‘Heart of Business Expo’ prepares business women inside and out

Local business women and budding entrepreneurs mixed business with pleasure during the “Heart of Business Expo” presented by the American Business Women’s Assn.’s Verdugo Glen chapter on Feb. 9 at the Glendale Elks Lodge.

After networking and shopping at boutique vendors, attendees listened to keynote speaker Deborah Deras who talked about the principles for how to be successful in business without compromising your health and well being. She is an international speaker, author and engagement coach who gives suggestions for optimizing one’s energy, prioritizing time and maximizing one’s potential.

One of the principles she discussed was the power of synergy.

She told women to not try to do everything themselves, but partner up, which is a more sustainable practice that will help one’s business grow.

“Find a challenge that you have and see if there is an organization, an association, jointly that can give services that are complimentary, so you can offer them as part of your products and services,” she said.

Participants then selected their choice of “Lunch With the Expert” in the fields of business marketing, financing or keeping healthy.

Deana Deardorff, 24, and her mother, Carrie, are starting a business of designing women’s handbags titled Deana Purses.

They picked up ideas for marketing their business from speaker Lisa Hall.

“The last hurdle is the marketing, so she gave us some great ideas, and we thought it was very inspirational, and so now we have the next step to take the business,” Carrie Deardorff said.

Karol Franks is a volunteer for the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts and is an advocate for kidney patients. Her daughter is in need of a kidney, so it was an afternoon of meeting new women and sharing her daughter’s cause, she said.

“I heard speaker Rebecca Rees talk about exercise and health and how to be a power seller for EBay, so that was very interesting to learn,” Franks said.

Rees said she learned that no matter how busy you get with your business or whatever else is going on in your life, you can’t ignore your body and mind.

“If you do, you will get ill and you won’t even know it is happening,” she said. “You will just start feeling the symptoms. And you will wonder what the heck is going on around here. It’s like your car when it overheats, and all of a sudden you will collapse. So if we can just be sensitive along the way and pick up the warning signs that maybe I better pull back some and exercise. The best natural exercise is walking. Get out and meet your neighbors and you will feel so good!”

Eating well and scheduling some “me” time is important as well, Rees said. She indulges in a half-hour every morning where she puts on some music, has a cup of coffee and meditates without any other distractions.

“It really helps start the day,” she said.

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JOYCE RUDOLPH can be contacted at rudolphjoyce10@gmail.com.