“When we dance, when we sing, when we tell stories, when we are truly authentic, we step into a truly magical place.”
Olivia Omega delivered the morning keynote at the 2024 Power of WE Conference in Salida. Photo by Carly Winchell.
On Friday, May 17, crowds came together to celebrate women in business at the annual Power of WE (Women Entrepreneurs) conference. The conference was nearly sold out and featured women from a variety of backgrounds as both speakers and attendees. One consistent theme throughout the day and through many of the speakers was an emphasis on authenticity.
Morning Keynote: “Dance to the beat of your brand.”
Olivia Omega delivered the high-energy morning keynote speech in a glittering dress and her trademark disco ball.
Olivia Omega’s mirror ball was used as decor and metaphor during the keynote address at the 2024 Power of WE Conference. Photo by Carly Winchell.
Omega is a branding strategist and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in brand positioning, digital marketing, communications and advertising across the startup, non-profit, public and private sectors.
She serves as Senior Director of Marketing and Communications for the Denver Scholarship Foundation, a nonprofit public charitable organization whose mission is to inspire and empower Denver Public Schools students to achieve their college goals through college access, promise-based scholarships and college success.
Omega is a TEDx speaker, diversity and inclusion advocate, and author, and as she explains in her book, personal brand identity and the authentic expression of one’s unique personality has played a major role in her career path. Branding Beautifully: A Girl’s Guide to Understanding Brand Structure Copies were distributed to all WE participants.
She kicked off her speech with a 30-second dance break while holding the microphone to a button she bought online. The audience jumped up and joined in the little party, and Omega kept the energy going by sharing her story and advice on using your authentic self to create a brand that no one else can replicate.
She urged people to be brave enough to share their stories. “A lot of times we have stories inside us that we really want to get out, but for some reason we keep them inside,” Omega said. “When you keep a story inside you, it can become really heavy.”
She gave the example of one of her disco balls, which was hung the wrong way, so it fell to the floor and shattered into pieces. Rather than throw it away, Omega repaired it with tape and glue. Omega explained that the crack made the ball completely unique.
“There is no other disco ball in the world that has been broken like this, repaired and restored like this,” Omega explained, layering the unique journey of this item with everyone’s personal story: how their disco ball brought joy during a difficult time in their life, how they broke and were repaired. The stories and details cannot be copied and pasted.
“If I am my authentic self, then there is no competition for my brand. There is no one else in the world but you,” Omega explained, encouraging everyone to use their true selves to build a brand that no one else can replicate. “There are literally thousands of brand strategists. There are hundreds of female brand strategists. Female brand strategists of color. Female brand strategists of color who live in Colorado, but there is no Olivia in mirror ball shoes.”
Continuing the disco theme, Omega urged attendees to follow her dance philosophy, which can be summed up in an acronym:
Olivia Omega’s Dance Philosophy at the 2024 Power of WE Conference. Photo by Carly Winchell.
Do it with fear.
Anticipate your audience.
Nudity is required (unprotected, not necessarily without clothes).
Create a signature move.
Eliminate generalizations.
During his speech, Omega shared a camera phone video from a festival. One person began dancing enthusiastically. He was shirtless, shoeless, and completely naked. A second person joined in, then another. Soon a crowd had gathered around the first dancer, dancing together and sharing in the sheer joy of the moment. It was all thanks to the first dancer and, just as importantly, the second.
“And more importantly, don’t forget the second person. Without that second person, none of this would have happened. Every one of you in this room has that second person who encouraged the first and drew the third person in.”
Breakout Session: Self-Rescue Goddess
Between the morning and afternoon portions of the conference, there were several breakout sessions that attendees could choose from. Coach, author, and speaker Jess Bonasso conducted one of these sessions in a tent just outside the SteamPlant.
Self-Rescue Goddess Jess Bonasso conducts a breakout session during the 2024 Power of WE Conference. Photo by Carly Winchell.
Ms. Bonasso focused on how to cultivate gratitude, growth and generosity in work and life. She explained how to save ourselves from harmful situations and attitudes, and shared her personal experience of how her negative attitude led to isolation and loss of friendships, until she found the strength to save herself by asking, “What is my gift?”
Severe burnout had sent her into a negative mental state that she didn’t realize she was in until a friend pointed it out to her and she took a step back. “Getting into this critical state was a major turning point for me,” she said.
Bonasso encouraged participants to share a challenge they recently faced and reframe the experience in a more positive way by focusing on what they gained from it, rather than what they lost. This simple question allows people to become their own heroes by approaching difficult experiences with a different mindset, by recognizing the gifts they gained from them.
Bonasso’s model focused on achieving empowerment through the conscious effort of acquiring competence. “What do you think increases with increased competence?” Bonasso asked. “Confidence.”
“If you commit to growth and healing, you will be transformed,” Bonasso said, offering assessments and guidance on how to save yourself from the situations that burnout and feelings of helplessness often put women in.
More information about Bonasso can be found on her website, JessBonasso.com Since 2007, Bonasso has been a Brave Life Catalyst and Self-Rescue Coach, author and speaker, aiming to empower “exhausted, amazing women in need of self-help.”
Afternoon Keynote: Business Models for Volunteers
After a break for lunch and dancing, conference attendees gathered on the main stage to hear a series of afternoon talks, including an afternoon keynote address by Flavia Reis Kubricht, who shared her life story and outlined the business model she uses when advising small and medium-sized businesses.
Afternoon keynote speaker Flavia Reis Kubricht (center), along with emcee Heather Barron (left) and Central Mountain SBDC Director Jaime Billesbach (right), dance with others on the dance floor between sessions. Photo by Carly Winchell.
An international project manager for over 18 years, Kubricht has led companies and projects in Brazil, France and the United States in the fields of mining, arts, healthcare, innovation and technology, government and global entrepreneurship.
Born and raised in Brazil, Kubricht currently serves as a mentor, consultant, and member of international innovation, communication, and entrepreneurship boards and committees. Although she has given numerous speeches throughout her career, “The Power of WE” marked Kubricht’s first time delivering a keynote address in English.
Kubricht is the co-founder of a US-Brazilian startup that provides a platform to support immigrant small businesses, children with ADHD, and women entrepreneurs. An immigrant entrepreneur with deep roots in the Colorado community, Kubricht volunteers her time and expertise to support various organizations and initiatives.
“I thought my career was going well, but I was feeling lonely,” Kubricht explains after experiencing illness and burnout. “I decided to embark on a three-year quest to maintain my professional trajectory while also prioritizing my health.” At 37, she began to reshape her entire identity.
Eventually, that quest led her to Denver: “Through volunteering, I discovered a wealth of knowledge and made connections. … Volunteering in my life has built bridges and really opened doors.”
Morning keynote speaker Olivia Omega served as Kubricht’s mentor in the accelerator program, and Kubricht now aims to support marginalized communities with a focus on female immigrant entrepreneurs.
“I was listening to their pain. I was listening to their struggles, their dreams and their hopes. It was my journey too. It was a journey of self-discovery,” Kubricht explained how she blended social impact and community engagement with entrepreneurship. She explained the concept of netweaving, which differs from networking as it is more commonly known. Netweaving occurs when you offer your skills to solve a specific problem, rather than simply trying to make connections to advance yourself alone.
“As an immigrant in a new country, every challenge presented an opportunity for growth and self-discovery,” Kubricht said. “I embraced entrepreneurship as a vehicle for positive change and personal fulfillment.”
Final Thoughts: Let the light shine in the darkness
Other speakers included High Country Bank CEO Niki Stotler, U.S. Small Business Administration Rocky Mountain Region Director Aikta Marcourier, The Twiggy Mother Founder Thuy Nguyen, The Brand Guide Founder Christine Carey, and other powerful women who want to inspire their peers.
At the end of the conference, moderator Heather Baron addressed the audience and received feedback from attendees.
Barron also recited Rosemary Watla Trommer’s poem “Bioluminescence,” which nicely summed up the experience of the conference.
Sometimes, when I’m afraid
The little light I bring
Not big enough or bright enough
Enough is enough, I remember that night
At the beach a few years ago
Every time I take a step
In the cool, damp sand
A brilliant iridescent blue—
And the waves themselves
A greenish light was flashing.
Imagine we could do it
What is 7.9 billion?
What single-celled plankton can do
Glows in the dark
May glow when excited
In our own brilliance
Inner light and trust for all of us
Bringing the little light we have,
That’s enough to illuminate
The night lasted a long time.
“We are all that light. And hopefully, your light has ignited a little bit today. If you felt like that light was hidden, it just flared up like an ember. Or, if it was already burning, it’s just being fueled by all this goodness. But together, we are that light,” Barron said. “Live with integrity and follow your purpose. We belong here. We are ready. And we are not alone.”
