Leader Onboarding - Part I - Equipped for Success: Your Resource Guide to Leading with Confidence (For Chapter Leaders)

You don’t know what you don’t know! Get ready to unlock the secrets: who to call (or where to click!) when you have a question, what your legal responsibilities are as a board member, and how to cut your board meeting prep time down. We're here to simplify it for you—walk away with the top NAWBO facts every chapter leader needs to know.
Participants will:
• Discover who to contact and where to find answers fast, so you’re never left guessing.
• Walk away with essential NAWBO facts every chapter leader needs to succeed.

The NAWBO Circle will be going to the International Spy Museum, a non-profit museum dedicated to the tradecraft, history, and contemporary role of espionage, featuring the world's largest collection of international espionage artifacts on public display. 

Whether it’s corporate supplier relations programs or federal procurement opportunities, master how certification as woman-owned, minority woman-owned and more can open the door and help you win your share. Get ready to validate your business and leverage certification to grow, plus speed network with other certification-oriented attendees.   

See how successful Amazon selling partners got their start and are using the online retailer’s newest tools and innovations to grow their sales and success. Go behind their latest strategies and learn how they’re balancing their Amazon business with brick-and-mortar and other e-commerce pursuits.  

Learn how to effectively engage with the next generation of buyers on social media through authentic and relatable content that reflects your brand values. Discover which platforms resonate most with younger audiences and explore how to leverage influencer marketing to amplify your message. 

Scaling your business means you are able to control your time, have an amazing work-life balance, operate with great cash flow and have a reliable sales and marketing engine—all while having tech-enabled guardrails to keep you and your team rowing in the same direction. Get into a scaling mindset as a smaller or newer business owner, roll up your sleeves and get to work on it.
 

Leader Onboarding - Equipped for Success: Your Resource Guide to Leading with Confidence - Part I (cont.)

You don’t know what you don’t know! Get ready to unlock the secrets: who to call (or where to click!) when you have a question, what your legal responsibilities are as a board member, and how to cut your board meeting prep time down. We're here to simplify it for you—walk away with the top NAWBO facts every chapter leader needs to know.

Participants will:

• Discover who to contact and where to find answers fast, so you’re never left guessing.

• Walk away with essential NAWBO facts every chapter leader needs to succeed.

Once you’ve shifted into a true scaling mindset, you’ll gain the essential tools to accelerate your small business growth. Walk away with a clear understanding of your key growth levers, a roadmap for building scalable systems and a proven methodology to bring back to your team—empowering you to drive sustainable expansion with confidence.

Key Takeaways:
Leave in a scaling mindset with your growth levers identified.
Have a roadmap to develop scalable systems. 
Learn a methodology to take back to your team as you embark on creating additional scale in your organization.

Every business owner can benefit from pitching their business effectively, but sometimes it can feel awkward or intimidating. That’s why we’re spotlighting the winners of this year’s pitch contest, featuring three women have turned bold ideas into winning presentations. Join us as these inspiring founders share their journeys, showcase their businesses and discuss how they have finetuned their pitch to open doors for their businesses. 

For most business owners, selling a business is one of the biggest financial decisions they will ever make. Without careful planning, it’s easy to undervalue your business, lose potential profit, or struggle with cash flow after the sale. This talk will guide you through the three critical financial stages of selling—Before, During, and After—so you can maximize your business’s worth, ensure a smooth transition, and set yourself up for long-term financial success.

Key Takeaways:

Increase Your Business’s Value Before You Sell: Learn how to optimize financial performance, improve profitability, and position your business as an attractive investment.

Understand What Buyers Look For: Gain insight into the financial metrics, operational efficiencies, and revenue consistency that make a business desirable to potential buyers.

Ensure Financial Stability After the Sale: Explore strategies to manage your exit proceeds, maintain financial security, and transition to your next venture with confidence.

After you’ve mastered how certification—when leveraged right—can help you grow, you’ll take your networking to the next level with a high-energy speed networking session. Network with other certified women business owners as well as corporate representatives. Walk away with valuable insights, new connections and a game plan to win your share of opportunities!

Key Takeaways:

 Learn how to leverage your certification to access contracting opportunities.

 Engage in high-impact speed networking with corporate representatives.

 Gain actionable strategies to stand out in procurement processes and win more contracts.

The path to success is individual anything but linear. In this session, Next Gen attendees are invited to be in the room with the Circle as we hear the stories, individual lessons, and hard-earned wisdom from a panel of NAWBO Circle members in the top 3% of women owned businesses nationwide.

New to NAWBO or WBC?  Take the time to introduce yourself and meet other NAWBO members. Plus find out how to get the most out of the conference and your NAWBO membership!

Launching products and services in new markets is a crucial part of every woman business owner’s success story. Explore effective go-to-market strategies, including how to identify target audiences, craft compelling messages, build strategic partnerships and leverage digital marketing tools and artificial intelligence to maximize reach.

Key Takeaways: 

• Learn how to identify target audiences and craft compelling messaging.
• Discover how to use cutting-edge digital tools and artificial intelligence to expand your reach.
• Understand how to build strategic partnerships to accelerate market entry and success.

Curious about EOS? Hear from a fellow Circle member who can speak from firsthand experience on what EOS does and what you need to know if you are considering implementing it in your own business. EOS (Entrepreneurs Operational System) is a framework that helps businesses improve their operations and achieve their goals.  

In this session Nikki will share her experience and knowledge on tools and principles that can help businesses: 

• Clarify their vision: Break down their vision into clear, actionable steps.
• Improve communication: Ensure all team members are aligned with the company's goals.
• Improve efficiency: Standardize core business processes to ensure consistency and scalability.
• Improve accountability: Build a culture of accountability and make meetings more productive.

Navigating the complexities of taxes can feel overwhelming. Several experts demystify tax strategies to help you plan for the future and minimize liabilities. Gain insights on tax credits and deductions specific to women-owned businesses, plus, tips for organizing financial records and working with CPAs.

Key Takeaways: 

• Learn how to minimize tax liabilities and plan for long-term financial success.
• Discover tax benefits specifically available to women-owned businesses.
• Get practical tips for managing financial records and working effectively with CPAs.

Women face significant barriers in accessing capital for launching and scaling their businesses, despite evidence showing they often exceed growth expectations. Three amazing founders will share their journey, including actionable insights and resources to help bridge the funding gap. Vera Jones will moderate this panel.

Key Takeaways: 

• Understand challenges women face in accessing funding and how to overcome them.
• Gain real-world insights from women who have successfully navigated the funding landscape.
• Walk away with tools, strategies and connections to bridge your funding gap.

Effective leadership goes beyond strategy—it requires navigating tough conversations with confidence. Hear proven techniques from a top conflict strategist to communicate under pressure, build trust and maintain composure, even in the face of resistance. Get equipped with practical tools to turn conflict into collaboration.

Key Takeaways: 

• Learn how to handle discussions effectively, even when they feel difficult or uncomfortable.
• Understand techniques to stay calm and composed under pressure while building trust.
• Gain practical tools to transform conflict into opportunities for teamwork and collaboration.

Attracting and retaining top talent is crucial for women business owners of all sizes. Learn innovative recruitment and retention strategies, including crafting compelling job descriptions, leveraging modern tools, implementing advanced techniques and fostering an inclusive culture that keeps employees engaged and motivated.  

Key Takeaways: 

• Learn how to position job descriptions to attract top talent that’s the right fit.
• Understand how to use the latest recruitment tools and advanced hiring techniques.
• Discover the importance of creating an inclusive and engaging workplace culture.

Success in business often mirrors the dynamics of sports, where strategy, teamwork and resilience are all key. Be inspired by leadership lessons from top female athletes on how to build winning teams, cultivate a competitive mindset, navigate challenges and setbacks and more on your own journey to victory. 

Key Takeaways: 

• Apply leadership lessons from top female athletes to build strong, high-performing teams.
• Develop the resilience and strategic thinking needed to navigate challenges and stay ahead.
• Learn how to adapt, persevere and drive success even in the face of obstacles.

Limitless Economy: Making Your Mark on the World Stage

When women business owners rise, the world rises with them. Their success sparks innovation, generates jobs and creates a ripple effect of growth and stability that strengthens families, communities and economies everywhere. This session brings together leaders from top women’s business organizations around the globe alongside experts from organizations that empower businesses to compete internationally through loans, guarantees and insurance. Discover how today’s limitless economy is creating unprecedented opportunities for women entrepreneurs to make their mark on the world stage—and how you can be part of this transformative movement.

Tired of the relentless pursuit of work/life balance and trying to be everything to everyone all the time? Challenge the myth of balance and redefine success on your own terms by exploring the hard truths behind the struggle, learning practical strategies to overcome guilt, accept support and prioritize what matters and creating the life you deserve.  

Key Takeaways: 

• Understand why the traditional idea of balance may not be realistic.
  Learn practical strategies for letting go of guilt, accepting help and prioritizing what matters.
  Gain insight into how to design a fulfilling life by focusing on what’s important. 

Navigating the landscape of funding options can be daunting. Understand your various avenues so that you can feel empowered to make informed decisions, including venture capital, community development financial institutions (CDFIs), certifications, banks, grants, crowdfunding and leveraging credit, and the benefits and challenges of each. 

Key Takeaways: 

• Gain clarity on different funding options to make informed financial decisions.
  Learn pros and cons of each to choose the best option based on your needs and goals.
  Build confidence to navigate the complex landscape of funding for your business.

Join the Circle to explore the latest model of success development created by Patrick Lencioni: The 6 types of Working Genius. This new model helps people discover their natural gifts and thrive in their work and life. Working Genius identifies the six fundamental activities that are required for any type of work and provides a simple framework for how work gets done. Too many people feel frustrated, underutilized or misunderstood at work. Far too many teams experience failure, feel stuck or are confused because they don't know how to tap into the people around them. Working Genius is changing the way people are thinking about their work and teams, and is leading to more dignified, fulfilled and successful work. You will have the opportunity to take the assessment prior to the workshop to deepen the discussion and learning.