💌 WM Digest | July 16

I had a networking call with a fellow consultant yesterday. It was an auto-match sort of call so I had no idea who I was meeting and didn’t even know we had consulting in common until we started chatting.

Her: a product manager trying to leave the consulting game for a more traditional 9-5.

Me: a communications consultant who could not get ANY of her communications technology to work! 😤

It literally took us three tries — Slack huddle, Google meet, phone call — to find a solution that didn’t cut out on me. This inevitably led to a conversation about why my internet is so laughably bad and chatting about the joys and sorrows of living in a house while you build it.

She pointed out that I am getting to test the product as we build — a great gift! And it made me think of this group.

The WM community will always be changing. But when I think of those first days in early March when it was a totally blank slate with ~20 intrepid beta testers and compare it to where we are now…

The members make the group, and we have the best members and I’m so proud of how the group is shaping up! It is absolutely a gift.

(btw… I’m curious if you’d be interested in being randomly matched with other group members in this way? ☕️Let me know here!🔒️)

FYI: You are receiving this email because you are either currently a member of The Society of Working Moms, recently attended or registered for an event, or signed up for the newsletter.

Links followed by a ‘🔒️’ are links to the WM Slack community. You can apply at www.working-moms.com/apply.

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🌐 COMMUNITY NOTES 🌐

• Welcome to our newest Slack members, Annie, Frances, Samantha, and Jax! 👋

• We had an AMAZING Power Hour week last week (with our final session to happen this Friday!) — many thanks to all who have participated so far. A recap will follow Friday’s session.

• We are on a bit of a roll with member-led events and I’m loving it! If you have an idea for a session/workshop/meetup you’d like to host, send me a dm or see the #present-a-session channel🔒️.

• Thanks for the nudge to include The Society of Working Moms on your LinkedIn profiles — see instructions for how to add here🔒️!

• I’ve added in a new recurring event that will be a monthly orientation for new and prospective members. The first is next Friday the 26th! 👇️

  • All are welcome, but it will be geared towards new members and “getting the most out of Slack/membership”

🗓️UPCOMING EVENTS🗓️

Many of our events are free and open to the public. Highlighted events are newly added this week.

• Wednesday, July 17 @ 12:00 - 1:00 PM CT - Group Coaching (RSVP)

• Thursday, July 18 @ 8:30 - 9:00 PM CT - Working Mom Speed Networking “Happy Hour” (RSVP)

• Friday, July 19 @ 12:00 - 1:00 PM CT - ⚡️LinkedIn Power Hour Pt 2: Content + Connections⚡️ (RSVP)

• Wednesday, July 24 @ 12:00 - 1:00 PM CT - Group Coaching (RSVP)

• Wednesday, July 24 @ 1:00 - 2:00 PM CT - Creative Command: Design Best Practices (RSVP)

• Friday, July 26 @ 10:30 - 11:00 AM CT - New & Prospective Member Orientation (RSVP)

• Wednesday, July 31 @ 12:00 - 1:00 PM CT - Group Coaching (RSVP)

• Thursday, Aug 1 @ 9:00 - 10:00 AM CT - Author Chat: Annie Lyons (RSVP)

👉️MEMBER RECS 👈️

This app for making your phone less addicting, this new website for fractional workers who are moms (U.S.-based) plus this new website for 5-hour work day jobs (U.K.-based), this quick fashion survey for non-binary folks, this site and this site for bargain glasses, this network referral-based job site, this sitcom about a mother of 3 trying to fit in, this (member-founded!) intimacy clean up tool.

🔦MEMBER SPOTLIGHT 🔦

Julie Sherman | ✨ Founder and Creative Director @ J Sherman Studio | Design with Purpose and Passion 🧡💖❤️

👨‍👩‍👦‍👦Kids: 8 and 12
📍Location: New England! I'm located in Newton, MA—which is just west of Boston
💗Favorite thing about the WM Slack community:It’s inclusive and embracing. I’ve been meeting such impressive, driven, honest, and friendly fellow working moms!
⛰️Upcoming trip: Heading to Mohonk Mountain House with my kids and husband, my parents, and another family. It’s a really special and quirky place, on the edge of the Shawangunk mountains in New York State. I think it’s my happy place and I want to go there every year, forever!
😽Pets: Polly the cat, who thinks she’s a person. She loves all creatures except other cats.
🤓Hidden talent: Here’s a funny nerdy one: I’m a super creative person (went to art school, run a design firm), but I just LOVE spreadsheets. Figuring out how to do new functions and formulas and conditional formatting makes me happy!
🧘‍♀️Favorite way to relax: Nature walks, yoga, kettlebells (functional training), travel, listening to podcasts, and art projects with my kiddos!
🎯Goal for the upcoming year: Grow my business! Not in terms of people—my mighty team of six (all mom) colleagues are amazing and this is just the right size for me—but I want to grow our clients and projects meaningfully and sustainably. I'd love all ideas, support, and accountability this group might offer 😉 please hold me to it!

💡LINKEDIN HIGHLIGHTS 💡

• 12 Essential Facts for Working Moms to Remember… (read more)

• Reflections from a year of change | The last year has been a roller coaster of emotions & change for me… (read more)

• I’m very happily adding that I've been an active member and Founding Mother at The Society of Working Moms! … (read more)

• I'm also a Founding Mother / Founding Member of The Society of Working Moms, and I couldn't have summed it up better than Katie! …(read more)

Want to be featured here (plus get some love from the WM community on your posts)? Use the new #like-my-post channel🔒️!

🧵THREADS OF NOTE🔒️🧵

• How to talk with your children about gun violence? (weigh in!)

• Anyone with connections at The Lactation Network? (help a member out!)

• To add or not to add “mom” to your LinkedIn profile? (weigh in!)

• Early pregnancy migraines? (share tips!)

• PP period cramping? (weigh in!)

• An amazing string of wins for this deserving solopreneur! (celebrate!)

• 2yo said “I love you” for the first time (awwwww!)

• This yet-to-be-released motherhood research opportunity (volunteer!)

• On “rest equity” in a marriage (weigh in!)

• This member stepped outside her comfort zone for a podcast! (celebrate!)

• A ChatGPT hack for meal planning (borrow!)

• First time pulling up (cheer on!)

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