Tuesday, April 25, 2006

The Star Treatment

I feel like a celebrity this week! I’m not used to all this attention. Today I have a meeting about developing a style TV show!!! Thursday is an interview with Inside Business magazine (
www.inside-business.com), where I’ll be featured in a “One to Watch” interview. Friday is an interview with the Cool Cleveland website (www.coolcleveland.com) and after that is the photo shoot for Inside Business.

Okay, so it’s not Oprah or Today, but it’s pretty cool nonetheless. I’m very excited.

Perhaps I’m most thrilled about the TV show idea, which I will talk more about in a later blog, but I’m also delighted to be featured in Inside Business. One young professional is profiled on the last page every month. It’s kind of a hip interview with little sound bite-y answers. I better practice being brief! It’s really an honor to be recognized as One2Watch. Not only do they choose up-and-coming professionals, but they must also be civic-minded, which I am.

In addition to my image consulting business, I write a style column for the ClevelandWomen.com site. I volunteer for Dress for Success Cleveland. I used to be a personal shopper, where I would pick out interview clothing for their clients. My time became very limited so I now speak for their Professional Women’s Group a few times a year. I think I can make more of an impact that way. I can reach 20+ women at a time, which is nice.

I’m also so excited about the Cleveland Women’s Leadership Link networking group that my friend DeLiska McGhee-Haggins (“Dee”) and I are starting. Dee and I met in 10th grade at Euclid High as cheerleaders. We reconnected at a Beachwood Chamber event last year and we both felt there was no networking group that was meeting our needs here in Cleveland. There is definitely no lack of women’s groups, but they all are imperfect in their own ways. So we got a wonderful group of women together to plan a launch event at the House of Blues Foundation Room. It kicks off on May 10th. I can’t wait.

We won’t just be a networking group but we’re planning to have a mentorship segment which will allow us to work with young women from area colleges. It’s so important to know the right people. I started learning that too late. It will be a distinct advantage to these young women to have an “in” with area companies and women in their industries.

We also want to be part of the Cleveland Brain Gain. It’s all about attracting talented people to our region and keeping college grads here. I consider myself a Brain Re-Gain. I couldn’t wait to leave Cleveland. Then I did for 2 ½ years. I moved to Las Vegas. But I ended up right back here. And I was plotting my next move to a warmer, hipper place when something strange happened. I became submerged in the business community and culture here and discovered that good things are really happening here and highly-motivated people are making them happen. It’s all about being around the right people. Like-minded people can make amazing things happen.

So I’ll bask in my week in the sun, then next week, I will be back to working really hard to make my own amazing things happen.

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