Meghann Conter: The Joyful Rebellion Against Hustle Culture

This episode emphasizes the imperative of fostering a supportive community among women entrepreneurs, particularly as we witness a significant disparity in business success rates.

Meghann Conter, the esteemed founder of The Dames, articulates her vision of transforming the entrepreneurial landscape for women by providing a unique accelerator designed specifically for them.

She elucidates the challenges that women face, including the dearth of representation in high-revenue business sectors and the pervasive hustle culture that often leads to burnout.

Through The Dames, Meghann aims to break these outdated norms, enabling women to redefine success not merely in terms of financial gain but also through impact, joy, and meaningful leadership.

Our conversation delves into the transformative power of collaboration, personal growth, and the necessity of nurturing authentic connections among women in business.

Our Guest This Week:

In this week’s episode of #WisdomofWomen we have a 🌟 Hustle-Busting Collaboration Queen 🌟 in our midst.

Meghann Conter is the CEO and Founder of 🌟 The Dames®, 🌟 the world’s only business accelerator for women running and leading 6-, 7-, and 8-figure businesses. Since 2015, she has built a global, high-performing community where self-worth and net-worth align joyfully, proving that scaling a company does not require sacrificing your life, your values, or your sense of humor. A former champion of hustle culture turned joyful-growth pioneer, Meghann is known for her rare blend of sharp business strategy, fearless collaboration, and sketch-comedy-level hilarity — yes, there may be wigs. Through The Dames, she is helping women break outdated business norms, grow from the top 15% to the elite 2%, and redefine success as impact, enJOYment, and meaningful leadership at scale.

Takeaways:

  • Meghann’s journey illustrates the transformative power of collaboration among women entrepreneurs, enabling them to overcome systemic barriers in business.
  • The Dames serves as a vital platform for women-led businesses, focusing on redefining success through meaningful leadership and personal growth without sacrificing well-being.
  • The discussion reveals a critical shift away from hustle culture towards a more balanced approach to business growth, advocating for alignment with personal values and community support.

Chapters:

  • 00:06 – Amplifying Women’s Leadership
  • 04:24 – Defining Moments in Megan’s Journey
  • 09:34 – Empowering Women in Business
  • 17:46 – The Transformation of Business Mindsets
  • 27:25 – The Journey of Building a Community
  • 35:14 – Building Business Besties and Community
  • 38:35 – The Importance of Boundaries in Leadership

Guest Offers & Contact Information:

https://www.thedames.co

https://www.linkedin.com/in/meghannconter

https://www.facebook.com/meghannconter

https://www.instagram.com/thedamesco

https://www.youtube.com/@thedamesco

Learn more about joining the dames here: https://www.thedames.co/dames-connect-experience

Apply to Join The Dames®

Wherever you are in the world, your membership includes full access to all The Dames’ in-person and virtual experiences.

12-Month Commitment:

Just $117/month or $1,287/year*

*Pay annually and get one month free.

https://www.thedames.co/apply

FunFerence 2026 – October 7-10, 2026 – Denver

Step right up to the perfect blend of serious business growth and restorative belly laughs!

From October 7-10, 2026, we’re transforming Denver’s marvelous Limelight Hotel into a hub of connection, camaraderie, and creativity, exclusively for members of The Dames.

https://www.thedames.co/funference2026

Follow the #WisdomOfWomen show for more inspiring stories and insights from trailblazing women founders, investors, and experts in growth and prosperity.

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/yja3w7nh

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/4tak8ajk

Amazon Prime: https://tinyurl.com/366syddj

Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/bdhananz

RSS Feed: https://feeds.captivate.fm/womengetfunded/

Coco Sellman, the host of #WisdomOfWomen, believes business is a force for good, especially with visionary women at the helm. With over 25 years of entrepreneurial experience, she has launched five companies and guided over 500 startups. As Founder & CEO of A Force for Good, Coco supports purpose-driven women founders in unlocking exponential growth and prosperity. Her recent venture, Allumé Home Care, reached eight-figure revenues and seven-figure profits in just four years before a successful exit in 2024. A venture investor and board director, Coco’s book, *A Force for Good*, reveals a roadmap for women to lead high-impact, high-growth companies.

Learn more about A Force for Good:

Website: https://aforceforgood.biz/

Are Your GROWING or PLATEAUING? https://aforceforgood.biz/quiz/

FFG Tool of the Week: https://aforceforgood.biz/weekly-tool/

The Book: https://aforceforgood.biz/book/

Growth Accelerator: https://aforceforgood.biz/accelerator/

Transcript
Speaker A:

Welcome to the Wisdom of Women show.

Speaker A:

We are dedicated to amplifying the voice of women in business.

Speaker A:

A new model of leadership is emerging and we are here to amplify the voices of women leading the way.

Speaker A:

I am your host, Coco Selman, five time founder, impact investor and creator of the Force for Good system.

Speaker A:

Thank you for joining us today as we illuminate the path to unlocking opportunities and prosperity for women led enterprises by amplifying the voice and wisdom of women.

Speaker A:

Today we have a hustle busting collaboration queen in our midst.

Speaker A:

Megan Konter is the CEO and founder of the Dames, the world's only business accelerator for women.

Speaker A:eight figure businesses since:Speaker A:

She has built a global high performing community where self worth and net worth align.

Speaker A:

Joyfully providing that scaling a company does not require sacrificing your life, your values or your sense of humor.

Speaker A:

A former champion of hustle culture turned joyful growth pioneer, Megan is known for her rare blend of of sharp business strategy, fearless collaboration and sketch comedy level hilarity.

Speaker A:

Yes, there may even be wigs.

Speaker A:

Through the Dames, she is helping women break outdated business norms, grow from the top 15% to the elite 2% and redefine success as impact, enjoyment and meaningful leadership at scale.

Speaker A:

Welcome Megan.

Speaker B:

Coco.

Speaker B:

This is going to be such a great conversation and I am so excited for it.

Speaker B:

Thank you so much for having me on this show.

Speaker A:

Oh, thanks for being here.

Speaker A:

Tell us, Megan, a book written by a woman that has significantly influenced your life.

Speaker B:

I have to do three.

Speaker B:

Sorry, I'm a rule breaker.

Speaker B:

Number one, Spiritual growth is Rise, Sister Rise by Rebecca Campbell.

Speaker B:

Number two is A Personal Growth for Women Unbound by Kazia Urbaniak.

Speaker B:

And number three, We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rogers.

Speaker A:

Oh my goodness.

Speaker A:

Wow.

Speaker A:

I don't think I know these books.

Speaker B:

Really?

Speaker B:

Yeah.

Speaker B:

Spiritual Growth.

Speaker A:

What's the first one?

Speaker A:

What was the fries?

Speaker A:

Yeah.

Speaker B:

Rise Sister, rise.

Speaker A:

Rise sister, rise.

Speaker A:

And who, who is the author?

Speaker A:

Author again?

Speaker B:

Rebecca Campbell.

Speaker A:

Wonderful.

Speaker A:

And what was the personal growth one?

Speaker B:

Unbound.

Speaker A:

Unbound.

Speaker A:

I know that one.

Speaker A:

And we should all be millionaires.

Speaker A:

Yes.

Speaker A:

And who wrote that one?

Speaker B:

Rachel Rogers.

Speaker A:

Rachel Rogers.

Speaker A:

And what have you extracted from these?

Speaker A:

What's the takeaway?

Speaker B:

Rise, Sister, Rise, I would say is sort of, sort of like the modern way of looking at how women excel being in community.

Speaker B:

And we do that by supporting one another, right?

Speaker B:

Learning what it is that each other needs and providing that for each other, but then also asking so that we can continue to lift each other up.

Speaker B:

Unbound really?

Speaker B:

Is about regaining our power and our voice and our ability to not hide or shy away from the things that we want and and learn how to speak from that place.

Speaker B:

And then we should all be millionaires.

Speaker B:

By Rachel Rogers Was she I love her because not only is she a woman author, but she's an African American woman author.

Speaker B:

And she has defied, I think it's the top.01% of black women entrepreneurs, seven or eight figures.

Speaker B:

And so she's defied those stats.

Speaker B:

And it's all about practical delegation, good ways of growing a business regardless of what stage you're at.

Speaker B:

But it's really all three are really powerful in their own ways.

Speaker A:

Well, thank you for those really wonderful suggestions and I'll go and pick up those good reads and hear the voice of women, the wisdom of women.

Speaker A:

And so we love to get to know you through some moments in your life.

Speaker A:

So what are three moments that have shaped who you are as a person?

Speaker B:

Yes.

Speaker B:ing business in the recession:Speaker B:

So that's number one.

Speaker B:hen I started Denver Dames in:Speaker B:

And that was all out of being part of a great community that helped us think bigger than what we were.

Speaker B:

And I realized, you know what, I'm fishing in the wrong pond with my marketing business and I need a pond with bigger fish.

Speaker B:

And I'm here to make an impact on more women.

Speaker B:

So.

Speaker B:

So that was like the initial place where I started thinking about what was Denver Dames at the time.

Speaker B:ed to be a global movement in:Speaker B:

And all of this really has been part of the defining moments of me seeing times when women are breaking through more and more glass ceilings and we're doing so in such great strides and amazing ways.

Speaker B:

When you think back to the fact that 50 years ago we weren't even able to vote or own, I'm sorry, not vote, but own our own credit cards, finance things with ease, really carry many of the financial decisions to the wealth transfer that's occurring at this point in time, it is pretty amazing.

Speaker B:

And women are coming along so quickly.

Speaker B:and I have to throw in there:Speaker B:

It's just not possible.

Speaker B:

And so I set out to defy that.

Speaker B:

And I did it at first, through all of our dames big events, we have a female comedian or improv performer or improv troupe that comes delights us, because the last thing we need is more seriousness in our lives.

Speaker B:

And so I thought, you know what?

Speaker B:

I have this ability to just be improvisationally funny.

Speaker B:

And so I went to improv school, and then I started doing sketch comedy and performing in a sketch troupe, and then started bringing that to the dames.

Speaker B:

So it's a really fun way to integrate complex lessons or what I would say is a little bit more boring business lessons into memorable ways.

Speaker B:

You just put on a wig, throw in an accent, and people automatically pay attention.

Speaker B:

It's amazing.

Speaker B:

So that's another moment for me on a personal level.

Speaker B:rting my spiritual journey in:Speaker B:

Both really helped me reclaim myself and deepened my spiritual journey tenfold and helped me really connect with my higher self, my higher knowing, and remove a lot of those obstacles that had been in my way for many years prior.

Speaker A:

Oh, my goodness.

Speaker A:

Always growing.

Speaker A:

What a great journey.

Speaker A:

And following your guidance, following your ideas of, you know, okay, I'm in a corporate job.

Speaker A:

I don't like it.

Speaker A:

I'm gonna.

Speaker A:

I'm not gonna just settle.

Speaker A:

I'm gonna go do something different, and I'm gonna do marketing, and that's gonna be cool.

Speaker B:

And then.

Speaker A:

But, you know, not quite the lane you wanted to be in.

Speaker A:

And just keep adjusting.

Speaker A:

And the personal journey, the meditation, the self growth, the healing through releasing of alcohol, all of that tells me so much about who you are.

Speaker A:

I love that you do improv.

Speaker A:

Me too.

Speaker B:

It's the most liberating thing I would say, and I have so much fun with it.

Speaker B:

And then getting to bring that into creation of sketch characters is even more fun.

Speaker B:

I just love wearing costumes.

Speaker B:

I think that's truly good.

Speaker B:

Could have got different Personas for fun.

Speaker A:

Yeah, why not?

Speaker A:

I think it's such a great.

Speaker A:

It's a great tool because we're often starting to be in the movement where we understand that creating spaces where people can be creative and have free ideas and free thoughts and spark moments of pleasure and joy and fun in the workplace is when we're starting to move into.

Speaker A:

And yet it's sometimes very foreign and we don't know how.

Speaker A:

So I think you're really through your Work giving us ways to really embody and learn how to do that.

Speaker A:

So tell us, what is the dames and who's your customer and what is that problem you are helping her solve?

Speaker B:

Yes.

Speaker B:

So there are plenty of groups out there that are amazing and exist for any woman at any stage of business.

Speaker B:

And that's necessary.

Speaker B:blem that I found was back in:Speaker A:

Yeah.

Speaker B:

And so I started diving into that and have been doing research ever since as to the progress that women are making in business ownership.

Speaker B:

Because obviously the great thing is there's more and more women that start a business every year.

Speaker B:

The not so great part is that around 87% of women owned businesses never get past 50,000 in annual revenue.

Speaker B:

So they're hobby based businesses.

Speaker B:

And that's great for some women if it's able to be a supplementary income for their household, for instance.

Speaker B:

But when I think about women trying to raise kids and have families, making $50,000 a year and trying to knowing how much of an impact it means to me to make in this world with my business, I can't imagine the feeling of trying to make this epic mission come to life, this epic vision come to life and not having the resources to do so.

Speaker B:

Yeah, we just kept finding that a lot of times it's because women are not surrounded by other women who've been there, done that.

Speaker B:

So we set out to make that be a change where six and seven figure women can come together along with eight figure women and really support one another in learning the ways that women need to grow our businesses where we can successfully balance our masculine and our feminine energy.

Speaker B:

The other challenge that we really help to solve is the fact that most of the business books out there are written by men.

Speaker B:

They are written using masculine energy.

Speaker B:

And for women they are, they are taught, we are taught to run it with unhealthy levels of masculine energy that are not innate in us.

Speaker B:

So we teach a lot of different ways to help you.

Speaker A:

Right.

Speaker B:

Scale your business and make sure that you're growing it for the right reasons and that you're in alignment the entire time.

Speaker B:

Because if you're just growing for growth's sake and you don't actually know how to do so in your own feminine energy of a 28 day cycle, burnout happens really quickly.

Speaker B:

So we're preventing burnout, we're creating a Lot of education spaces and a lot of spaces for what we call our think tank circles at the 100k, 250k, 500k, and 7 and 8 figure levels where women are coming together and in a peer to peer facilitated environment, are supporting one another in breaking through those glass ceilings, getting past those challenges and light speed, and helping one another figure out the best ways to get to their goals without again, all that hustle, grind, burnout, nasty stuff that we learned was righteous.

Speaker B:

And actually we just kind of were modeled that that was the way that it was done.

Speaker B:At least I was in the early:Speaker B:

That was what the heroes did almost.

Speaker B:

That was what the warrior women did.

Speaker A:

Yeah.

Speaker B:

And I don't know about you, but I experienced many seasons of burnout because of that.

Speaker B:

So we really help women get a lot of revenue growth.

Speaker B:

That's right.

Speaker B:

Sized, strategic, clarity, the ability to make better decisions in their business, the elevated leadership and skills that they need, personal growth that fuels all that professional growth.

Speaker B:

Because I believe that the two are very tied together.

Speaker B:

So hence why you'll always see me doing another personal growth retreat or spiritual growth retreat, because I know that helps me grow my business.

Speaker B:

Like being the better leader.

Speaker A:

I love that.

Speaker A:

I love that.

Speaker A:

Well, maybe you could point out to us a couple of days that you, within the Dames, that you help women use their more feminine energy to grow their companies.

Speaker A:

What are some examples of how you help with that?

Speaker B:

Yeah, so we are always leading workshops and leading very different trainings and at our Fun Friends, that our Fun Friends is probably our most unique way that we teach this.

Speaker A:

So.

Speaker A:

Yes, hold on.

Speaker A:

I want to just make sure everybody here knows about this.

Speaker A:

Your Fun Friends, like conference.

Speaker A:

Fun Friends Conference.

Speaker B:

But not boring, right?

Speaker A:

Not boring.

Speaker A:

And it's in October every year, right?

Speaker B:

Yep.

Speaker B:

October 7th through the 10th.

Speaker B:This year,:Speaker A:

Okay.

Speaker A:

October 7th through 10th.

Speaker A:

And tell us what this is and what you do in it and why it's so different than a regular boring conference.

Speaker B:

Yes.

Speaker B:

So it's a real true blend of personal growth, professional growth, humor.

Speaker B:

We've got comedians that perform.

Speaker B:

We've got the fun breaks that are integrated in throughout the entire day.

Speaker B:

We've got performers that come in and really help us shake our hair down.

Speaker B:

And we have transformational tears that happen the whole entire time because we allow space for integration.

Speaker B:

But the most important thing is that this, the Dames, is a group of collaborative, radically collaborative women who really want to support one another.

Speaker B:

So we leave and create all These very intentional spaces where we facilitate collaboration and transformation that way.

Speaker B:

Or we keep the space open so that women can do so on their own time.

Speaker B:

But it's really designed so that we have spaciousness in our experience, so that we learn how to tap into our intuition, so that we get to the place where we can access that creative flow.

Speaker B:

Because a lot of times conferences can be very masculine in their energy as well.

Speaker B:

And sitting in a chair all day, learning fed for hours doesn't really allow for our feminine energy to be coming out.

Speaker A:

So maybe tell us a story of a customer, someone who's been part of the dames, and how her life, her business, her approach has changed as a result.

Speaker B:

Yeah, well, it's interesting because there are many women who come into the dames already at seven figures, start getting around this energy of other women who are not sacrificing themselves anymore.

Speaker A:

Yes.

Speaker B:

And who are making sure that their own personal time is really important, that the time with their families is of utmost importance.

Speaker B:

And so they come in and a lot of them have, I would say, I'm not going to judge it, it's not negative, but they just have a lot of bad habits around that.

Speaker B:

Working 16 hour days, working seven days a week, thinking that's what they need to do.

Speaker B:

And we talk about the fact that we don't want any of our dames to crawl across the seven figure mark on their hands and knees in their last breath because they have zero practice for themselves, they have zero personal growth themselves are not even there.

Speaker B:

So the transformation that tends to happen is actually women completely looking at their businesses in a different way and realizing that they've been running for years and that what they've built isn't exactly what they want and it's not what they want to keep doing for 10, 20 years from now because it's way too much.

Speaker B:

So it's interesting how we would think that, oh, you know, in an accelerator it's all about that continued uphill climb.

Speaker B:

But I think that right there is a big part of the problem of the hustle and grind warrior culture.

Speaker A:

Yes.

Speaker B:

That's not sustainable for everyone.

Speaker B:

And especially if you built it in a very, a very masculine way, in a hierarchical way, in a way that is built on the 24 hour schedule, working your fingers to the bone, et cetera.

Speaker B:

So the success stories that I'm most proud of are those where women said, okay, yes, I'm making this kind of money, but I'm not actually paying myself that well.

Speaker B:

I'm not enjoying the time with My family, I feel my health is at risk or it's already failing.

Speaker B:

And we're able to help them.

Speaker B:

Right.

Speaker B:

Scale the business, which sometimes does mean either completely changing the business model or it means reducing some of the revenue so that we can get the right people in the right seats and right size the business so that it doesn't burn out the CEO.

Speaker A:

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker B:

There are many times when it's the other direction and somebody comes in and they're at a quarter million and then they grow to 500k, but they do so in a way that they understand.

Speaker B:

Okay.

Speaker B:

It's really important to have the right people, systems and processes.

Speaker B:

It's extremely important to make sure that whatever I'm doing I can duplicate.

Speaker B:

Because if I have a lot of problems and I scale, then I'm just scaling those problems.

Speaker B:

So it's really about the awareness and not just the blind acceleration.

Speaker A:

It makes so much sense.

Speaker A:

If your whole business is dependent on you making all the decisions and your hours, your time, your work, there's only so far you can go.

Speaker A:

In my experience, it's actually when there's that moment of pulling back and deciding, I'm going to go on vacation, right.

Speaker A:

I am really going to leave and I'm going to trust that my team's got it figured out.

Speaker A:

Of course, you can't do that unless you put these pieces in place, but that's when things start to really pick up.

Speaker A:

Have you seen those transformations in the dames where people start to realize they can come back and step back and then others can do stuff and there.

Speaker B:

Can be systems in place and people ask me oftentimes what I see as those pivotal points and is the 250k, 500k, and then as we approach a million and you've got 2 to 10 million, so there's all of these big chasms or changes or ceilings, if you will, the 250k ceiling.

Speaker B:

Once you can get your business to that place, that's usually where a lot of solopreneurs will be like, okay, now I can actually go take four days off where I can take a week off.

Speaker B:

And most of them have hired at least one support person at that point.

Speaker B:

The 500k to a million dollar challenge is having the right amount of team for the amount of work.

Speaker B:

And it's a constant straddle of that line.

Speaker B:

Yeah, like, oh, I just lost somebody and now I'm.

Speaker B:

I have to take back on a lot of that work, vice versa.

Speaker B:

So that's the line there.

Speaker B:

How do I keep the people how do I keep the people happy?

Speaker B:

How do I build the right kind of culture, how do I hire the right amount of people?

Speaker B:

That's that chasm.

Speaker B:

And then the seven figure chasm is where did my life go?

Speaker B:

I don't know what fun is anymore.

Speaker B:

I would like to figure out what fun is, how do I have fun, what even lights me up anymore?

Speaker B:

Because what I've done is I've built this business and I have somehow kept children alive or animals or plants or something.

Speaker B:

And that's what I see a lot of times is like, oh my gosh, now it's time to really come back to myself.

Speaker B:

And then by the time they get toward like 5 million to 10 million, they start being able to think about giving back and how can I make a real big impact as I move forward?

Speaker A:

And it's so cool.

Speaker A:

You talked about being in community with women at all these stages and tell us about that.

Speaker A:

Why is that so important and so.

Speaker B:

Valuable when you're thinking about the stats of 87% of women owned businesses being 50,000 and under?

Speaker B:

We use that a hundred K cutoff because when you're sitting at a coffee shop or you're a traditional networking event, and this is what I experienced all the time, if you are a newer business owner, you're at that point where you're desperate, I hate to say it, but you're desperate for leads and you go to a networking event because you have to walk out of there with several different leads.

Speaker B:

Otherwise you might not be able to put food on the table next week.

Speaker B:

And you're not thinking about the same things that someone who has surpassed the 100k level and is starting to get into the multi six figures and then certainly not at the same level as someone who's at a quarter of a million or a half a million or at a million, the problems are very different, the goals are very different.

Speaker A:

Yes.

Speaker B:

That's why it's important to be part of groups where you can turn to everybody next to you and they get you.

Speaker B:

Because they're at that level, they're dealing with those same things.

Speaker A:

Yeah.

Speaker B:

So that's why it's important to us.

Speaker B:

So that every person who's there can contribute and can receive through our system of holistic reciprocity.

Speaker B:

Because they're able to, because they've been there, done that, or they're going through it right now and somebody else can support and then it creates that holistic reciprocity and a space where people want to come, they want to be vulnerable and they want to give and they want to support, but they also want to learn how to ask and how to ask.

Speaker A:

It's great.

Speaker B:

Which is a feat in and of itself.

Speaker A:

Okay, so I'm curious about, because it's very cool to see all these different ways that the deans can help us as women.

Speaker A:

I'd love to know how you built and scaled your community.

Speaker A:

Tell us about what has worked, what has not worked.

Speaker A:

When I go to your website, there's fun, but there's also a lot of practical strategy and tools.

Speaker A:

And I can't imagine you just randomly do hilly nilly to fill your funnel and get people in the room.

Speaker B:

No, I mean, the initial stages were all about me learning what a power partner system could be.

Speaker B:

So in the early days of my business, I was part of an organization that taught us a concept that was similar to what I developed as the power partner system.

Speaker B:

And it blew my mind to think, oh, wow, this isn't about going out there and me by myself as a solopreneur trying to find every single client.

Speaker B:

Yeah.

Speaker B:

It's about me building a group of people who know who I am.

Speaker B:

Like me, trust me, understand what I do, and then can go out and help find people for me and introduce me to them.

Speaker B:

So that was sort of the first aha moment for me was like, oh, okay.

Speaker B:

So networking instead of doing what I did in the first five years of my business is not indeed effective.

Speaker B:

To just collect a whole bunch of business cards and stack them and try to keep following up with these people.

Speaker B:

It's about truly understanding my business, who I am here for.

Speaker B:

And our avatar is a woman running a company that generates 500,000 in revenue.

Speaker B:

She's got five employees.

Speaker B:

She's at that place where she's running a B2B agency.

Speaker B:

And she is.

Speaker B:

Yeah, in that space that I was talking about where.

Speaker B:

Okay, how many.

Speaker B:

How many team do we have?

Speaker B:

Where do we need to hire next hire before we have the money to fire fast, hire slow, all of those things.

Speaker B:

That's the ideal woman.

Speaker B:

Once we understand who she is.

Speaker B:

Now we look and see who else is connected to her that has a trusted relationship, and then we start building relationships with those people.

Speaker B:ted where, no, Nobody back in:Speaker B:

We're the last remaining group.

Speaker B:

A lot, there were some that existed before COVID but the other groups are either you can be wherever you are, or you are at seven figures or above.

Speaker B:

So we're that group for six and seven figures.

Speaker A:

And I. Oh, and how you did this building and the power partners early on.

Speaker B:

So when you're clear as to what it is that you.

Speaker B:

Who it is that you're wanting to get connected to and you're clear as to who the power partners are that can best help you get connected, then it just starts becoming a matter of building your community and building your network.

Speaker B:

So that's how I grew Denver Dames.

Speaker B:

And the Dames in the very beginning was, who do you know that's running a company that looks like this?

Speaker B:

She's this kind of company.

Speaker B:

Da, da, da.

Speaker B:

And then can you send her to this event that I host every other month?

Speaker B:

So that's how I built it in the grassroots way in the very beginning.

Speaker B:

And now it's really been.

Speaker B:

It's a combination of online ads and things along those lines, but really a strong, tightly knit community of women who are like, oh my gosh, I'm having so much benefit from this membership.

Speaker B:

You need to come and you need to check out the dames.

Speaker B:

You need to join it.

Speaker B:

So it does start creating its own nucleus of influence.

Speaker A:

Just gotta trademark that quick.

Speaker B:

Exactly.

Speaker A:

Nucleus of influence.

Speaker A:

I like this.

Speaker B:

Have our networks who are out there networking for us and who are helping us.

Speaker B:

And when you do a great job as a service provider, other people start learning about it.

Speaker A:

Yes.

Speaker B:

So that's really what happens.

Speaker B:

And what, okay, you said what not to do.

Speaker A:

Yeah.

Speaker A:

What did you discover along the way?

Speaker A:

What was a waste of your time?

Speaker A:

What was the hustle?

Speaker A:

What was the stuff that you stopped doing?

Speaker B:ce, when I'm sitting there in:Speaker B:'re building this platform in:Speaker B:

And they're like, you people are going to want to network and grow their businesses online.

Speaker B:

What are you talking about?

Speaker B:goodness, because by the time:Speaker B:

So that when everything happened and we needed to be 100% online there was no pivoting.

Speaker B:

It was there.

Speaker A:

Yeah.

Speaker B:

So part of it is I've always listened to my intuition, no matter how weird it seems.

Speaker A:

Yes.

Speaker B:

And sometimes I've waited too long.

Speaker B:

That's the only regrets that I have.

Speaker A:

Yes.

Speaker B:

Or I've had to because my logic brain is like, we don't have the budget to do that right now, so we have to look at things.

Speaker A:

Can't do it.

Speaker A:

Yeah.

Speaker B:

And I would say that if I had known earlier on about ways of getting quality investments in, in my business, I might have gone that direction.

Speaker B:

But at those times when it was really necessary early on, I didn't even have the means to learn.

Speaker B:

How the heck am I going to go out there and seek this funding?

Speaker B:

I didn't have the team, I didn't have the funding.

Speaker B:

I didn't have anything along those lines.

Speaker A:

Right.

Speaker B:

And it's really surprising.

Speaker B:

And it's not surprising.

Speaker B:

It's the same thing.

Speaker B:

2% Of women owned businesses get outside funding.

Speaker B:

So that would have been different and could have been awesome.

Speaker B:

But we tried opening chapters in areas that didn't work pre pandemic, post pandemic.

Speaker B:

But I consider that to all be just part of the journey.

Speaker A:

Yeah.

Speaker B:

Well, experience things as you go.

Speaker B:

Yeah.

Speaker A:

And that's what I wanted to unpack a little bit.

Speaker A:

Because you've been around, it's been around for 10 years and it's thriving and people are loving it and going to your conference.

Speaker A:

Sometimes for somebody looking from the outside, outside, it just seems like, well, you knew what to do and you did it and it happened.

Speaker A:

And it's very rarely like that.

Speaker A:

Right.

Speaker A:

Like you have to try things and you know, some things work, some things stick, some things don't.

Speaker A:

Love that you shared that you tried to do.

Speaker A:

The models of trying to get different local chapters, like, yeah, somebody might come and tell you that's what you should do.

Speaker A:

And you're like, well, I've tried.

Speaker B:

I mean, we do, we do have local chapters and that's to be honest, right now it's one of our struggle areas.

Speaker B:

So, yeah, you really have to be willing to say that.

Speaker B:

Okay.

Speaker B:

This was part of my plan.

Speaker A:

Yeah.

Speaker B:

And things have shifted.

Speaker B:

The world has shifted.

Speaker B:

Businesses evolved, I've evolved.

Speaker B:

So what's next?

Speaker B:

And so I feel like that's something that's good about me is my willingness to be flexible and adaptable.

Speaker A:

Yes.

Speaker A:

Yes.

Speaker B:

And it requires, yeah, it requires this.

Speaker B:

It's not even tenacity because to me tenacity means that you're just plowing through things in A lot of ways I'll say aligned tenacity so that you're consistently re looking at, okay, is this in alignment with the mission that I have to help more women cross to the seven figure mark while making sure that they themselves are at the forefront of joy, productivity, enjoyment, et cetera?

Speaker B:

Is this still moving in that direction and am I making an impact in the world on my community, on the communities that we serve, on their families?

Speaker B:

And if I can shift that up, then it's time to do that.

Speaker B:

And I'm a big believer that when you get higher up in business revenue, you don't necessarily go to the workshops and go to the one off courses anymore.

Speaker B:

I am a proponent of hiring experts in their field.

Speaker B:

So I'm really excited because I just hired new cfo, CPA team.

Speaker B:

They are going to help me grow to the next level.

Speaker B:

I just hired a new outsourced COO who's going to help me be my strategic partner to really look at this business and see, okay, what's next for us.

Speaker B:

And that is because I listen and I have intuitive business meetings with my business and I really ask it what it needs and I ask myself what it is that I need as the leader and what my team needs in order to be the best they can.

Speaker A:

Be intuitive different things.

Speaker B:

There's no like formula, you know what I mean?

Speaker A:

No, but I love that, you know, And I think there is a moment along the journey of growing a company where it's the only way we can grow is to start to bring in those experts.

Speaker A:

Of course it would be helpful from the very beginning, but most of the time, unless you're Uber right or you're anthropic, you just, you can't, nobody's writing you checks to do that.

Speaker A:

So it's usually not an option.

Speaker A:

And that's why.

Speaker A:

But one of the great things, when I was going through a period with one of my companies and about to do an acquisition, I had a CEO of a much larger company say to me it's actually easier to run a bigger business than a small business because you have the talent and you have the resources and you finally can have the infrastructure.

Speaker A:

But it's you and me, Megan, like we're the ones that create that along the way.

Speaker A:

And I love how you talked about Those steps, the 50 to 500 to a million to 2 million to 10 million.

Speaker A:

Those are very different businesses.

Speaker B:

Yes.

Speaker A:

And the leader is very different in her role.

Speaker B:

And when you look around and you're like, okay, well so yes, 2% at seven figures.

Speaker B:

It's about 6% at 250,000, and it's around 12% at 100,000.

Speaker B:

So you don't have a lot of people to turn to, say, what the heck do I do right now?

Speaker B:

It's.

Speaker B:

That's why we created the Dames as this safe, sacred, vulnerable space, so that you could have the audacity and have the.

Speaker B:

The chutzpah to get vulnerable, to say, this is what's actually happening.

Speaker B:

Because I can't go out there and say this publicly to all my potential clients that, you know, I'm having a meltdown and I'm breaking down this week.

Speaker B:

So where do you go to do that?

Speaker B:

Because women need community.

Speaker B:

We're not built to do things on our own.

Speaker B:

We have been since the dawn of time.

Speaker B:

People who need to have people around us because it's a village that is raised by, you know, what is.

Speaker B:

It takes a village to raise all of us.

Speaker A:

It does take a village, and I love that.

Speaker A:

And you're filling such a mission in helping so many women grow their companies, and so that's awesome.

Speaker A:

So let's shift to our fast fire round.

Speaker B:

Can I say one thing, though?

Speaker B:

Because.

Speaker B:

Yes, of course.

Speaker B:

Forgetting to say it.

Speaker B:

And it's super important.

Speaker A:

Yes.

Speaker B:

Because in the time that I was in corporate, what I witnessed was a lot of women tearing each other down.

Speaker B:

And part of the revolution or the evolution that we've been creating in the Dames is to teach women how to stop doing that to each other and how unconsciously we've been doing it, because it's all that we had.

Speaker A:

Yeah.

Speaker B:

Even if I think about my mom's generation, there weren't positions for her high up in her place of work.

Speaker B:

And when I got into the corporate world, it was like every woman for herself.

Speaker B:

And we're going to kick you off the rung below us if you come anywhere close to us.

Speaker B:

So this, for me, what has really saved me and what has saved so many dames is having business besties in your community.

Speaker B:

And that's the best byproduct of power partnerships by far is the women that you just truly jive with, which is not everybody.

Speaker B:

Because we have certain personalities that we do well with and certain that we don't.

Speaker B:

But you build those business bestie relationships, and mine are more solid, and they're better than relationships I've had for my entire life.

Speaker A:

Yeah.

Speaker B:

They're just more real.

Speaker B:

They're more.

Speaker B:

I can call them about anything.

Speaker B:

They know they can call me about anything.

Speaker B:

And the universe just is so helpful in that it has me.

Speaker B:

When I'm in a time of chaos, there is a business bestie of mine that is in a good spot that can help me and vice versa.

Speaker B:

But you don't ever have that.

Speaker B:

If you don't get vulnerable and build those true, deep connections that are real and where you can feel safe.

Speaker A:

I'll add to that.

Speaker A:

In my experience of growing companies, there's different communities.

Speaker A:

You can, as you mentioned before, at certain thresholds, you can join them.

Speaker A:

Right.

Speaker A:

And certain how much, however much your company makes and what those.

Speaker A:

As the number of revenue goes up, the number of women does tremendously go down.

Speaker A:

And it also, I found women are more cautious about making those kinds of investments to themselves.

Speaker A:

The time, the money, in some cases, leaving home and going to travel for these kinds of things.

Speaker A:

And the downside of it is it's just so upsetting.

Speaker A:

I know I was in these communities and I loved them, but I felt it was very masculine and craved the feminine energy and the feminine power to grow.

Speaker A:

But not in exactly the same tone, if you will.

Speaker B:

Yes, exactly.

Speaker A:

So I think it's great what you're growing, and I hope that everybody listening will go check it out, because I do think it's part of what every entrepreneur that I know who is a part of a community like this grows faster and is happier.

Speaker B:

Right.

Speaker A:

Like, because then you around people that you relate to and you end up traveling together and getting together for whatever it is that your interests are, and you find a different way to grow.

Speaker A:

And then, like you said, you have those business besties that you can talk to.

Speaker A:

You can't talk to your spouses about the fears you have at times.

Speaker A:

You can't, certainly can't tell your employees.

Speaker A:

It's a very lonely thing that you have to hold together and somebody else that's going through the same thing and has the same risk, same responsibility at.

Speaker B:

The woman that's supporter.

Speaker B:

Yes, exactly.

Speaker A:

All right, let's do a spy around, darling.

Speaker A:

Okay.

Speaker A:

What's one belief about growth you had to unlearn to build the dames that.

Speaker B:

It takes hustle, grind, and grit.

Speaker A:

What is one boundary that instantly improved your leadership?

Speaker B:

That I do not work Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays and that I do not answer any calls, texts, emails after 5pm Monday through Sunday.

Speaker A:

Listen to that.

Speaker A:

Drop the mic.

Speaker A:

That is awesome.

Speaker A:

Very good.

Speaker A:

What is one thing you look for immediately when vetting a potential dame member?

Speaker B:

Are they thinking that everything is about them or are they thinking about the collective good?

Speaker A:

Beautiful.

Speaker A:

What is your favorite way to make Business feel more fun in one minute or less.

Speaker B:

Wigs, Wigs.

Speaker B:

Put on a wig or try an accent.

Speaker B:

I'm gonna do this any kind for any task, especially if you have to do something that you loathe.

Speaker B:

Just put on some sexy cocoa salmon glasses and just try it.

Speaker B:

See what you can do.

Speaker B:

See if you're good at math now all of a sudden.

Speaker B:

See if you love numbers.

Speaker B:

I don't know.

Speaker A:

I don't know either.

Speaker B:

Try something.

Speaker A:

Try something.

Speaker A:business look like for you in:Speaker B:

For me, it involves more travel.

Speaker B:

I get to go with my parents to the Galapagos in a few weeks.

Speaker B:

This is a bucket list trip for all of us.

Speaker B:

So I'm very ecstatic about that.

Speaker B:

And enjoyment for the rest of the year means being outside here in Colorado as much as I possibly can because that connection time with nature is crucial for my mental health.

Speaker A:

I love that.

Speaker A:

So tell us how our listeners and viewers can learn about you and the Dames.

Speaker B:

Yes, definitely.

Speaker B:

Come to the Dames Co.

Speaker B:

If you are a woman running a company that generates more than 100,000 in revenue, please check out our roundtable so you can go to the Dames Co roundtable and experience the Dames as we connect with one another.

Speaker B:

Get a little bit of learning, a little bit of collaborative education and learn more about our membership.

Speaker A:

That sounds great.

Speaker A:

And also fun for rents.

Speaker A:

Yes.

Speaker B:

October 7th through the 10th here in Denver, Colorado.

Speaker B:

Yes, we have a day pass for guests if you don't want to join.

Speaker B:

But you might as well join and come be part of the entire three day experience and really experience what it's like to go to a conference.

Speaker B:

That's the UN Conference where you learn so much, walk away with real ROI and meet some of the coolest women from around the world that you'll ever meet.

Speaker A:

Can't wait.

Speaker A:

Sounds awesome.

Speaker B:

Thank you.

Speaker A:

Megan, thank you so much for joining us today on the Wisdom of Women show.

Speaker A:

It's so fun.

Speaker A:

I love what you're bringing to the.

Speaker B:

World and all the ways that you're helping my day.

Speaker B:

Thank you.

Speaker B:

This brightened my whole week.

Speaker B:

Thank you.

Speaker B:

And yes, it's all about thank you for the work that you do impacting women and the investment work that you're doing, the companies that you've grown.

Speaker B:

Thank you for really, what is the word?

Speaker B:

Pioneering.

Speaker B:

The way that's something that I value highly in women, is our ability to break the mold.

Speaker B:

And you've done that.

Speaker B:

And I really am very admiring of you.

Speaker A:

Thank you, Megan.

Speaker A:

Well, to all of our world changing listeners.

Speaker A:

Thank you for being here today.

Speaker A:

Be sure to like and follow and share the wisdom of women.

Speaker A:

Show on whatever you your favorite listening reviewing platform is and be sure to weave more of your wisdom into your business.

Speaker A:

Join me for the weekly Force for Good masterclass every Monday.

Speaker A:

Each week we explore one core growth element and share a practical tool to help you install the Force for Good system inside your visionary business.

Speaker A:

Learn more and Sign up at ForceForGood Biz weekly tool the world is made better by women led business.

Speaker A:

Let's all go make the world a better place.

Speaker A:

Cheers.