Turning your passion into profit

  This is for business owners, entrepreneurs, and those of us dreaming of the work we'd like to be doing if we could only figure out how to make 'enough' money at it.

In December 2014 five women met in a bar in Cold Spring, NY to talk about what it's like to work for ourselves.

It's awesome, frustrating, lonely, and exhilarating. It felt so good to be in the company of others who really get how all of that can be true at the same time, and how much you still like it, we decided to get together again.

That conversation began the Hudson Valley Women in Business, which has since grown to 260 members and counting.

We meet every month to introduce ourselves, commiserate, celebrate, and brainstorm together, because as the tagline says: you can only figure out so much in your own head.

What a relief when you don't have to!

Next week our group will host the first in a new series of Quarterly Conversations, a one-of-a-kind event that combines expert knowledge with a working session to apply their lessons learned to how you run your business. Our topic: Turning Your Passion into Profit.

For the inaugural event, we're welcoming Sarah Womer to the stage, a HVWiB member and Hudson Valley rock star who kickstarted $20,000 last year for her composting program, Zero to Go. She is also one of the most passionate people you'll ever meet.

Sarah and I will talk through what it takes to stay motivated and focused even when you're scared you might fail. We'll talk about money, and how to support yourself when you're still figuring out how to make your idea work. The real answers none of us like to admit, but which are so helpful when you're wondering how anyone gets a business off the ground.

If you're in the Hudson Valley, I hope you'll join us next Wednesday. If you're not, we will record the event and share it in the weeks to come. Keep an eye out for it.

Huge thanks to our partners for helping to make this event possible: Zero to Go, Leigh Baumann Design, BEAHIVE, Tin Shingle, and media partner, A Little Beacon Blog.

For more information about Hudson Valley Women in Business, join our Facebook Group.

And if you're a business owner, entrepreneur, or dreamer trying to make your big idea happen, please know you are in very good company. Stay with it!