We never really went away – but like so many things, Boss Talk seemed to get “shelved” during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, if we’re being honest and authentic (always our goal with Boss Talk), it was really just a perfect storm that took Boss Talk a bit off course in 2020.
Staff turnover, limited capacity and increased demands as we all worked to keep our anchor business – North – going amidst a global pandemic meant that like many people, we had to reprioritize.
Last year was filled with each of us trying to balance staying healthy and maintaining some sense of normalcy while quarantining, home schooling, and “Zooming” what felt like every five minutes. With so much else going on, Boss Talk got a bit neglected.
But it’s 2021 and we’re back and ready to rally our community of women together — helping women use their voices — while also being a repository of news and information for women and by women. I don’t know about you, but I think that is something that feels needed now more than ever before.
The good news is the pause forced us to assess Boss Talk and get real about the original mission and vision of this endeavor and ask ourselves if what we were putting out there was meeting our original goals. Filling a void we felt existed.
When I took a huge leap of faith and risked launching my own business, 100 percent for myself, it was because I stopped letting men and societal expectations and standards tell me how to be or run my life. I started making the rules. I set the goals. I defined success.
It was scary – but it was also freeing.
This has worked for over a decade now because I am surrounded by a community of women who support me professionally and personally and we have been able to define our collective path, successes and goals. That freedom, that ability to identify and pursue goals and standards that are self-proclaimed and self-defined, unfettered by external standards or expectations is what has defined success for us.
As a journalist and then as a public relations consultant, I have heard it all. I have been told I’m too loud, too outspoken, too aggressive — everything to try and downsize me and tell me to not be real, to not have feelings, to not be expressive, emotional, passionate, to cuss less. The list went on. When I stopped listening to all that noise, all those expectations others were putting on me — that’s when I started soaring.
Women are all too familiar with being told what to do, how to act and what we should be. We constantly find ourselves silenced by a male-dominated society, putting women in competition with each other far too often. We are taught to filter our true selves to fit into a certain mold and hide the realities of what we face every single day.
This is what has driven our mission and desire to improve the quality of our lives, and it’s what we want to share with an entire community of women via Boss Talk.
As a women-led firm, the North team doesn’t fit into any one mold and never will. Our goal with Boss Talk has always been to empower other women to break free from these barriers and chase all your dreams. Run for office. Quit your job and raise your kids. Go back to school. Start a baking business out of a food truck. Ditch the corporate job and hang your own shingle. Run a marathon. Do an Ironman. Become a sommelier. Travel the world. Recover from an illness. Get back to traveling and, figuring out how the fuck to wear a bra or something other than yoga pants daily post COVID-19.
Boss Talk was created by North to bring together a community of women to encourage each other to do all of that and more. Boss Talk events bring women together to talk and engage in dialogue in a supportive environment, one that might feel a bit freer than in the typical friend or family settings.
It started as a blog to write and provide content by women and for women in the same manner — candidly and freely. The concept came from Melissa and I needing an outlet some days (truthfully, most days) to just vent about work, our staff, and life!
We were using Voxer, a walkie-talkie app on our phones that was initially used to communicate quickly and verbally as we were running events and conferences. However, we found ourselves using it to download our thoughts (and sometimes rants) to each other. We knew we couldn’t be the only ones who needed an outlet like this, and that’s when the Boss Talk podcast was born.
But I’ll be honest, podcasts are hard. While there are a million podcasts out there and some people make it look pretty easy, the reality is they take planning and time to record, edit and promote, and good content and consistency is key to making them successful.
We didn’t have a team to do that at the time, so we slacked. We thought events would be easier. We had a team of event planners, and if you know me, you know I love to talk and could easily emcee small events that brought communities of women together in a supportive setting. The idea excited me and the few events we did energized me and gave me all the ideas for future events and discussions!
Then COVID hit. And events went to shit.
For me though, it wasn’t always about the podcast or the events – it was about providing some sort of community and “clearinghouse” of information for women whether it was verbally via a podcast, with events or just providing content for women to read and peruse.
The original goal with Boss Talk, that the “pause” we took allowed us to recall, is that we want to be a resource, a clearinghouse, a community that celebrates and shares a wealth of information that is truthful, authentic and helpful and unfiltered.
We wanted a resource for women that was simply a relatable, candid conversation, a safe space where we are celebrating and supporting each other instead of competing with each other.
Our goal is to be an example of the success women can find when they tune out the rest of the world and fully embrace their authentic selves.
So, what exactly does being “back” mean for Boss Talk? It means seeing a lot more from Boss Talk, both old and new! Our blog is up and running on the new North website and is consistently updated with content from the North team and guest contributors.
We are in the process of creating a weekly virtual newsletter that will come straight to your inbox every Tuesday. Our social media platforms have plenty of opportunities for engagement with the North team and with the Boss Talk community as a whole, so feel free to check them out when you’re in need of motivation, a laugh or just something to relate to. We are also tentatively beginning to plan events again – fingers crossed! You can always find updates from us on our website or our social media.
Visit https://northmediaco.com/boss-talk-community/ and find us on Instagram and Facebook at @northbosstalk to join our community!
