What is Sisterhood? Why Community over Competition is the best business model
Forward: This post was originally written in February of 2023. For some reason, the original blog post entitled “What is Sisterhood?” decided to break down. It was displaying a 404 Error, and no matter how hard I tried to get the original post to work, it just wouldn’t. Which is fine, because after graduating from the ESB Mastermind program in December of 2022, a lot has changed! So let’s freshen this blog up with some new-perspective interjections and how my life has changed since finishing this program!
In the summer of 2022, I took a chance on myself and enrolled in a photography business master course called Mastermind by Elena S. Blair Photography Education. At the time, I was a full-time Middle School English teacher and was looking to scale my business to full-time in the next five years. Unbeknownst to me, the universe had different plans for me, and I retired my teaching position the summer after I completed ESB Mastermind. I thought I was just investing in my business, but what I was really investing in was myself. I grew in ways that I never even dreamed possible, and, in turn, built a community of women (and now men) that I cherish and heavily lean on to thrive in this industry. This is community over competition in action. For these women alone, I would do it all again.
What is Sisterhood?
So what is sisterhood?
Well, the obvious answer is that sisterhood is the relationship between two female siblings, of course, but there is another meaning, and that’s the meaning we’re gonna dish on today. The Oxford English secondary definition for sisterhood is “an association, society, or community of women linked by a common interest, religion, or trade.” This is the sisterhood that fuels us as women. It is through these bonds of chosen sisterhood that we come alive not only as artists, but has human beings. It is through shared experience, triumph, loss, failure, and successes that we truly connect. It is holding each other up and being each other’s champion. And like any sisterhood, working through times of struggle, envy, and frustration. The bonds that we as women can make with one another are irreplaceable, and my bond to this dynamic group of women has only gotten stronger as the months have turned into years.
These bonds are strong!
The passion that is derived from a great bond is pure, good energy. It’s strong, vibrant, alive, kinetic, it dances, and it’s electric. When you’re in the presence of a friend whose soul and entire essence feel so familiar that you know you’ve met them before or have known them forever upon your first encounter, that’s sisterhood. And it can be so insanely strong that you hold hands during yoga the very first day you meet each other. These bonds tighten as you see each other through the birth of your first child, or the graduation of your first-born. These friendships seem to be almost divinely inspired as if somehow, the person that introduced you was just the vessel by which all good things will come to you. It may sound “woo woo,” but there is a peace that is unrivaled when you know that you’ve found your people. And these women have become some of my most “Ride or Die” friends.
And these friendships (which keep growing with more and more dynamic individuals who graduated ESBM both before and after me) are the most important thing that Elena S. Blair’s Mastermind Level 1 - Cohort 4 gave to me. Sure, I learned a bunch of amazing things, met so many insanely talented artists and business women, got some swag, but the best part was the group of women that have manifested before me. I made the most incredible friends, from all over the world, and they made me feel so alive and so seen. I would have never expected to connect so deeply with women (that are my DIRECT competitors) in my mid-40s, but good grief, I did. I love them all like sisters.
And I need them. We bounce ideas off each other, share client inquiries, meet up to just hang out and catch up on life, text daily, FaceTime each other in traffic (Chelsea, I’m looking at you!). These women are an everyday part of my life and I wouldn’t even know them if it weren’t for the ESB Mastermind course. This is sisterhood. This is lifting each other up as artists and as friends. This is showing up and doing the work. This is asking for more and manifesting dreams into reality. The best part of the entire, incredible, transformative experience was the sisterhood.
It’s been a year and a half since I chose to say “yes” to myself. I’ve made incredible friends. I’ve scaled my business to my full-time job. I keep expanding my offerings. And I keep strengthening my ties to my community through my art. I would do it again and again. If you’re on the fence about investing in yourself, hop on off. You deserve to find your own community and invest in your art. This year, invest in you! You’ll be so glad you did!