This weekend, I had the opportunity to attend the Beauty and Business Brunch by The PeekABoo PrettyGirl Foundation. This event brought together young women from around Columbia area to discuss entrepreneurship and female empowerment with a panel of four extremely successful careerwomen all while indulging in a three-course brunch. Sounds awesome huh? Well guess what - it definitely was.


The afternoon began with a bit of mix and mingling and a delicious salad with a raspberry dressing and chunks of feta cheese. (Sorry, I let my foodie out. Realing it back in now) The panelists, dressed head to toe in success and fabulosity, were completely down to earth. It might not seem like a big deal, but I can really respect people that don't let success go to their heads. Oh wait, maybe I should introduce these awesome women huh?

Teresa Wilson is the City Manager of the City of Columbia. It's her job to know everything that is happening in the city at every moment and keep the entire Midlands community up-to-date and informed. And you thought that giving your boss weekly updates was a hassle.

Katera is a singer/songwriter whose grown her audience through social media and talent competitions. Through much work and dedication, Katera has been able to turn this passion into a thriving career that has been gaining tons of momentum in the Carolinas.

Allyce Bailey is an attorney at Turner Padget Graham & Laney P.A. whose lived in more places than I can remember. Don't ask me to pronounce them because I've already tried...epic fail. More important than the pronunciation is the fact that she's broken through an industry that has been dominated by white males all while staying fabulously fashionable.

Denise Bradley served honorably in the United States Army for 25 years before founding Blo II, LLC. Denise then used that business to start two blow dry bars, one in the heart of Columbia and another that sits in the historic city of Savannah. Her "bars" were created for young professionals who want affordable & high quality hair care but don't want to spend four hours in the salon for a blowout. *inserts praise break here*


Each panelist was introduced individually and then came to the podium to give a few words of wisdom for the attendees. I was live tweeting quotes so I didn't take the best of notes but I was truly inspired by all of their words of wisdom. We covered everything from the importance of mentorship to how to keep pushing in times of defeat.



Somewhere between a plate of crime-filled French toast and a slice of cheesecake, we spent about 15 minutes completing the social media challenge, which forced us to talk to the panelists and connect with other people that we'd never met before. I'm a pretty sociable person so I love meeting new people.

Sometimes putting so much work into this blog and every other aspect of my life is exhausting but events like this give me the opportunity to see the tail end of all that hard work. I have to say now that I am beyond excited to put more work into my blog because I saw how satisfying that end result could be.

HUGE thank you to all of the panelists and the PeekABoo team for hosting this event! I know that all of the attendees really enjoyed themselves and we're all looking forward to next years' Beauty and Business Brunch!