Last week Community Ambassador Deb Itzkowic attended an inspiring morning at the League of Extraordinary Women‘s Breakfast Series event.

Arriving at Rose Diner in Port Melbourne at the spritely hour of 7.30am, I was greeted by friendly faces and not a bleary eye in site. The 30 professional women who wandered in over the next fifteen minutes were warmly welcomed into the gathering and quickly set about chatting amongst themselves. The participants, half of whom ran their own business came from a diverse range of backgrounds, from financial services, to retail and fashion.

The long breakfast table was beautifully styled and the barista did a great job of making sure that everyone was  welcomed with their favourite morning coffee… which to my delight came with an extra shot of inspiration! Liz Atkinson, the League of Extraordinary Women’s Breakfast Series speaker this morning, did not disappoint. 

As we all tucked into a delicious breakfast of fruit, muffins and mini egg and bacon rolls, Liz spoke enthusiastically about her background growing up in England jumping from job to job and finding her way to now running a business with offices around Australia and NZ and an annual turnover of over $4M. She generously shared some of her biggest challenges and gave advice about what helped her succeed. Her valuable tips included things like; understand your weaknesses, have a mentor to support you, prepare for any fight, take care of yourself and the ‘3 month rule’, that is take a break, whether it be a long weekend or a trip to Bali, every 3 months, to recharge, refresh and come back to your business re-energised.

The League of Extraordinary Women is a great venture that supports women in business, women who acknowledge that they do things differently and who firmly believe that they can have it all. Those who I spoke to whom have been coming for a while speak enthusiastically about the collegiate spirit amongst the participants. This seems to be one of the most valuable aspects of these events, an opportunity to meet like-minded people in a non-confronting space where the conversation and collaboration flows free.

Towards the end of the breakfast, Liz galvanised the troops. I was inspired to join – see you at the next gathering!

Twitter: @TheLeagueAust

Website: www.leagueofextraordinarywomen.com.au

Events: For upcoming event dates, check out The Fetch in your city.