EnterCircle: Women’s Day was hosted at the link in Nocatee on Nov. 21. Gurpreet Misra, co-founder of the link, shared an opening statement and kicked off a fun day of networking and supporting women in their businesses.
Indie Bollman, owner of Indie Bollman Coaching and Consulting LLC, led the first workshop on networking. She encouraged the audience to find three people that they didn’t know and introduce themselves with a 30 second intro. Then they shared what brought them to the event and how they can support each other. Many hit it off and planned to meet up for coffee or lunch in the near future. “Networking is a follow-up,” Bollman said. She emphasized the importance of connecting in person and being authentic.
Vandana Sharma, expanding yogi and spiritual singer, led the audience in meditative exercises during intermission. She reminded the audience about the importance of mindfulness and rest. Next, Parul Patel, a business strategy and innovation executive, spoke about when disruption faces human challenges.
“Empathy is still critical in everything that we do,” Patel said. Technology can’t replace human connection and emotion and earning customer trust is important. Patel shared the story of Amazon Go, a chain of cashierless stores. Amazon wanted to make shopping easier for busy people by eliminating the check-out process. However, they forgot about the need for people to interact and connect. This story demonstrated that people need empathy and connection, especially in business.
Kady Yellow, vice president of placemaking, Downtown Visions Co, explained the importance of placemaking, which is giving agency to places in urban communities. Yellow said improving public spaces will lead to people having better networks and connections. She spoke about her work in Jacksonville and the importance of transforming spaces to better meet the needs of the community, such as making downtown Jacksonville more walk-able.
Before the break, Misra shared how the link has been able to give back by donating to Three Grains of Rice Missions thanks to recent fundraisers. Ed Perez, the founder, talked about the nonprofit and said that it is up to us to care for our communities.
Lunch and workshops were led by Terry Spataro, Parul Patel and Cordes. Spataro spoke on AI branding, Patel shared “One Big Thing, One Big Fix” and Cordes talked about “Harnessing Tech Tools as a Key to Clarity.” The day ended with “Designing Next Generation Ecosystems for Whole Person Care” by Gina Mangus and “How to think like a Disruptor” by Summer Vyne.
EnterCircle: Women’s Day at the link was a success. Attendees walked away knowing how to network better, practice empathy, use technology as a tool and how to better support each other.
