As we get into the swing of the new year, I took time to reflect on 2023, and how over the last year my business and brand, Fabulous & FearLESS, has empowered hundreds of women with my self-defense speaking engagements and workshops. I wanted to highlight some of them in no particular order:
I had the privilege of empowering professional women in NYC and NJ, at a few corporate self-defense workshops.
I participated and presented at retreats for Believe Inspire Grow (B.I.G.) and Vida Rose CoachingSolutions, empowering their participants while at the event.
Empowered women through virtual self-defense talks, namely one for B.I.G. which ultimately led to another virtual self-defense talk a few months later for a Sip & Social event.
Completed a few self-defense workshops at the Hoboken Public Library and The Fit Club in Hoboken, NJ.
I presented a few self-defense workshops as fundraisers for different organizations, one in collaboration with Aceland Mortgage LLC and CFS LLC for Nourish.NJ, and a short presentation at the girls' field hockey fundraiser in Westfield, NJ.
The spring and summer brought on juggling between growing my brand, working full-time in wealth management, and training for the KSI World Tournament in Cape Town, South Africa that was held in mid-July. The training paid off and the event was a huge success. I took third in individual Kumite (fighting) and Team USA women and men took third in Kumite (fighting) too as did many other USA competitors place. Click here to read more about my trip to South Africa.
The start of a new school year led to a few private self-defense workshops (in the comfort of their homes), as parents felt their children's safety was important.
The fall and winter brought on several self-defense workshops, namely:
The women of B.I.G. at Morristown, NJ.
The teenage boys from YMSL Livingston, a fantastic and very enthusiastic group, and the moms of these young men.
A group of real estate and mortgage brokers, where I pointed out situations they need to be aware of in their industry.
I ended the year doing a workshop for the women at the YMCA in Mountain Lakes, NJ.
Besides all the self-defense talks and presentations, I was spotlighted at the Hellenic Professional Women Cocktails and Connect event in Long Island, NY. I had an opportunity to speak about my breast cancer journey, and how I began my brand, Fabulous and FearLESS. Sharing my story allowed me to deeply connect with the women and I’m currently working with them to set up self-defense speaking engagements and workshops in 2024. In addition, I was elected to the HPW board as well as the board of the Ascension Greek Orthodox Church in Fairview, NJ.
I was also spotlighted in the Morris County Chamber of Commerce. Business Edge Fall Magazine Edition, and presented to their Women in Business members in January, 2024.
Throughout the year, I wrote several blogs providing self-defense resources and safety tips, for both mental and physical protection.
2023 was a year full of excitement, growth, learning, testing my resilience, as well as experiencing the ups and downs of being a new business owner. I know the trials and tribulations will continue but it’s in these difficult moments where I have the choice to pick myself up and trust myself to keep moving forward.
Keeping my business growing and moving forward would not have been possible without the networking and referrals that happened throughout 2023. I want to thank Julia Savage, Aimee Schenkel, Tara Gilvar, Susan Vernicek, Jaynie Wagner Carlucci, Chitra Rochlani, Britney Glass, Cathy Maloney, Malina Poshtova Delamere, Mallika Malhotra, Kalliopi Ziangos, Erin Hoffman, Tanya Ulan, Nancy Rudgers, Darlene Kievit, Sabrina Sarabella, Larisa Stahl, Molly Camera, Pei-Chen Hsu, Kevin Murphy and Mary Jo DeFranco, for their time and advice, and I look forward to other opportunities to work with all of them.
In 2024, I will continue to grow my business, learn, and share my passion by empowering and educating women to be safe and strong, stand up for themselves, and use their voices. My presentations are well designed for groups and team building activities.
If you’re looking to empower yourself, your loved ones, or your colleagues or team, contact me for more information.
