MeetBetter’s Post

INCLUSIVITY & CONNECTION. Key elements of BALDILOCKS in both its products and services. Everyone deserves to have their well-being attended to, more so when they feel it’s not accessible to them. My alopecia used to make me feel isolated at times, not anymore. #startup #profitforpurpose #wellbeing #alopecia #hr

Had the chance to lead a marketing presentation yesterday as an eBoard member for the DEIA+ (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and +) committee, and I’m feeling really grateful for the opportunity. We talked about what DEIA+ truly means, why it’s so important for businesses to embrace it, and how inclusive marketing can drive better connections with customers and employees alike. Inclusivity isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s good for business. We also looked at a few real-world examples of ads where businesses nailed diversity and inclusion, as well as some that missed the mark. It was great to hear from the audience on what they thought of these ads and how we can all be more mindful of the messages we put out there. It's so important that we keep pushing for a more inclusive approach in everything we do, and I’m proud to be part of a team that’s working toward that goal. #DEIA #InclusiveMarketing #DiversityInclusion #Marketing #Leadership #MarketingClub

2024 has been one of the wildest years I’ve had in a long time. I was reflecting on how much has changed since this time last year: 🗓️ December 2023 - I was Vice President of Education & Social Impact at a global FTSE 100 corporate - Founder & Co-Chair of the EmbRace ERG and network - Earning a six figure salary + benefits - Managing a global team and having lots of excellent support from them - Knew exactly what I was doing and where my next paycheque was coming from - Working 50 to 60 hour weeks and being ‘on’ all the time - Wrapping up a year that saw our 5 years of operating positively impact over 700,000 youth worldwide 🙌🏾 🗓️ To now, December 2024: - Left my dream job after nearly 6 years in May - Started my own consultancy specialising in social impact, youth engagement, anti-racism and ethical leadership - Have a clearer than ever vision of who I am and what my business stands for - Slightly less clear on how to do it, learning and trying everyday 😅 - I AM the whole team, and comms, and marketing, and finance and and and…thank goodness for my amazing associates 🙏🏽 😮💨 A lot has changed! And I’m not gonna lie, with all the other heavy things happening in the world and a family of 4 to support, it’s been hella scary and challenging but also so liberating. You see: - I’m in my early 40s now and having worked for quite a few different companies, my tolerance for the usual politics, egos, corporate jargon, performative crap etc., is considerably lower than it used to be 😂 - I have had time to rest, reflect, embrace a softer life and spend more time with family and friends - I get to choose when I work and who with - I’m growing again because I’m well out of my comfort zone, constantly learning and improving - I have to make my own paycheques happen, eek, but it’s picking up, slowly but surely 🤞🏾 So far, since launching The IM-Pact Kinship in July, I have: - Hosted 3 events, my launch party, South Asian Sisters’ Intersectional Stories and Hidden Histories of Black Brilliance - Secured my first one year contract helping a wonderful youth legal charity with a youth advisory board and strategy to diversify its funding streams - Spoken on 3 panels and done 1 keynote with 2 more booked in for early 2025 - Delivered 4 soft skills sessions for young people - Got lots of exciting and promising conversations on the go - A few exciting announcements to come in the new year! 2024 was tough in so many ways. But I’m hopeful for next year. I’m deeply grateful for life, health, love, food, clothes, shelter and peace we so often take for granted. I couldn’t have done all this without the unwavering support of my hubby, my dear family and the beautiful, uplifting community around me for hyping me up and being there for me - you know who you are…it takes a village and I feel the warmth from mine ♥️ So time for a few weeks of resting, relaxing, rejoicing. And then onwards… …peace out and nuff love good people 🕊️

Week 3 of the WOCSTAR Mentorship Program: A Reflection Today's meeting was nothing short of inspiring. I continue to be amazed by the incredible women I have the privilege of meeting in this program—each one smart, ambitious, and eager to support one another on our entrepreneurial journeys. Every time I leave these meetings, my heart feels so full. It's truly empowering to be surrounded by dynamic, authentic women who are not threatened by each other but rather inspired by one another's successes. Today was particularly humbling for me. We dove deep into the questions investors need answered to take us seriously and consider us as sound investments. As I listened to our founder share her wisdom, I couldn't help but feel a sense of realization wash over me. Firstly, I realized that to a certain extent, I am still ruled by fear and lack of confidence. I allowed these feelings to govern my voice, leading me to only share half of my vision for the business I want to build. But witnessing the passion of my fellow cohort members inspired me to do better. Secondly, I learned the importance of humility. By the end of the class, I knew I needed to go back, redefine my business goals and identity, and dig way deeper. I committed to redoing the first two weeks of homework until my vision is crystal clear to me—I want to live and breathe it. Today, I discovered the crucial importance of being clear on my own vision for my business and brand. Only then can a potential investor truly be interested in investing in my vision and contribution to celebrating mature women. I'm grateful for the lessons learned and the growth experienced today. Here's to embracing clarity, confidence, and unwavering determination as we continue on this entrepreneurial journey together. #VisionClarity

We’re thrilled to attend the Culture Shifting Dealmaking Summit taking place in New York during Oct 24th-25th to foster powerful collaborations and networking between Limited Partners (LPs), General Partners (GPs) and business executives. In partnership with Culture Shift Labs and in collaboration with the NAACP, this initiative is set to drive inclusive deal-making and create impactful opportunities in the investment landscape. These events have enabled in excess of $1.6B in deal flow over the past nine years with the goal of reaching $2.6B by the end of 2025. Together, we’re working to break barriers, build connections, and promote diversity and equality within the investment community. Space is limited so please register here to secure your seat. https://ow.ly/WlEx50TQhCq #CultureShiftLabs #KaporCenter #NAACP #DiversityInBusiness #InclusiveInvesting #DealMaking #GeneralPartners #LimitedPartners #EquityAndInclusion #BusinessCollaboration #NetworkingForGood

🍂🌷☘In May 2022, I started a free online discrete #Diversity #Equity #Inclusion Hub from Melbourne - a pay it forward initiative. It’s a hub to help and connect people looking to enter the DEI field, at the cross-roads, or long-haul folks who need the safety, guidance and discrete and collective power of seasoned DEI practitioners. 🏫It’s been a good space to share latest experiences and practices, hearing from employers, employees, consultants and volunteers. We also talk about our DEI practice and our professional challenges - many of late! We meet every three weeks and have met 35 times so far since 2022. 🙏Just a message of thanks! Thanks for the messages I have received that these catch up have filled you cup. If they have made you felt good or better that's great! Being generous with my time has never been hard. There is always someone somewhere during the course that has spent time helping me through a difficult situation, or just as importantly wanted to hear about a good success story. And generosity is infectious, as many do good deeds often unseen. Appreciate those coming from the start to share their time, experience and expertise. The learning is always reciprocal. 📢My mantra for 2025 is #one room at a time. 🌺Care for the work and care about the people doing the work, sets us all up for success, and the work for success. 🌱The number of DEI practitioners in Australia has grown significantly in the last 5 years. It needs to fully utilise the skills and experience available (lived and learned) to ensure it's long term sustainability and success and out longevity in the field. 🌊2024 been a challenging year for many DEI folks I have spent time with, but there is always learning and potential for change even through adversity. Even through the most challenging circumstance, we find a way. ⏳We have some highly experienced DEI leaders in the hub helping out again in 2025. We'll make time for you! 🍀We have 164 in people in the Inclusion Hub. 35*30-minute meetings done. We meet every 3 weeks. Next meeting Thurs 12 Dec 12.30pm AEST. DM if you’d like to know more🌈🛤️🧭 #Belonging #DEI

Day 3 of Back2businessship 2024 begins. Here is a review of Day 2 from one of our brilliant Returners Romila Maharaj (Sharma) Did you know that 2 million women aged 50-64 in the UK are economically inactive and 18% of those are currently job-searching? This is where this amazing program comes in. It is specifically focused on helping people in the fields of marketing/pr/comms, who have taken a career break for a variety of reasons, to get back in the game. Week 1’s theme is “Believe in You’ and Day 2 did not disappoint! Our first session focused on leadership. Alex Cole and Seri Davies from Ithaca Partners held an engaging session where we looked at energy colour wheels and tried to determine where we fit in. On a good day, the picture looked quite different to a bad day! As leaders, we need to realize that different energies should be viewed as complementary not contradictory and leverage that to get the best out of our teams. In our second session, Amanda took us through the process for creating our ‘elevator pitch’. How can we talk about our authentic selves and what we bring to the table? Not an easy task! Let’s just say it’s a work in progress for some of us. We then heard from Alexandra Malone and Suzie Rook from SSE Renewables regarding the key roles that Corporate Affairs and Brand play in delivering their message as a clean energy champion with the goal of getting to a net zero world. We did an interactive exercise where we top-lined a comms plan to help get the right messaging across – this included artists, events, a hot air balloon and even windmills around the Houses of Parliament! Vanessa Andrews from OxfordSM held a highly engaging session on the new mindset for marketing where we need to look at people, planet and profit. How will we make a difference and change the status quo? Sustainability cannot simply be an add-on. The day ended with a session from Jennie Stoddart-Scott on the essence of leadership in 2024. We explored her varied and diverse career path culminating in the establishment of her own consultancy. We all came away with so much to think about. Bring on Day 3! #Back2Businessship #careercomeback #marketing #communications #pr #sportsmarketing #londonevents #internationalwomensmonth #leadershipdevelopment

Reason One has been sponsoring the Marketer's Meetup at Society for Health Care Strategy & Market Development (SHSMD) for the last three years and there's one reason why: selfishly, these are my people. Being able to ask questions of our peers, hear new approaches, feel supported, and make new connections that we can lean on in the future is priceless. I had the opportunity to sit at one of the DEI tables and we had an incredible discussion. We asked each other a lot of hard questions and had some moments of honesty, even if it meant admitting that we could do better. Together, this is what we came up with in the space of less than an hour. It's not the answer, but it's a start. First, define your WHY. For any initiative to succeed, it needs an unwavering North Star, and a reason beyond a corporate mandate or something "we should be doing." 1. Recognize the power and value of different voices. This is not about tokenizing, it's about making sure that equal representation is had across any number of tables to ensure that whatever you're doing, building, or producing is going to have the impact you want. 2. Build sustainable education models. Anti-bias, anti-racism, and any other sort of inclusion training isn't a once-and-done. This can (and should be) woven into your organizational culture. And remember that it's not the job of the racialized person to be your spokesperson. 3. Don't break your mold. Build a new one, even if it's uncomfortable. Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can, and don't fear discomfort—that's where growth lives. In hiring, fish from the right ponds, not the same ponds. 4. Be authentic and intentional. Back to the idea of having your why as a North Star...we're not always going to get this right, but if we're aiming in the same direction from a place of authenticity, we'll be closer and can learn. 5. Don't take your foot off the gas. We're seeing companies abandon DEI efforts left and right. It's not a fad, it's our future. Commit and take it seriously. 6. Give yourself some grace with humility. This is still new for a lot of organizations and individuals. Ask questions. Do research. Get training. We're gonna mess up; it's what happens next that's important. These are hard conversations to have—especially at a table with 7 strangers!—but our group approached it with vulnerability and honesty. The other groups that reported out had GREAT insights as well, and I'm looking forward to putting them all in one big roundup of goodness (stay tuned). It's one thing to listen to speakers give polished presentations about new approaches and best practices, but there's just something about sitting down with your peers and just...talking about it. Special thanks to Ellis Dean for capturing our takeaways and sharing with the larger group. 🙏 #hcmktg #HealthcareMarketing #Marketer

📢 REMINDERS! Calling all businesses with a proven product-market fit and recognized client brands! Our New York City Immersion Program 2025™ is about to close the registration tomorrow, October 31st. Don't miss this chance to explore the US market and connect with potential investors and partners. If you have been considering registering but haven't done so yet, now is the time to act! Just click the link below! #NYCImmersion2025 #BusinessGrowth #GlobalExpansion https://lnkd.in/gT6A3rrX

🎉 Exciting News! 🎉 I’m thrilled to finally introduce Includership, my passion project turned business! 🚀 We’re here to help organisations navigate their journey ethically toward Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and create workplaces where everyone feels like they truly belong. Why did I start Includership? Simple. I’ve seen firsthand how powerful inclusive environments can be, and I know how tough it can be for organisations to get there. That’s why we’re dedicated to making the path a little smoother. 💪 Whether your company is just getting started or looking to take things to the next level, we’ve got your back. What do we do? Well, think of us as your go-to guide for all things DEI. From consulting and strategy to workshops and action plans, we’re all about delivering real, ethical and sustainable change (no meaningless levels of accreditations or useless awards here!). Every organisation is different, and we’re here to build strategies that work for you, where you can also see the ROI of DEI in your organisation. 👉 If you care about creating an inclusive workplace where people can thrive, hit that follow button and stay tuned. We’ll be sharing tips, insights, and resources to help you on your DEI journey. Can’t wait to connect with all of you and start this exciting chapter together! 🙌 #InclusionMatters #DiversityAndInclusion #EquityInTheWorkplace #Includership #WorkplaceCulture