Mentorship Roadshow is the brainchild of Julia Westfall from Hera Hub DC, Monica Kang of Innovators Box®, and me, Liz Whitehead of 12PointFive. The program is supported by a grant from Beacon DC which brought us together for the first time last year to develop a meaningful program for DC area women in business. Last year, we wanted to skip the panels and presentations to bring business owners right to a dozen experts and mentors to get them over a challenge in their business. Based on the success of that inaugural event and the comments and suggestions we received from our survey, we brought Mentorship Roadshow back. This year, we focused on the best way for women to address a lack of capital and to fund their business – sales.

Women started gathering at Hera Hub early Saturday morning on January 26 and needed no prompting to start networking and making introductions. The signature buzz of Mentorship Roadshow quieted to an energetic hum as business coach and guru, Rita Goodroe encouraged us to focus on ONE THING and do that consistently to grow our sales. Yes, we need to nurture our leads and provide content but spreading ourselves too thin is not only ineffective, it doesn’t allow us to see what strategies are working and what aren’t.

Maggy Sterner, Business and Brand Coach took all the fluff and extra out of our pitches to focus on the way we bring value and articulate that value. In just 30 minutes, Maggy gave me the tools to completely change my pitch. I’ve used my revamped pitch using her structure in several networking events since the Mentorship Roadshow. True to her promise, now when I tell people what I do they not only get it but say, “I need you!”

Monica Kang of Innovators Box and networking queen implored us to focus on our relationships. Since 2018 Monica has:
Travelled on 28 trips in 2018
To 30+ cities
In 5 countries
For 70+ workshops/speaking
Spoken to 3,500+ ppl each year
Met over 2,000+ ppl each year
And still finds the time to connect thoughtfully and meaningfully with people. Yes, she does get new business not simply by making new connections but by building relationships and nurturing them.

I talked about closing your sale and how to make sure it only takes two coffee meetings to close. No third coffee! If you do get to that third coffee, you’ve made a friend but you haven’t closed the deal. I provided scripts for people to follow and Monica and I facilitated a networking and closing session where business owners took on roles of sellers and buyers to practice what they learned and in a practical sense, make new connections.

And finally, Julia Westfall brought together a community of women who are focusing on growing their own and each other’s businesses at Hera Hub. A guiding principle for Mentorship Roadshow is to provide concrete value and takeaways for attendees. This year we sent out a survey directly after the event and will follow up in 90 days to see if the value we provided actually stuck and make the program even better for next year.

I myself have already taken big steps after the roadshow. After knowing Julia for a few years, I finally joined this community and couldn’t be happier at the productivity and welcome I’ve experienced so far! As a collaborator with Hera Hub DC and now a member, I look forward to continuing to learn from, grow with, and contribute to this community. And I look forward to what Mentorship Roadshow #3 will bring.

Liz Whitehead helps entrepreneurs save time and money winning bigger clients and more of them. She is the CEO of 12PointFive, a business development and coaching business that specializes in women owned and diverse business certifications and how to maximize them.