I was giving a presentation the other day, and one of the audience members asked me to tell them some success stories about women business owners. I know lots of incredible women business owners, so it’s easy to tell a few stories.
I love to present or to speak in public, whether to business school students, companies or even to large audiences. But do you know why I like to speak in public? You may be surprised.
It’s not because it’s a sales opportunity for me. In fact, I couldn’t care less about whether or not it’s a sales opportunity.
It’s not because I like the sound of my own voice. So help me, I spend so much time in meetings that I definitely do not! 🙂
It’s precisely because all my stories are about women business owners. Not because I have to try hard to come up with some, but because that’s all I know these days since all my clients are women business owners.
And when I tell stories about women business owners, do you know what happens? The folks that are listening – both women and men –they don’t even notice that I’m only telling stories about women. It has become the new norm.
And the second thing that happens, the one that really matters, is that those stories are resonating with someone. Somebody is listening and realizing, ‘hey, I can do that too.’ And that’s why I love to speak in public.
But while I love to feel like I’m inspiring someone to think bigger, what I realized is that quietly and discreetly I’m part of changing the paradigm of what people define as “success” by telling more stories about successful women business. It’s good to be part of a new horizon.
