LADIESFUND®

Every year, dynamic idealists gather at Koerner Hall, Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto for a powerful meeting of minds. There was no triskaidekaphobia at Moses Znaimer’s 13^th ideacity presented byBlackberry, which even began June 13 with the theme “Lucky 13.”

Moses Znaimer addressing the audience

It turned out to be a lucky event with plenty of opportunities for chance meetings with some of the world’s greatest thinkers and extraordinary trailblazers.

This year’s roster of 50 speakers included guitar legend Liona Boyd, illusionist Simon Coronel, politician Preston Manning, Wealthy Barber author David Chilton, singer Jann Arden, pianist Michael Kaeshammer, possibilian David Eagleman, and so forth.

Jann Arden

Most of the speakers stayed throughout the conference and enjoyed hearing one another and mingling with each other and the guests, many of whom were extraordinarily successful or interesting in their own right.

Liona Boyd was particularly delighted because when she met the The Lieutenant Governor of Ontario The Honourable David C. Onley, O.Ont. at ideacity, he promptly invited her to receive one of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Awards being awarded this week.

Liona Boyd

The networking lounge

This year’s ideacity theme was “The End is Nigh” or TEOTWAWKI, which stands for “The End of the World As We Know It.”  Recognizing that “every new beginning comes from other new beginning’s end,” ideacity found that its audience was 81% optimists and their cheerful outlook and hopeful nature did not change over the course of the conference.

Composing the Toronto Symphony

Some of the most memorable moments included sexologists Ogi Ogas & Sai Gaddam calling poutine “the shemale porn of international cuisine”; illusionist Simon Coronel seamlessly making a card appear and disappear from a variety of places; composer Tod Machover creating – in collaboration with key Canadian musicians – live on stage the genesis of A Toronto Symphony, a work he is composing with the entire city of Toronto; one week job worker Sean Aiken reminding us that at any age we can work toward finding our true life passion; David Jay sharing his story of Asexuality and discovering that 3% of ideacity attendees were asexual; Dignified Death advocate Wanda Morris speaking of respecting an individual’s right to determine the nature and timing of their death; the entire audience performing Kabalah Yoga with Audi Gozlan, Shimmy belly-dancing with Shivaun Corry and bhangra-ing with BollyFit’s Reshmi Chetram.

Sean Aiken

Shimmy

Pinball Clemons

It’s not surprising that the crowd was so happy because in addition to being constantly mentally stimulated by the jam-packed speaker roster, each guest received their own Blackberry playbook with the ideacity app preloaded, was given a trendy Roots leather bag filled with goodies, was pampered with Aveda aromatherapy neck massages, enjoyed decadent networking delectables including oysters and shrimp hors d’oeuvres, and socialized at the famous afterparties at some of Toronto’s poshest hot spots including Spice Route, C-Lounge and Rosewater Supper Club.

A worthwhile and unforgettable conference that the guests look forward to all year.

This article was originally published in DelectablyChic!

Arts & Culture, business trends, career development, entrepreneurship, events, making money, money and happiness, money and power, money and relationships, women leaders 85 Broads, A TORONTO SYMPHONY, annual event, ASEXUALITY, DAVID CHILTON, DAVID EAGLEMAN, DAVID JAY, ideacity, IDEACITY 2012, JANN ARDEN, LIONA BOYD, MICHAEL KAESHAMMER, moses znaimer, O.ONT., OGI OGAS, POSSIBILIAN, PRESTON MANNING, preview your life, Rosewater Supper Club, Royal Conservatory of Music, SAI GADDAM, SEAN AIKEN, SHIMMY, SIMON CORONEL, THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF ONTARIO THE HONOURABLE DAVID C. ONLEY, the rational optimist, TOD MACHOVER, tudawood, WANDA MORRIS, WEALTHY BARBER, WEALTHY BARBER RETURNS, ZOOMER

Divas in the City returns for its 3^rd year and is simply getting better and better.  The mission of this event is to “to educate, inspire and connect the new demographic of young, independent, ambitious women in our city.”

Laura Furtado & Nikki Bergen

Laura Furtado, founder of DivaGirlFitness describes Divas in the City as “a socially driven, goal-directed event that will feature experts in various areas that are essential to the urban girl lifestyle – beauty, relationships, finance, career, fashion, nutrition and fitness.”  Her co-founder of this event is Nikki Bergen, founder of The Belle Method, an exercise program for women.

Melyssa Moniz

This year’s speakers included Katia Millar (Positive Fabulous Women), Wendy Crystal (Inspired Cosmetics), Kimberly Moffit (Kimberly Moffit & Associates), Florence (Flo) Grunfelder (Money With Flo), Hannah Yakobi (FAJO Magazine), Angela McNally (Eating Pretty) and Sandra O’Brien (Goddess Creation formerly Bootcamp Goddess).  Most of the speakers were animated and did a fabulous job of keeping the audience engaged and conveying very usual ideas and tips from their various fields.  Particular highlights include Networking Ninja Katia Millar, Relationship Guru Kimberly Moffit and Fashionista Journalist Hannah Yakobi.

A bit of shopping at the hula hoop booth

Katia mesmerized the crowd with her authenticity and effortless ability to make connections and network.  She explained the importance of a personal brand and how the first step was identifying, knowing and embracing your core values, what she eloquently described as your “secret sauce” that is special and different from everyone else in the world.  She spoke about the importance of getting into the flow of conversations and shared that the net was a powerful networking tool for introverts.

Kimberly Moffit, a true dynamo, was also very effective.  She shared her Top 5 tips for having it all, which include 1) setting goals, 2)  Be honest with yourself and your partner about your ambitions 3) Finding a partner who supports you in all your ideas and goals (a good relationship should make u soar) 4) Never apologize for your success; instead own it, let yourself feel it; it’s the most rewarding feeling in the world; and 5) Thinking effortlessly. If want to live an effortless life, you must think effortlessly.  Ms. Moffit also informed the audience of a Harvard study that discovered that only 2% of people set goals and write them down, but those 2% of people control the majority of wealth.

Tamika Auwai

Hannah Yakobi really gave a useful talk where she went through current trends including classic shapes, structured jackets and bright colours (neon orange royal blue yellow pumpkin especially for dresses).  She informed that runways showcased conservative necklaces but uber daring slits, flowing fabrics showing serious leg, floral patterns, thin to medium sized belts, lots of head wear and 80s inspired suits.

This article was originally published in DelectablyChic!

Style, business trends, career development, entrepreneurship, events, women, women leaders angela mcnally, Diva Girl Fitness, DIVAS IN THE CITY, Eating Pretty, FAJO Magazine, FLO GRUNFELDER, FLORENCE, GODDESS CREATION FORMERLY BOOTCAMP GODDESS, hannah yakobi, HARVARD, Inspired Cosmetics, katia millar, kimberly moffit, KIMBERLY MOFFIT & ASSOCIATES, ladiesfund, laura furtado, MONEY WITH FLO, Nikki Bergen, Positive Fabulous Women, sandra o'brien, THE BELLE METHOD, tudawood, wendy crystal

The highly anticipated 11^th Scrubs in the City fundraiser for SickKids Hospital was held at the Evergreen Brick Works.  This year’s theme was the Secret Garden and the organizing committee headed by Event Chair Molly Fitzpatrick – and including Caroline Cohen, Lauren Habib, Jacqueline Johnson, Sandra Keeley, Lucinda Kogan, Stephanie Lewis, Sylvia Mantella, Amy Milne, Julia Mordini, Suzanne Rogers, Patty Seigel and Kirsten van der Griend – played up both the garden and the secret elements to the fullest at this wonderful community environmental centre.

Hilary Farr

Burt’s Bees Massages

Toronto’s medical community was joined by the business and social elite as well as celebrities like Hilary Farr (host of Love It or List It), to support this worthy cause.  Hosted by Mary Kitchen, Entertainment Anchor for CityNews, the night was full of pampering, culinary delights as well as plentiful surprises.  From the Burt’s Bees massages and Mombacho Cigars to the decadent hors d’oeuvres to the surprise concert by Shawn Desman to the flower cookies to the aerial performance to the raffle and silent auction to the non-stop groovin’ by DJ Floh Back Productions.

Flower Cookies

This was truly a night for fashionistas as all gathered together in their sexiest and sassiest outfits for this year’s cocktail party.  The event began with a VIP reception but quickly transitioned to a very happening party full of adventurous, trendy partygoers.  As guests mingled, aerial performances and some unexpected characters made an appearance. The biggest thrill came when Shawn Desman performed a high energy concert that really revved up the crowd.

Arial performances (image provided by Scrubs in the City)

Performance by Sean Desmond (image courtesy of Scrubs in the City)

The décor was very well thought out with the photo booth being a rose wall and the dessert being flower sugar cookies in all colours, just like a rose garden.

Over the past decade, over $1.7 million has been raised by Scrubs to support the the highest priority needs at The Hospital for Sick Children. This year’s proceeds went to The Urgent Care Unit.

This article was originally published in DelectablyChic!

events, fundraisers, health, philanthropy, special occasions, spending money wisely, women leaders AMY MILNE, BURT'S BEES, Caroline Cohen, DJ FLOH BACK PRODUCTIONS, EVERGREEN BRICK WORKS, HILARY FARR, Jacqueline Johnson, JULIA MORDINI, KIRSTEN VAN DER GRIEND, ladiesfund, LAUREN HABIB, LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT, Lucinda Kogan, MARY KITCHEN, Molly Fitzpatrick, Patty Seigel, Sandra Keeley, Scrubs in the City, SECRET GARDEN, SHAWN DESMOND, SickKids, Stephanie Lewis, Suzanne Rogers, SYLVIA MANTELLA, tudawood, URGENT CARE UNIT

Calling all Toronto LADIESFUNDers. Must attend event Divas in the City 3 to take place on Thursday, June 14, 2012 from 6:00pm until 10:00pm.

LADIESFUND® and Dawood Global Foundation are media partners for the third year in a row!

Buy tickets at http://divasinthecity3.eventbrite.com/ and get $5 OFF with the discount code DIVAPROMO.

For more details, check out the event website and facebook page.

What is Divas in the City?

Divas in the City is about loving yourself- what we call self-love. We believe Toronto needs a forum for the fabulous females in our city – the movers and shakers who make no excuses for who they are. We present an opportunity to join forces with other women who revel in their strengths and stay true to their values.

Divas in the City is a socially driven, goal-directed event that will feature experts in various areas that are essential to the urban girl lifestyle- beauty, relationships, finance, career, fashion, nutrition and fitness. Our mission is to educate, inspire and connect the new demographic of young, independent, ambitious women in our city, who we classify as Divas.

Click below for pictures of our past events:

Divas in the City - http://www.flickr.com/photos/divagirlinc/sets/72157624220290720
Divas in the City 2 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/divagirlinc/sets/72157627119183973

Here is a line-up of our Presenters for Divas in the City Toronto 2012:

1. Career: Katia Millar- Positive Fabulous Women
2. Beauty: Wendy Crystal- Inspired Cosmetics
3. Relationships: Kimberly Moffit - Kimberly Moffit & Associates
4. Finance: Florence (Flo) Grunfelder – Money With Flo
5. Fashion: Hannah Yakobi - FAJO Magazine
6. Nutrition: Angela McNally – Eating Pretty
7. Fitness: Sandra O’Brien- Bootcamp Goddess

Swag Bags:

- MarieNatie Cosmetics

Vendors:

- AYLA

Divas in the City is all about - thriving in the opera of urban life.

business trends, entrepreneurship, events, women, women leaders angela mcnally, ayla, Bootcamp Goddess, crown bar and lounge, dawood global foundation, Diva Girl Fitness, diva girls, divas in the city 3, Eating Pretty, FAJO Magazine, florence grunfelder, hannah yakobi, Inspired Cosmetics, katia millar, kimberly moffit, ladiesfund, laura furtado, marienatie cosmetics, Positive Fabulous Women, sandra o'brien, toronto, wendy crystal

Women of Influence Inc. organized another winning RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneurship Awards. Held at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto, 19th Annual Awards Gala was hosted by Diane Francis, editor-at-large for the National Post, whose warmth and wit added character and charm to the ceremony.

“RBC is proud to honour this group of extraordinary women who have shown passion, discipline and perseverance in their quest for business excellence,” says Andrea Bolger, head, Business Financial Services, RBC. “The number of female entrepreneurs now represents more than half of all small business owners in Canada – it is inspiring to see this growth.”

The statuettes

A record high of more than 3,000 women entrepreneurs were nominated for the Awards. Each candidate was required to complete a thorough application and after a due diligence process completed by Deloitte’s Private Client Services, the winners were selected by the judges.

Carolyn Lawrence, president and CEO, Women of Influence Inc., stated, “Each Winner is an inspiration to professional women across the country.”

The six award winners represented the North, West and East regions of Canada and were selected because of their contributions to the local, Canadian and global economies.

Winners of this year’s awards: Kim Rudd, Gloria Rajkumar, Betty Ann Latrace, Andrea Bolger, Diane Francis (MC), Munira Jivrag, Carolyn Lawrence (CEO, Women of Influence) & Jenny Munford

The Awards went to:

Deloitte Start-Up Award
Jenny Munford – Creative Bube Tube

HKMB Hub Impact Award
Kim Rudd- Willis College – Cobourg

RBC Momentum Award (tie)
Munira Jivraj – Millennium Dental
Gloria Rajkumar – SIMAC Canada Inc.

TPH Sustainability Award
Susanna Carson – BSI Biodegradable Solutions

Bell Trailblazer Award
Gabrielle Chevalier – Solutions 2 Go Inc.

PROFIT Award for Excellence in Entrepreneurship
Betty Anne Latrace – Henderson Airline Hotels

Highlights of the night included a teary and heartfelt speech by Gloria Rajkumar which began with a shoutout to her mother and then told the story of her immigration to Canada and her appreciation for what her adopted country has given her. Rajkumar made $1.2 M in her first year as an entrepreneur and wants to help mentor other women from third world countries.

Diane Francis also shared interesting data with the audience, including the fact that only 1 out of the 75 billionaires she has interviewed for her book Who Owns Canada Now: Old money, new money and the future of Canadian business made his or her money in his or her hometown.

Carolyn Lawrence with Laureen Harper

The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Canada’s Minister for Status of Women and Minister of Public Works and Government Services, stated that Canada was the #1 country in the G-20 for entrepreneurship.

The guest included included a Who’s Who of Canadian women in business. Laureen Harper, wife of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, also graced the occasion with her presence.

The RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards are the pre-eminent national business awards recognizing the nation’s leading female entrepreneurs. An initiative of Women of Influence Inc., an organization dedicated to the advancement of Canadian women in business.

This article was originally published in DelectablyChic!

Style, entrepreneurship, events, special occasions, women leaders angdrea bolger, Betty Anne Latrace, BSI Biodegradable Solutions, Canada’s Minister for Status of Women and Minister of Public Works and Government Services, carolyn lawrence, Creative Bube Tube, deloitte, diane francis, Fairmont Royal York, G-20, Gabrielle Chevalier, Gloria Rajkumar, Henderson Airline Hotels, Jenny Munford, Kim Rudd, ladiesfund, Laureen Harper, Millennium Dental, Munira Jivraj, preview your life, RBC, RBC Canadian WOMEN Entrepreneurship Awards, Rona Ambrose, SIMAC Canada Inc., Solutions 2 Go Inc., Susanna Carson, tudawood, Who Owns Canada Now, Willis College – Cobourg, Women of Influence Inc.

Dawood Global Foundation and LADIESFUND® Women’s Awards mentor Leanne Grechulk of HealthyGirl and Dawood Global Foundation and LADIESFUND® Advisory Council member Laura Furtado of DivaGirl have teamed up for what is likely to be a revolution in Branding training with their launch of Brandapalooza- Symposium for Creating a Rocking Brand.

Unless the more sober branding workshops out there, these two entrepreneurs walk attendees through every element of creating and positioning a brand, from the get go.

Leanne Grechulk

Leanne’s candor and own life experience helped her to create wealth and prosperity through careful and strategic brand position of her HealthyGirl brand.

Laura Furtado

Laura Furtado was originally mentored by Grechulk and they continue to be great friends.  It’s no coincidence that a lot of the branding elements of DivaGirl are quite similar to the strategies of the HealthyGirl brand.

The workshop walked attendees through a powerpoint of key elements to each stage of development of a brand from characteristics of a good brand, knowing oneself, having a seamless life brand, Rock Your Brand and ultimately Rock the Globe, as both women are now taking their brands as well as this Branapalooza workshop global.

The class ended with a throughout 12-Month Personal Brand Plan workshop that attendees were to answer to help them focus on the best way to develop and position their own brands moving forward.

Overall, a useful and well executed workshop that was easy to follow, logical and well worth attending.

business trends, entrepreneurship, events, women leaders Brandapalooza- Symposium for Creating a Rocking Brand, divagirl, healthygirl, ladiesfund, laura furtado, Leanne Grechulk, tudawood

Seth Godin is without a doubt the world’s foremost marketing expert. He is the only blogger I subscribe to daily and read without fail and I was over the moon to hear him speak and meet him at The Art of Sales conference.

Seth Godin

The purpose of The Art of Sales event is to provide the 2500 attendees with cutting edge business information to give them a competitive advantage. Five top-notch speakers were featured. In addition to Godin, Barbara Corcoran, Keith Ferrazzi, Sally Hogshead and Jerry Greenfield were keynotes.

Godin spoke about the importance of facing failure in order to move toward success, permission marketing (Turning strangers into friends and friends into customers), embracing change, approaching your work like art and sincerely leading others.

Barbara Corcoran & Moi

His style of speaking is very engaging, naturally humorous and although packed with loads of information, is easy to understand. Always intelligent, logical and practical, his tidbits always resonate so strongly with my world view that when I hear him say them, it’s almost like they are self-evident and should have been obvious long before he points them out, although of course they are Godin’s personal fresh and insightful take.

He also gifted all audience members a copy of his book Poke the Box.

Corcoran was possibly the best speaker of the day. Although she started off slow and possibly too intimate, soon it became clear where she was heading with her speech and it was non-stop nuggets. She emphasized that perception creates reality and the importance of taking big and rising to the occasion, power of statistics, leveraging the press, how everyone wants what everyone wants, expanding before you are ready, shooting the dogs early, appreciation over money, fun at the workplace and moving ahead during bad times.

Her presentation was choc-a-bloc full of concrete advice and actionable items. As she sincerely shared her approach to business with intimate examples, she really connected with the audience and made all her hard work and great achievements (she started her company 15 years ago with $35,000 and sold it last year for $66 M) seem easy and doable.

Keith Ferrazzi reminded everyone of the importance of cultivating deep, supportive relationships around you. In his words, managing a relationship is not being manipulative, it is simply saying it is important enough to prioritize. He also suggested striving to create sincere bonds with people you admire but may think are out of your reach.

Sally Hogshead spoke of fascination and how each of us has an innate ability to be fascinating that we simply have to tap into. Although quite the stunner and a very listenable speaker, she conveyed the weakest amount of information at the event aside from underscoring that in a competitive environment, the most fascinating option always wins.

Jerry Greenfield, one half of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream

Co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s, Jerry Greenfield closed the event with a heartfelt talk about maintaining the core values of your company through a “values-led” business model. He and his partner have always prioritized social responsibility through creative management and made it a strength not a weakness.

This article was originally published in DelectablyChic!

business trends, entrepreneurship, events, women leaders Barbara Corcoran, Ben & Jerry’s, delectablychic!, Jerry Greenfield, Keith Ferrazzi, ladiesfund, Poke the Box, preview your life, Sally Hogshead, seth godin, the art of sales, tudawood

The Honourable Rona Ambrose & Moi

I am totally in awe of The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister for Status of Women in Canada. Not only is she gorgeous, brilliant, a great speaker and full of ideas, she is so much fun! I’m positively delighted that she wants her team along with her to work with the Dawood Global Foundation and LADIESFUND® to serve the goal of helping women in Canada attain their entrepreneurial dreams.

Here is a picture of us at the RBC Canadian WOMEN Entrepreneurship Awards at Fairmount Royal York Hotel, Toronto, Canada.

entrepreneurship, events, women leaders dawood global foundation, Fairmont Royal York Hotel, ladiesfund, Minister for Status of Women in Canada, RBC Canadian WOMEN Entrepreneurship Awards, The Honourable Rona Ambrose, toronto, tudawood

Laura Furtado

Laura Furtado, Founder of the DivaGirl empire, personally led a workshop at The Spoke Club on the importance of risk-taking to an entrepreneur.

A powerful and passionate speaker, Laura inspired the crowd - which was a mix of mid-career and budding entrepreneurs - to face their fears and take more changes, albeit not naive ones.

She preached the importance of living life and the only way to do so was to take changes, rather than having regrets.

“Curiosity Courage Consistency Confidence,” she declared as the keys to success.

Laura has been appointed to the Advisory Council of Dawood Global Foundation and LADIESFUND®.

On Friday, November 25, from 1:30pm - 4:00pm at The Spoke Club, she will be teaming with Dawood Global Foundation and LADIESFUND® Women’s Awards mentor Leanne Grechulk of HealthyGirl for Brandapalooza- Symposium for Creating a Rocking Brand.

Laura is also hosting THE CHIC-A-BOOM ROOM PRESENTS: SANTA BABY! at The Roosevelt Room on Thursday, December 1 at 9:30pm - December 2 at 12:30am, which is a full blown cabaret experience with options of taking a dance class before the event!

Dawood Global Foundation and LADIESFUND® are D-VIP partners of DivaGirls!

entrepreneurship, events, women leaders Brandapalooza, dawood global foundation, divagirl, DivaGirl Preneur, LADIESFUND®, laura furtado, Leanne Grechulk, THE CHIC-A-BOOM ROOM PRESENTS: SANTA BABY!, The Roosevelt Room, the spoke club, tudawood

T U Dawood & Kamla Persad-Bissessar Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

We had a fabulous conversation on women entrepreneurship and ways we can strengthen ties between our countries.  She was dynamic, fabulous very eager to connect the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago to other parts of the world.

A strong supporter of women, she spoke of building bridges and strengthening connections.

entrepreneurship, women leaders dawood global foundation, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, ladiesfund, Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, tudawood, women entrepreneurship