Palm Springs Huddle 2021

WELCOME Palm Springs Huddle cohort!

Here’s what you need to know right now to prepare for May. 

So excited to meet you all in person and dive into your businesses this May!

 

Below are some introductions to attendees, mentors, and staff and lots more info you’ll need to prepare.

 

 

*Last Things to Know (updated 5/6)

1. Be sure to print, fill out and bring the Hot Seat Worksheet with you to The Huddle and put some thought into how you’d like to use the time on your Hot Seat.

2. Thanks for voting on Skillshare topics for our meals. We’ll be discussing: Partnerships + Marketing, Sales Pipelines, Scaling, Mindset and Mental Health, and Finances/Cash Flow. The Skillshare topics have been updated in the schedule. Have a particular topic you feel like is your strength? Let us know if you’re interested in leading that discussion by shooting us a DM or email.

3. Wanting to introduce you officially to our event coordinator for this event, Sara Urquhart. She graciously offered to step in when our other event coordinator had to take an unforeseen personal leave. You might know her as the founder of Alt Summit and Shift Summit! We’re so lucky to have her come and help things run smoothly. Her bio is below in the Mentors and Staff section. You’ll get to know her better at The Huddle!

4. A couple COVID related topics: Please bring a photo (phone is fine) of your vaccination card and/or negative COVID test (within 48 hours). Also, for many of us this is our first time in an indoor group in over a year! We might not know how we’ll feel about it until we arrive and we totally get that uncertainty. Although masks won’t be required indoors, we will have masks available to you with your welcome gift if you’d feel more comfortable wearing one. Also, rest assured our wellness therapists are all vaccinated.

5. We’ve set up a DM group on Instagram to communicate before and keep in touch after The Huddle. Please let us know if you don’t see it in your DMs, or if you’d rather use a different account for this communication.

6.  It’ll be hot (mid 90s), so be sure to pack and dress for that intense desert sun. Don’t forget a water bottle and sunscreen!

 

 

Palm Springs Huddle Attendees

Lindsay White

The Little Milk Bar

@thelittlemilkbar_

Lindsey started The Little Milk Bar in April of 2018 after a woman asked her to go feed her son in the bathroom at a wedding. She left that wedding thinking, she hopes every single mother out there knows her rights. She loves reading the hundreds of DM’s & emails TLBM recieves weekly with how they’ve changed so many mothers lives, given them the confidence to feed their baby whenever & wherever they need to. Lindsay is a mama to Allie, 9 and Koda, 4 and wife to Pedro.

Kelsey Nixon

Kelsey Nixon Inc

@kelseynixon

Kelsey is a food television host, producer, and cookbook author. While her background is in traditional media, she is growing her brand in the digital space in a way that she’s never done before. This year she’ll launch a virtual cooking class platform for kids and adults focusing on better basics in the kitchen that she’s aiming to move to a subscription model by 2022. Kelsey currently lives in Pasadena, California.

Courtnie Nichols

TravelBash Corp

@travelbash

Courtnie is the founder of TravelBash, a destination wedding concierge & CEO of TRVLB, a luxury travel design studio delivering bespoke travel experiences. After years as an ambitious fundraiser, her love for travel led her to take her passion full-time. As a certified agent, event planner, and natural connector; she uses her powers to create VIP experiences and advocate for a more inclusive travel environment for people of color. She currently lives, works and plays in Gainesville, Florida with her husband, a college basketball coach.

Christina Bonebreak

SOVE, Inc

@tortuga74

Christina studied mechanical engineering at MIT, followed by a five year stint as a bond trader for Goldman Sachs before embarking on a 7 year journey to become an Orthodontist. Since graduating from residency in 2017, she has been seeing patients in private practice, teaching at the dental school at UNC, and working on her company, SOVE, Inc. Together with her co-founder, Rena is innovating a 3D metal printed orthodontic appliance to be used in conjunction with clear aligners for more efficient, effective, and esthetic orthodontic treatment. Christina is 37 years-old and a married mom of three young girls.

Lea Stafford

Lea Stafford Event, LLC

@leastaffordevents

Lea has a background in design and hospitality, and began her business, Lea Stafford Events, in 2012. She focuses on modern events that share a story or mission. She is also the Founder of Ethos West Collective, which is a collective created to highlight Black event professionals in the refined market. Lea lives with her husband and two kids in Oakland.

Sue Stark

The Wild Blume

@thewildblume
@thewildtables

Sue is an entrepreneur, floral designer, and the creative director at Wild Blume. Wild Blume is currently transitioning from event florals, to broader product offerings to include everyday floral, subscriptions, as well as curated table scapes and event kits for the everyday and aspiring “at home” event designer. Sue currently lives in Bozeman, Montana with her partner and dog.

 

Erin Kriessman

Ramp Digital

Erin is a growth marketer with extensive experience launching and scaling online businesses. Her expertise includes eCommerce, digital strategy, online marketing and web analytics. Erin consulted independently for 14 years before launching her consulting practice, Ramp Digital. Ramp Digital helps emerging businesses navigate the complexities of an ever-changing eCommerce landscape to make investments in the right technology and marketing programs to profitably scale.

Rena Doman

Perk Energy

@perkenergy

Seven years ago, Rena made the soul saving decision to leave the corporate world and her career, after two decades, to teach yoga and run Perk Energy. The goal at Perk is to provide “emotional support beverages’ for all of life’s moments. Last year, Rena’s husband quit his day job two days before the infamous shut down to run Perk with her full time. They haven’t looked back since!

Christy Butler

Modern and Chic

@modernandchic

Christy is the founder and owner of Modern + Chic Boutique, established in 2012. Modern + Chic offers bags, clothing, and accessories for the busy multi tasking woman on the go! Christy is a wife and mother of 4, living in South Jordan, Utah.

Shira Gill

Shira Gill

@shiragill

Shira Gill is a home organizing expert, author, speaker, and founder of the #15minwin productivity hack. Her online makeover programs, popular lifestyle blog, and Instagram feed have inspired a global audience (even one lady in Antarctica!) to get rid of the excess and focus on what really matters. Shira’s work and home have been featured in Apartment Therapy, Domino, Forbes, Goop, Harper’s Bazaar, HGTV, InStyle, Parents, Real Simple, Rue, and Remodelista, and her book, Minimalista, is available for pre-order now and will be out with Penguin Random House this fall. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, two daughters, and Australian Shepard, who sheds all over their very organized home.

Melissa McLean

J Consulting

@newrockhero

Melissa Janoske McLean, Ph.D. is an associate professor of public relations at the University of Memphis, where she teaches both undergraduate and master’s students. Her as-yet-unnamed business is a coaching and work support group for womxn in academia, offering one-on-one coaching for adventures in academic work, writing support groups, coworking times, celebrations of the big and small wins, and possibly a podcast.

Amy VanHaren

Pumpspotting

@avanharen

Amy is the CEO and founder of Pumpspotting, a mobile platform and employer benefit software helping parents feed both family and career. Amy faced deep isolation while working and breastfeeding and the experience led her on a quest to solve the pain points of feeding—at work and everywhere else in the world—and to unite nursing and pumping women. She has 24 years experience in marketing and digital community building and past work includes Patagonia, Amy’s Kitchen and Vistaprint.

 

 

Amanda Lopez

Picture Perfect Kitchen Design

@pictureperfectkitchendesign

Amanda started Picture Perfect Kitchen Designs 9 years ago when she brainstormed an idea of what a showroom-less kitchen remodeling company could look like. What started off as a pilot idea has blossomed into a full fledged business where she designs and implements client’s dream kitchens. Picture Perfect Kitchen Designs has recently branched off into retailing online cabinetry for bathrooms and hope to expand their online and social presence more in 2021. Amanda currently lives in Tampa, FL with her husband and two beautiful children.

Christine Van Rooy

VANROOY Design + Hunt Academy

@vanrooydesign

Christine creates more than environments people love. She designs experiences that bring joy, discovery, and connection. Christine and her husband Jerry created VANROOY design in 2008, dedicated to the development and success of hospitality environments, specifically restaurants and hotels. They have completed over 115 projects in 2 countries. During “stay at home” orders in the summer of 2020, Christine and her husband Jerry created HUNT academy. An immersive game experience for families; bring joy, discovery and connection to families during a very isolating time.

Palm Springs Huddle Mentors and Staff

Liz Stanley, director and founder

The Huddle and Say Yes

@thehuddle_co and @sayyesblog

For the last 12 years Liz has worked in publishing and content creation at SayYes.com (@sayyesblog). But little known fact: She also has a MA in Counseling Psychology. Her desire to help and connect women has always been second nature.

Originally from a suburb of NYC, her husband and three children recently relocated from Oakland, CA to Bozeman, Montana and have been fully embracing their new outdoors-focused life there.

Susan Petersen, entrepreneur and mentor

Freshly Picked

@susan.m.petersen

Susan Petersen is the founder and CEO of Freshly Picked. After becoming frustrated by the lack of well-designed baby shoes, Susan designed baby moccasins and put them on her blog in 2009. From there the company took off, with the rich and famous (or at least their kids) wearing the moccasins and Susan and her moccasins being featured on ABC’s Shark Tank. Susan lives and plays at the base of the Utah mountains, with her drone-pilot husband and her two adorable children.

Monique Shields, executive leadership coach

Seven Pines Leadership

@moniquershields

Monique Shields, Founder of Seven Pines Leadership, is an executive coach committed to helping high-achieving, mid-career womxn in leadership overcome imposter syndrome and burnout to make career successful leaps or pivots on their own terms. She has a particular commitment to BIPOC moms and all womxn of color and has created a coaching program specifically designed to help high-achieving moms of color continue to build impressive careers without the self-sacrifice.

Jenny Komenda, entrepreneur and mentor

Juniper Print Shop

@jennykomenda

Jenny is founder and CEO of Juniper Print Shop. She is also contributor to Domino Magazine and named designer to watch by Elle Decor. Jenny brings top notch expertise in creating an empire on social media, and brilliance to product development, growing a team, interior design, and marketing.

Sara Urquhart, event coordinator

 

Sara Urquhart is an organizer of chaos. She is the founding director of Shift Summit, Utah’s inclusive conference for working professionals. She founded Altitude Summit and The Utah Bee. She has a Master’s Degree in emergency management. Sara lives in downtown SLC with her husband and the last of her four grown children.

Travel Planning

The event starts May 10th at 2pm and ends Thursday May 13th at 10am.  The home is in Bermuda Dunes, with the nearest airport Palm Springs 20 minutes away.

Please plan your travel accordingly so you don’t miss any of the event!

 

*The address of the home is 40695 Carter Lane Bermuda Dunes, CA 92203

 

*You can see a final version of  the schedule here

Hot Seat Worksheet

*Hot Seat Worksheet. Please print it out, fill it out, and bring with you to The Huddle.

 

A few Hot Seat notes: We are dividing into two groups for our Hot Seats and will try to do this as thoughtfully as possible. The Hot Seat is an opportunity to have a group of other female business owners and mentors dive into your business specifically. We want you to use this time to be MOST beneficial to you.

 

Generally, the first few minutes are spent working through the worksheet for the group to understand you and your business and then the rest of the hour is spent brainstorming and solving whatever problems and challenges you want to address.

 

YOU are in charge of the topics and direction, and absolutely DO NOT need to dive into areas you don’t wish to discuss. Many find it beneficial to discuss the financials of your business and some bring spreadsheets to share, as we’ve found there is very little opportunity to do so outside of The Huddle. However, it’s absolutely not required.

 

The facilitator will help keep things on track to reach your goals for your Hot Seat with a Hot Seat prep meeting beforehand.

COVID-19 Precautions

 

The Huddle Team is actively monitoring the COVID-19 situation in the Palm Springs area and the following safety guidelines may change as the event gets closer: 

*Upon arrival, we will require a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours of the retreat start date, and/or proof of full vaccination to attend The Huddle. Although many of you may be vaccinated by May (hooray!), we still strongly encourage everyone arriving with a negative COVID-19 beforehand so we can be certain we aren’t transmitting anything.

Any wellness personnel that come into the home will also be required to show proof of vaccination and/or negative COVID test. 

Please bring evidence of either your negative COVID-19 test (within 48 hours), or proof of your vaccination.

 

*Wellness + Skillshare Survey

*We have a mobile spa coming and you have the option of picking one of 5 different treatments. We’re also polling to see what Skillshare topics you’d like to discuss during our meals.

 

Find the survey for both of those items here.

 

Please complete by  Sunday 4/25.

*Packing List

 

A few special items to consider bringing: swimsuit, laptop, water bottle, athletic attire + running/hiking shoes, notebook and pen, your Hot Seat Worksheet, open heart and mind!

*Group Norms

 

Find our Huddle Group Norms here. We strive to create a truly inclusive and safe place to learn and grow your business. Look over the norms beforehand, and we’ll discuss more when you arrive!

 

 

Questions?

Feel free to reach out Liz at thehuddle@sayyes.com with any questions or clarifications. Big or small!

 

See you in MAY!