The Backstory

On a chilly December morning, Susan Auer and Sarah McNally met at a favorite breakfast spot in Minneapolis to connect with their whole selves - Professional and Personal. For whatever reason that day, the absence of women at the restaurant eating breakfast and conducting business was startling. Did we not notice this before? And it begged the question, why don't professional women meet for breakfast? Why are women missing out on eggs and hashbrowns and waffles? We needed to find out.

The observation was posted on Linkedin, there was a rallying cry from the Linkedin community and so a date was set in January to meet up for breakfast! We identified a women owned restaurant in Minneapolis and 80 RSVP's later, the first breakfast commenced! 

The format was simple, show up, grab a seat at a table, order food, and connect with the women around you. We had some questions prepared to facilitate a conversation and one was, "is it true women do not conduct business at breakfast?" The answers to that question were painful to hear in the year 2020 yet important to hear. There were two themes; 1)women are still primarily responsible for the household and 2)women approach their jobs differently than men. One woman captured it, "Men network to get ahead, women work harder".

It was clear that Lady Boss could provide an opportunity for women to network & connect with the goal of elevating each other so we can have the greatest impact in our workplaces and ultimately our lives.

In response to the pandemic, Sarah McNally took the group online and Lady Boss Virtual was created.

"Behind every successful woman is a tribe who has her back." - Author Unknown