Founders Bianca Rush and Dayira “DayyBella” Jones are stepping into 2016 with the expansion of their Ladies Who Brunch: Atlanta movement. On Friday, February 5, 2016 to Sunday, February 7, 2016, LWBATL will host their very first three-day conference, Ladies of Business Conference 2016. The conference will be held at Le Fais Do Do in Atlanta, Georgia. The keynote speaker will be Myliek Teele, CEO of CurlBox. She will be accompanied by a number of successful female entrepreneurs such as: Toya Wright (Founder of Garb Boutique), Claire Sulmers (Founder of Fashion Bomb Daily), Miss Diddy (Brand Strategist), Ming Lee (Founder of SnobLife), and Jasmine Lawrence (Founder of EDEN Body Works). In an era where the number of women CEO’s are statistically rising faster than men, it is also a time where society sees more females 30 and under becoming entrepreneurs. This is one of the striking differences that make LWBATL stand out from other organizations geared toward female empowerment. As founders, Bianca And DayyBella created the conference to fuel more women into being their own boss. This is why they’ve asked several of the industry’s most notable female CEO’s to come share their strategies and success stories. To gain more insight on the Ladies of Business Conference 2016, Bianca and DayyBella shared details on their motivation behind it and what to expect at the event. Also, Bianca expressed how attendees – who have attended previous events – leave there overwhelmed by excitement know that they too can successfully reach their goals. Founders, Dayira “Dayy Bella” Jones and Bianca Rush What motivate you all to start the “Ladies Who Brunch” movement? DayyBella: Something that motivated us was being able to collaborate with each other on different ideas. Bringing women together to support one another especially in the industry that we are in, the entrepreneurship industry. We haven’t seen many outlets that giving us “girl power” or supporting one another. We want to build relationships, so we created “Ladies Who Brunch,” which was a brunch where we networked and built relationships with one another. Why expand “Ladies Who Brunch” into a three day conference, “Ladies of Business”? What was the motivation behind that? Bianca: What made us want to expand into a conference is because we had set it out for the brunches to be smaller, networking events with about 25 women. They would sell out quickly. Within the same day, tickets would sell. So, we said “Okay, lets have another one” and that would sell. Then, we said okay let’s go ahead and elevate ourselves to make a larger event. So, that’s when we had our “Royal Tea,” which was last summer. Even then, we were at capacity for that. We were thinking how can we set ourselves apart from everyone else. Once we started doing more of the brunches, we became more aware social media wise and we didn’t want to get mixed up in the jumble. And, we’re like how can we set ourselves apart. We thought about creating a conference because we haven’t seen millennial women create a conference. Of course we’ve seen bigger brands, corporations – you know brands that we are familiar with – hop on board with a big women’s conferences. But, you haven’t seen it from two small business owners. Create a conference and be an avenue where people can look up to and say, “Hey, small businesses can make a big impact.” What can guests look forward to at the conference? DayyBella: On Saturday, we are having workshops on different topics of owning your own business, legal matters, branding, how to turn online business into offline dollars, etc. We want them to leave being empowered, uplifted and inspired. What was lacking from the other conferences that you all want to bring to the table? Bianca: I wouldn’t say we’ve seen anything lacking from the other conferences. I would say that there hasn’t been a conference – that I’m aware of – that hasn’t been done by the younger generation. Our conference is for all women, not just millennials. It’s just the fact that it’s the generation that we are in and we want to let people know that you can have a conference, really great speakers, and we are doing it without the huge backing of corporate brands. I think that’s the only difference is that we are doing it from the ground up, on our own without the push of the major brands and businesses that you are familiar with and see on the commercials and all of that. Of course, we would love to have them on board but it takes steps to get there and we’re taking the steps first. Have there been any success stories since your previous events? Bianca: Yes. We had the “Royal Tea” last summer and a girl came up to me as was in tears. It was a great event, everyone was uplifted and I was like why are you crying. She said “OMG, I made my first $1,000 off of just purely networking with people at you all’s event.” She wasn’t from Atlanta. I believe she was from Alabama. She said, “We don’t have much of that out there and I came to Atlanta and got real good connections. I just want to tell you Thank You. I was able to make my first $1,000 just from coming to your event and connecting with the right people.” So, there are huge opportunities to connect with people, make money, be successful, or even as simple as getting a friend that thinks like you. There are a lot of like-minded women in the same room. What do you want to accomplish with this conference? Bianca: I want women to be excited to get started. Similar to how we’re always pumped up about January 1st. January 2nd I’m going to hop in the gym. I’m going to do this and do that. I want the ladies to feel that same power and energy when they leave the conference. So they can say “I can do this! No one can stop me! I’m working now, I can’t wait until Monday!” What my goal is, is for them to get encouraged, stay motivated, ready to get to work and ready to make things happen for 2016. That’s what I hope the ladies get out of it. DayyBella: My goal for this conference is to have everyone leave with a great experience and at least establishing five or more relationships with one another. Also, being inspired to do whatever they put they mind to. They can do it. Also, empower them to grow as their business, as their brand. Due to the number of speakers and other activities happening at the event, the Ladies of Business Conference 2016 has considered students affordability to register for the event. For $100 (plus fees), college and high school students can purchase a weekend pass at www.ladieswhobrunchatl.com. Ladies of Business Conference 2016 will feature workshops with local entrepreneurs as well such as Brittany Benson (The Branding Bar), Nicole Garner Scott (CEO of The Garner Circle PR), Nicole Davis (Director of MOZE Print & Design), and others. Also, Black Girls Run! wil host a fun work out session. B For more information about the upcoming conference, check out the website or follow them on social media @ladieswhobrunchatl .
