us to all aim high and let nothing stop you from following your passions.

New Year, New You!

We’ve all made promises, said the words, and probably even wrote down our resolutions for a new year telling ourselves that 2011 was going to be THE year for change!! ….But was it? It is important to set goals and actively monitor them to keep yourself on track but if you’ve found that your method isn’t providing results don’t give up, try another approach!

Recalling POP (Place of Possibility), an event hosted by YWiB in 2011, we wanted to share our insights collected over the year from some highly motivated goal setters to ensure 2012 is YOUR best year yet!!

Consider your goals, in detail, and then put them down on paper or if a goal of yours is to save paper, type them into an electronic document.

When setting your goals be SPECIFIC! If one of your personal goals is to save more money make note of HOW you plan to save that money. Ask yourself: Where will the saved funds come from? What will I cut out of my life to create this excess cash? And, how am I going to monitor my savings? For example, “By June 10, 2012 I plan to have saved $2,500 in a building block GIC account. I’ll save this money by dining out once a week and buying coffee once a week instead of daily.”

And if your goal is to be more physically active ask yourself in what ways do you want to be more active. “I plan to run the 10K Vancouver Sun Run on April 15^th in less than 50 minutes.” OR “Not only will I set aside 3-4 hours a week to commit to my gym membership this year but I am going to register for spin classes twice a week to keep me on track.”

Consider goals that may seem “out of reach”. A goal wouldn’t be worth setting if you didn’t have to work hard to achieve it. Keeping that in mind, push yourself by setting goals that are barely attainable so that you are challenging yourself!

Focus on timelines. Setting short-term (0-6 months or even 1 year) goals are critical to ensuring long-term (1 – 5+ years) goal achievement. Because you are setting specific goals for yourself deadline dates shouldn’t be a surprise. “I will host my first art showing on July 15, 2011.” OR “I will participate in my first competitive half-marathon in August 2012 and full marathon by October 30^th, 2012.” (Of course if you are a runner it would be best to choose specific races you wish to qualify for.)

Categorize your goals. “Personal/Health”, “Professional”, “Financial”, etc. This will help you to remain organized as well as focused on your objectives.

Add to your goals throughout the year. Goal setting shouldn’t be an annual thing you make yourself do, make it part of your routine. Keep a journal or agenda that is specific to your goals and put it somewhere that will remind you of them regularly.

Forget fear and don’t let failures get in your way! The most successful people in the world have ALL failed it’s no secret. The secret is that their failures taught them wonderful lessons and those lessons encouraged them to continue striving for their dreams. For those times when you feel like you’ve failed at something read this blog post. Bookmark it, it’s worth it!

Find a format that works for you and use it. There are a lot of goal-setting structures (and Apps) out there so find your favorite and use it. I have yet to find a great App for me but I like to write my goals down. If you find a good one please share it with me but until then, Lululemon Athletica is the creator of my personal favorite, I love the colours!

Final tip, accountability is key! Consider someone you can appoint to hold you accountable to your goals. A friend? A partner? A parent? Find someone you trust and can be honest with. It may be easiest to find someone who’s willing to make the same commitment to goal setting so you can support one another. We’ll call it “Goal Setting Anonymous”.

So if you only make one New Years Resolution this January make the best resolution for you, SET GOALS IN 2012!! “If you want something, go get it. Period.” Good luck and feel free to share some of those goals with us via @ywib.

And if all this hasn’t convinced you to stop making excuses – check out Matt Scott’s “No Excuses” Commercial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obdd31Q9PqA

Happy Holidays from the Ladies at YWiB!!

We wanted to take a moment to touch base with everyone who has taken the time to connect with us throughout 2011. Your support has been the most significant aspect of our year and we’d like to thank you for making it one of the most exciting and challenging years at YWiB! We look forward to more events, speaker series and conferences to come in 2012! Also, we wanted to take the time to encourage you to remember to connect with your network this holiday season. Sending a holiday greeting can go a long way. The holiday season is an excellent opportunity to lay the groundwork for your networking circle in 2012! The best part is that it’s quick, inexpensive and easy to do, you’ll also feel like you’re giving a little extra in the well-wishes department this year. Like any great networker will tell you, be selfless. It’s not what that connection can do for you but what you can do for them so reach out to remind them you’re thinking about them during the busiest time of the year (if you’re in accounting, the second busiest time of the year). Never underestimate the power of a simple “Happy Holidays & All the Best in 2012!”, we promise it will go a long way.

Alternative methods to keep you connected this time of year could be e-cards, paper cards, a small token of appreciation (everyone loves chocolate) or even if you have zero time, a short and sweet “Merry Christmakkah” email. It’s not the size of the message but the thought of the message itself that will go a long way in solidifying that professional relationship and leave you fresh in their mind all season long. Not to mention they’ll know you are a networking pro for reaching out to them before they had a chance to reach out to you.

So, from the bottom of our YWiB-y hearts….

~ Wishing You Happiest of Holidays & the Greatest Success in the Year to Come!!

YWiB's Miss Representation screening featured in National Post & Huffington Post!

Jane Macdougall, National Post, attended YWiB's screening of Miss Representation and shared:

The Vancouver organization Young Women In Business hosted Monday’s screening. They’re the ones on the battlefield right now and they get it. Miss Representation asks, “How can you become what you cannot see?” and it dawned on me: It’s hard to see past the cookie aisle these days.

For more, visit the full article here.

Amy Chan, Huffington Post, joined YWiB as a panelist for Miss Representation. Visit the story and experiences she shared here.

YWiB & Women Entrepreneurs in Mashable article

We love Nellie Akalp's (CEO, CorpNet.com) latest article in Mashable. Ms. Akalp talks about why women are successful entrepreneurs in today's "digital world". YWiB couldn't agree more! Here are some of our favorite points, summarized just for you:

1. Women possess strong communication skills and social intelligence. These are essential skills to have, especially in a world where so many modes of communication and interaction are available.

2. Women make good listeners, and are strong at drawing people into their conversations. To women, building a business is like building a team.

3. Women collaborate - on just about everything! From examples such as joint trips to the restroom to a 2009 Times article, women exercise a transformational leadership style that is very well-suited for today's flattening hierarchies in start-ups.

4. Women prefer lower risk, prioritizing work along with personal harmony - leading to fulfilling professional and personal lives. The flip side is that men's businesses are, on average, larger than women-owned businesses. So the question goes back to - where is that elusive balance? And how do you find the right one on your own terms?

Keep your eyes out for YWiB's upcoming launch of an exciting new offering, which we hope will provide a platform for women to explore these questions further.

Thank you to Jeremy Lim for the photo of our lovely YWiB ladies included as part of this article.

YWiB has something cooking...check back regularly for more hints and clues!

update- new Ladies in Pink volunteer opportunity

The Women in Leadership Foundation is hosting the 4th Annual SuperWomen & Friends Gala- A Decade of Dreams, on November 5th at the Fairmont Waterfront Vancouver. Volunteers are needed for the day of on November 5th. For more information or to join the fun and volunteer, please contact Alison at alison@womeninleadership.ca