In early April I wrote about the need to balance family and work and mentioned how my wife, Edith, was once again organizing the ThinkMujer Summit, a one-day, single-track annual event that convenes the region’s foremost Latina thinkers and doers to gain leadership insights, network for personal and professional growth, and share each other’s stories. This year I got more involved than last year. The key difference between last and this that I saw in Edith: relaxed.

Here’s a few more:

  • Opted to use a 3rd party Stripe integration to accept payment vs. Eventbrite. Major difference? Deposits in 48-hours vs. waiting until 5-days after the event.
  • Integrated Square to invoice sponsors. Last year it was paper.
  • An volunteer coordinator from the get-go. Go Gabi!
  • An career & exhibitor coordinator from the get-go. Go Cecilia!
  • An scholarship and registration lead from the get-go. Go Vivi!
  • An videographer booked to capture the moments. Go Elizabeth!
  • An photographer booked to help us remember the moments. Go Jose!
  • An social media communications manager. Go Vicky!
  • An expansion of sponsorship opportunities to cover down on expenses.
  • Facebook Live test 72-hours prior.
  • Employer sponsorship forms to ensure more women attended and paid by their boss. Forms were hosted on AWS to expedite access.
  • Gifts for ThinkMujer Summit participants courtesy of a local small business.
  • Gifts for ThinkMujer Summit speakers. As well as thank you cards.
  • Name badges printed in advance, and organized 2-days prior… not morning of.

Some general takeaways.

  • Always be improving. Everything are milestones and be proud of how far you’ve come.
  • Cash flow is king. Get paid sooner rather than later.
  • When you’re not executing, your planning your next move.
  • Authorize and/or delegate work based on past performance and the will to execute.
  • Speaking of authorizing, video and photo, should be relegated to someone that can focus and deliver the goods–and, that’s all they do.
  • Volunteers are volunteers. Don’t burn them out. Have several, but don’t overkill.
  • Speakers won’t always send you a headshot– grab from Google, from wherever and make it happen.
  • When we couldn’t be in two places at once, call in help to pick printouts.

This week has been insane. I’m sure FexEx Kinkos will be glad not to see me for a while.

Tomorrow this time it will be over. Until the next one.