‘We Heart Mondays’ Launch Event

Mondays… those first days of a working week which most of us wish were Sundays. Days which rarely (if ever) get mentioned in the answers to questions about favourite days of the week. Days, which for some reason seem to last longer than other days in the office and require additional cups of coffee to get through the 3pm ‘feel like sleeping under the desk’ phase.

Needless to say that when I got the invitation to ‘We Heart Mondays’ launch event on Monday, October 23^rd, I thought it was an event doomed to fail – Monday, at 6pm everybody is usually sleepy, tired and feeling like sofa and TV rather than business and networking.

ARE STYLISTS ENTREPRENEURS?

As an upcoming stylist I’ve always thought about myself as a “creative”. However, the more I learn about the profession the more I understand that you also have to be an excellent entrepreneur to make a mark in this industry. You need to find your own clients, do your own marketing, write your own invoices… it can get quite overwhelming sometimes. That’s why it’s important to surround yourself with inspirational entrepreneurs, learn about their successes and failures as well as receive invaluable business advice.

At We Heart Mondays you can do exactly that!

“WE HEART MONDAYS” MANTRA

‘We Heart Mondays’ is a community created by female entrepreneurs who wish to provide ‘both virtual and physical spaces and community to help you be creative, work, grow, network, plan and accomplish your goals, collaborate, learn and provide you with the tools you need to love what you do so much, that you’ll no longer dread Mondays’ (www.weheartmondays.com).

Hmmm…not entirely convinced, but after a bit of hesitation and effort to get over the usual Monday laziness, I found myself struggling to squeeze in overcrowded 6pm trains of London Tube and Overground on the way to the launch at ‘We Heart Mondays’ HQ.

Google instructions said that the venue was about 15 minutes’ walk from Hackney Wick station. I have to admit that I went through a few moments of panic that I got the location wrong as it was all construction sites and warehouses looking nowhere close to an event venue (in the age of phones with mobile internet and google maps, who wants to admit they cannot find the location with a clearly indicated address…).

Luckily, I met a few other fellow bloggers, just like me, struggling find the right building having already had tried (and failed) to convince staff of a few warehouses around that they have a female event going on this Monday. With a bit of team effort, we finally spotted a window with white balloons (yesss!!! Looks like a party) and heavy metal doors leading to the event space. As we were a bit early, preparations were still ongoing and we had a chance to look around and take some snaps.

Half an hour later the space was full with (happy to be there!) bloggers, brands’ representatives and entrepreneurs chatting, exchanging contacts, discussing their own experiences with starting a business and ways to cooperate and help each other on the way to becoming your own boss while doing what you like, be it a blog on food, fashion, lifestyle, a make-up shop or a bakery.

I had a glittering make-up by London Make-Up Academy (was shining like a star in yellow and pink at the tube station on the way back after the event):

Tried all sorts of sweets (Cupcakes and Shhht), organic (and not so much) snacks (Perkier, Coyo, Mighty Bee), drinks and sauces (Lucy’s Dressing):

And even got to bring some of them home.

And, contrary to my life-long belief, Monday turned out to be much more fun than Sunday. Time flew networking, chatting, exchanging contacts, learning from others’ experiences and telling my own. Being a blogger with one (impressive, I know…) blog post and ‘under construction’ website (in the same status for the past two months), I got plenty ideas, inspiration and encouragement for developing my social media and, who knows, someday turning it into a personal business.

And all of that – on Monday!
Rasa xx

Rasa is a student at London College of Style. Follow her journey at @r.v.poderyte