Behind the Boardroom: Building Business Events That Actually Move Women Forward
Oct 08, 2026
Three days after hosting our very first Boardroom event, Brittney De Paola and I sat down to record this episode of This Mother Means Business.
We were tired. Very tired.
But we were also feeling incredibly grateful.
We had just brought 55 women entrepreneurs together for an event built around a concept neither of us had experienced before. We had an idea, took a risk, brought it to life, and watched women spend the day doing the actual work of growing their businesses.
And now that we've had a few days to process everything, we wanted to pull back the curtain on what happened, what we learned, what we'd change, and what's coming next.
Because building a business, especially as a mother, involves a lot of figuring things out as you go.
And sometimes that means looking around and realizing that you're the person in charge of making the big decisions.
Which is equal parts terrifying and wonderful.
Why We Created The Boardroom
When Brittney and I started talking about hosting another event, we knew we wanted to create something different.
This Mother Means Business Live, which we hosted in April, is an incredible opportunity for women entrepreneurs to connect, hear from speakers, and spend time together. It's a celebration of entrepreneurship and community.
But we wanted The Boardroom to offer something more tactical.
As business owner moms, we're already managing full schedules. Between running our businesses, raising our families, and trying to maintain some semblance of a personal life, finding time to learn new skills can feel almost impossible.
We attend events, fill notebooks with ideas, get inspired, and then return to the 47 things waiting for us at home and work.
Those notes? They often sit untouched.
We wanted to change that.
Our vision was to create an experience where women could show up with their laptops, learn directly from experts, and actually implement what they were learning before leaving the room.
We partnered with Uncommonable, co-founded by one of our speakers, Andrea Jones, to create an AI-powered interactive workbook.
Instead of scribbling notes and hoping they'd make sense later, attendees could follow along with the speakers, work through their own business challenges, and leave with something tangible.
And they really did the work.
At one point, our photographer came over and mentioned that everyone looked so serious.
We had been hoping to capture beautiful photos of smiling women enjoying the event.
Instead, everyone was staring intently at their laptops.
They weren't unhappy. They were working!
Honestly, it was one of my favourite parts of the entire experience.
What 55 Women Entrepreneurs Taught Us About Business Growth
The Boardroom featured three workshops built around the themes Get Seen, Get Paid, and Get Your Life Back.
We also welcomed Veronica from CIBC, who took attendees behind the scenes of what it actually looks like to approach a bank and access funding for their businesses.
Throughout the day, we created opportunities for women to ask questions, work through their ideas, and receive support from the experts in the room.
What stood out to me was how much women valued having dedicated time to focus on their own businesses.
There were moments when we approached attendees to offer support, and they were so immersed in what they were doing that they didn't need us.
They had the tools. They had the information. They were getting things done.
And it reinforced something I've been thinking about for a long time.
Women entrepreneurs need access to practical business advice, but they also need the time and space to implement it.
There are so many things we need to learn as business owners. Marketing, sales, AI, financial planning, leadership, business growth strategy. The list goes on.
But when you're already operating at full capacity, sitting down to teach yourself an entirely new skill isn't always realistic.
Having direct access to people who understand those areas, and being able to work through the information in real time, makes a difference.
It's something I want to continue creating through This Mother Means Business.
What We'd Do Differently Next Time
One of the benefits of running an event for the first time is that you get to learn what works and what could be better.
And believe me, Brittney and I have plenty of opinions about that.
The overall feedback was incredibly positive, particularly around the concept and the interactive workbook.
But we also recognized that we moved through a lot of material in one day.
Three workshops gave attendees access to several important areas of business growth, but there were so many questions that we could easily have spent an entire day on one topic.
If we bring The Boardroom back, we may consider fewer workshops with more time for implementation and masterminding.
We also talked about adjusting the schedule to better accommodate school and daycare drop-offs.
Because when you're creating events for mothers, those details matter.
And while we're taking a break from hosting events for the remainder of 2026, I would love to see The Boardroom return next year.
Potentially more than once.
Potentially in different cities across Canada.
I'm putting that out into the universe now.
The Part of Entrepreneurship Nobody Can Really Prepare You For
On my drive to The Boardroom, I had a moment where I genuinely thought:
Who put me in charge?
Here we were, bringing 55 women together for an event we'd essentially dreamed up ourselves.
There wasn't a department to approve our concept. Nobody above us was signing off on the decisions.
We were the people responsible for making it happen.
And while that comes with a certain amount of risk, it also reminded me what an incredible gift entrepreneurship can be.
We get to have ideas and bring them into the world.
Brittney has been an entrepreneur for 12 years, and I'm coming up on 11. Between us, that's nearly 23 years of business ownership.
We've both taken risks, made mistakes, and learned from things that didn't go according to plan.
I remember hosting my first live event in 2025 and being absolutely devastated because the coffee arrived 45 minutes late.
At the time, it felt like a catastrophe.
Now? I have a little more perspective.
There are always things we'd change, but experience has taught us that we can make decisions, try something new, and figure things out along the way.
That's an important part of sustainable business growth. You build the confidence to take risks by taking them.
When Business Growth Starts Asking More of You
One of the more personal conversations Brittney and I had in this episode was about what happens when your business starts reaching the levels you've been working toward.
Because this year has been a big one for both of us.
And we're feeling it.
Between This Mother Means Business Live in April, The Boardroom, and significant changes in my coaching business, I've spent much of 2026 sprinting.
I'm grateful for everything we've created, but I've also recognized that my health needs more attention.
My Hashimoto's disease has been giving me a hard time, and I'm realizing that I need to use the final three months of the year to establish a new sense of balance.
Brittney shared something similar.
She's reached a point in her business where the opportunities coming her way are the very opportunities she's spent years working toward.
But saying yes to everything would put her right back in a position where she's stretched too thin.
It's an interesting challenge.
You spend years working toward business growth, and then you have to figure out how to manage that growth without losing yourself in the process.
For me, that means making some intentional decisions about how I want to spend my time.
I know there will be another season of sprinting. But right now, I need to make room to take care of myself.
As women entrepreneurs, we spend so much time thinking about how to grow our businesses. We also need to consider how we want our lives to feel as those businesses grow.
What's Coming Next: This Mother Means Business Live 2027
Now, just because I'm taking a little breathing room doesn't mean Brittney and I aren't planning some exciting things.
We're bringing This Mother Means Business Live back on April 1, 2027, at the Pearle Hotel in Burlington, Ontario.
And we're already making some changes based on what we learned from this year's event.
One of the biggest additions is an expanded VIP experience.
Last year, we hosted a beautiful VIP dinner at Isabelle, where attendees had an opportunity to connect before the main event.
The feedback was that women wanted more time together.
So we're giving them exactly that.
For 2027, we're extending the VIP experience into the afternoon with a visit to The Creator Lounge in Oakville.
We're planning opportunities for attendees to explore podcast studios, create content, connect with other entrepreneurs, and leave with tangible marketing assets they can use in their businesses.
We're also exploring ways to incorporate wellness and potentially feature some of our VIP attendees on the podcast.
The idea is to spend the afternoon building relationships and creating together before heading back to the hotel for dinner.
A little pregame for Live, if you will.
And I think it's going to be really special.
We're Building More Than Another Women's Business Event
One thing Brittney and I agree on is that we have no interest in creating events simply because that's what everyone else is doing.
We want to think about what women entrepreneurs actually need.
What would make leaving the house, rearranging childcare, stepping away from your business, and investing your time worthwhile?
Sometimes that's access to practical business education.
Sometimes it's meaningful conversations with other female business owners.
Sometimes it's an opportunity to create content, connect with potential collaborators, or finally spend a few uninterrupted hours working on your own business.
We're committed to continuing to explore what those experiences can look like.
And we're always interested in collaborating with brands and businesses that want to be part of creating something meaningful for this community.
Come Join Us
If you missed The Boardroom, I hope this episode gives you a little glimpse into what we're building behind the scenes.
I'm incredibly grateful to every woman who showed up, every speaker who shared their expertise, and every brand and business that supported our vision.
There's something really special about having an idea and watching other people believe in it enough to come along for the ride.
And Brittney and I have plenty more ideas.
This Mother Means Business Live returns April 1, 2027, at the Pearle Hotel in Burlington.
Early bird tickets are available until October 23, with $100 off general admission and VIP tickets.
Interested in getting involved as a partner, sponsor, or vendor? We'd love to hear from you at [email protected].
And if you'd like to see The Boardroom come to your city, send me a DM at @itslaurasinclair and tell me where we should go next.
For now, I'm heading into a season of slowing down, taking care of myself, and feeling really proud of everything we've created.
Because what a gift it is to be exhausted from something that started as an idea in your own mind.
