Today is International Women’s Day, and Berlin has declared it a holiday. I find that pretty incredible. Now, every man who has the day off work gets to thank women. And every little boy and little girl who ask why they’re home from school get the opportunity to learn about female accomplishments as well as the on-going struggle for equality. It’s a day to celebrate the victories and acknowledge the continuing fight that every woman faces.

Women Who Inspire Me

I want to take today to shine a light on some of the women I look up to. These women have all started their own businesses. Some of them are my clients, some aren’t. All are inspirations to me.

Maura Thomas – Austin, TXMaura Thomas, productivity speaker

Maura is a speaker, author, and trainer on how to achieve peak performance both at home and at work. She’s written three books, been a TEDx speaker, and been featured in numerous publications like Harvard Business Review and The Wall Street Journal.

In addition to her impressive resume, she is a genuinely nice person and truly cares about what she’s doing. She cares if people have work-life balance. She wants people to thrive in their businesses and their personal lives. Additionally, she’s actively involved in giving back. She donates a percentage of all training and speaking income to charities.

Whether you’re a business owner or not, you’ll benefit from checking out her productivity books.

Tina Roth Eisenburg – NY, NYTina Roth Eisenburg

Tina has long been a hero of mine. She grew up in Switzerland before moving to NYC. Once in New York, she created one of the most influential design meetups to ever exist: Creative Mornings. I’ve had the pleasure of attending Creative Mornings events in NYC, Austin, Buenos Aires, Lima, Edinburgh, and Berlin. They’re all so different and so wonderful.

She also created a kick-butt temporary tattoo company — Tattly — started a coworking space — Friends — and has one of the best blogs for creatives ever — SwissMiss.

If I accomplish ¼ of the things she has, I will consider myself a success.

Rotem Carmely – Berlin, GermanyRotem Carmely, Clustered

Rotem has started a women’s networking group, Clustered, here in Berlin that is, quite simply, lovely. I’ve had such a great time at every event and have met some great women who are building businesses here in Berlin.

I can’t wait to see what 2019 holds for this event.

 

Johanna Sieben – Berlin, GermanyJohanna Sieben, Berlin Bureaucracy Consultant

Johanna does many things well, but the thing she’s most known for is helping non-German freelancers and artists navigate German bureaucracy. In short, her company, C/O Germany, helps us get work visas. She also consults companies on getting visas for their employees. She has chosen to interact with the German government all day long, and she does it with a smile.

On top of all this, Johanna was the inspiration for All Heart No Hype, the networking event we started last year. She had a dream to bring all her freelance/artists clients together so they could collaborate and network, and I came along and said, “let’s do it!”

With no shortage of freelancers coming to Berlin, Johanna’s business is only going up from here.

Ruoyun Xu – Austin, TXRuoyun Xu, C3Nami

Ruoyun is the founder of C3Nami, a digital marketing firm which helps clients build deeper connections with their customers and communities through social media and email marketing.

C3Nami is also Design It Please’s birthday twin! We started our businesses at the same time and have supported each other through the highs and lows of the last four years. I’m proud to call Ruoyun a confidant and friend.

Asma Lootah – Dubai, UAEAsma Lootah, The Hundred Wellness Centre

Asma is the founder of The Hundred Wellness Centre, and she’s doing amazing things. A true visionary, she was the first Emirati woman to own a Pilates studio in the UAE. Since then, she’s expanded past pilates into a full-fledged wellness center.

Asma was also invited by the wife of the U.S Vice President to give a speech when Joe and Dr. Jill Biden visited the UAE in March 2016. The Second Lady of the United States visited the School of Research Science in Dubai to celebrate International Women’s Day and invited Asma speak about her experiences as a successful female Emirati entrepreneur at the prestigious event.

Let’s plan a trip to Dubai to get our wellness on!

This is only part one

There are so many more women I could add to this list, and so many more women-owned businesses and organizations that deserve a shoutout. I think I’ll have to do a part two in six months. After all, women should be celebrated and supported more than once a year!

Until next time, keep growing, keep collaborating, keep supporting each other, and keep believing in your passions and skills!