A large group of about 330 female business owners gathered at Saint Elle in Nashville, Tennessee in mid October 2024. This gathering was for their annual conference, BrainTrustLIVE. As a Nashville event photographer, this was an impressive event. This conference is designed to unite women business owners. New relationships are built, while personal and professional growth is inspired by established, successful women in business.
BrainTrustLIVE 2024 focused on failures as opportunities to learn and grow. Attendees were encouraged to embrace failures instead of allowing them to be discouraged and disheartened. There were also stories shared of inspiration from those who triumphed despite their failures and missteps. Those in attendance gained advice on how to become stronger and more resilient with their own businesses.
Some of the speakers for BrainTrustLIVE included:
- Keynote speaker, Amy Buckner Chowdhry (CEO and cofounder of AnswerLab)
- Milan Harris (Founder and Owner of Milano Di Rouge)
- Jill Van Gyn-Carr (Former Founder of Fatso Peanut Butter)
- Giulia Fantacci (CEO and Founder of GF Immigration Law)
- Shalini Bahl, Ph.D (Founder of Know Your Mind LLC)
The organization‘s purpose is to bring a diverse group of female business owners together to build financial independence, wealth and influence. They believe in commitment, discipline, learning and experience. Several groups (also called vaults) of five to eight talented women business owners commit to gather for required monthly meetings. They arrive prepared and ready to discuss the progress of their businesses, recent challenges and immediate needs. Through the exchange of experiences and sharing of resources, referrals and recommendations, the members of BrainTrust help each other. Relationships of vault members become trusted supporters and advocates. They empower each other. They empower each other.
The values of BrainTrust are: no judgment, confidentiality, integrity, anti-racism, collaboration, building personal wealth, diversity, learning, and personal and professional development.
As a female Nashville event photographer, the following statistics are interesting. Women in the US are starting over 1100 businesses a day at the rate of over 47 per hour! Only 1.7% of women-owned ventures have annual revenues of $1 million or more. The vast majority, 89.5%, of women-owned businesses are not employer organizations – they have no employees other than the owner herself.
