The Power of Showing Up: Community is How We Grow

This holiday season reinforced a lesson I didn’t know I needed to relearn: how we show up matters more than how everything looks.

I had the joy of hosting an ornament exchange that brought together women from The Possible Woman Collective, Entreprenista, WESOS & EBN. I also attended another exchange that beautifully blended WESOS, Lead and Empower Her/She Talks, and The Possible Woman Collective. Different rooms. Different dynamics. One shared energy—connection.

If I’m being honest, when I hosted my own event, I wanted everything to be perfect. The details. The flow. My hair. My makeup. As entrepreneurs, we’re wired to believe that everything must be figured out, polished, and flawless. But what I learned—standing in those rooms, listening to stories, watching women connect—was that perfection was never the point.

What mattered was presence.

Each ornament exchange became more than a holiday gathering. Ornaments turned into symbols of growth, resilience, faith, and fresh beginnings. Conversations softened. Laughter mixed with vulnerability. Women felt seen—not for what they do, but for who they are.

Being part of multiple communities has deepened my belief that collaboration and community are essential to creating an organic business ecosystem. One built on trust, not transactions. One where relationships come first, and growth follows naturally. When women come together with open hearts, something shifts. Competition fades. Collaboration expands. Support becomes sustainable.

At the end of the day, people don’t remember whether everything was perfect. They remember how you made them feel.

Maya Angelou said it best—that people may forget what you said or did, but they will never forget how you made them feel. This season, I felt that truth in real time. The warmth. The belonging. The reminder that none of us are meant to build alone.

As we move into a new year, I’m carrying this with me: show up from the heart. Lead with intention. Create spaces where women feel safe, supported, and celebrated. Because when we do, we don’t just build businesses—we build communities that last.

That is the power of showing up.