Teresa and I always joked that Travel Sisters live events would get REAL comfy and casual, but last night we probably overshot the target?!

Three minutes before the meeting was supposed to start, I realized I had failed to send out the link via email.  Things are poppin' at the office and I was sitting on hold with Royal Caribbean until 4:52 and then it slipped my distracted mind.  A few faithful souls found the link in the MeetUp events tab or intuited that last week's link might work (it did!).  It was great to see them but I can't say by the end of the meeting the feeling was likely mutual!

One of the first beautiful women who joined was greeted by me lunging to right behind the camera as my dog threw up on my bed and carpet.  Then there was a series of technical glitches and delays, followed by Teresa and I going back and forth about calendar issues that really didn't need an audience.  We didn't create enough space for participation and so my takeaway was . . YUCK!  We gotta shape up!  

In that spirit I've spent all morning mapping out the Travel Sisters calendar through the summer and created a "one stop shop" document with all the meeting links and "need to know" info in one place.  We would post it on the website but we do like to keep the Zoom links behind at least one screen to increase security.  

That document WILL be emailed to each registered Travel Sister today and is posted in the MeetUp group "RDU Women With Travel Dreams."  Here's the key takeaways:

- We announce "crunch week" for the Boston, Peru and Costa Rica trips. 
- We are planning fewer Zoom events and more in person live events.  

We will be adding more Roads and Rails related info when each destination has more than 10 women interested.  Right now the only one meeting that standard is the Sunset Beach trip - so look for that email group to start Monday! 

Thanks for hanging in there with us - looking forward to a great spring and summer now that we've "shaped up!"

We had  a great time Saturday morning at Panera at Brier Creek - our first in person event for the Travel Sisters Network!  Such an easy and free flowing conversation - we touched on health, work life balance, work culture, and yes . . . travel!  We even brainstormed the topic for our next newsletter - Unique and Boutique destinations!  Definitely something we should do monthly until we can have a "big" event! There's really nothing quite like real-life interaction.  We really appreciate the folks who came out - it was a joy!  

It's been a big week in the formation of the Travel Sisters Network!

We have 10-15 women who have expressed an interest in each of the five trips we have offered in the February newsletter.  Last night our live event took on a new focus as those women were able to get into breakout rooms by trip and get to know each other!  Their interaction is also facilitated by an email group that is moderated by Angie. She provides updates on who is leaving / joining the trip group and polls can be deployed if changes are proposed to the trip.  We can also arrange face to face meetups through those email groups.  In fact, our Texas group is planning an in person meeting for the end of March!

It's not at all too late to join a trip group- just head to the "Trip Options" tab of the website and complete the Trip Interest form!  

I just looked over the website and realized how we have adapted our concept pretty significantly in the last three months!  Remember the good old days back in November 2021 when we thought we couldn't make travel plans without a face to face event?  And now we are gathering every Thursday night, drinking wine in our comfy clothes, pretty seamlessly breaking into small groups, and feeling pretty confident that we can organize travel that way?!  
The clearest indication of that shift is this month's newsletter- just released and hot off the press (see the tab "newsletters" on this website or the "trip options" tab)!  It offers FIVE trips - two domestic weekend getaways and three international trips - at all different price points and activity levels. We've built in a trip with a base price and then offered all kinds of optional add-on experiences and tours to make it tailor made to different tastes!  We can also offer a single traveler price - all the benefits of solo travel without the isolation! It's important to keep in mind that until deposit is made, prices can change based on availability. So, our live events will focus on getting folks organized and squared away so we can nail down plans and prices.  But, it's exciting to have a "first pitch" to swing at, right?!  Can't wait for even more great women to get in this game; I just have a feeling it's going to be a fun season!  

It's been a good week for Travel Sisters Network; we successfully launched a giveaway on our Facebook Page (we will award a winner on the 10th!), we have "normalized" live breakout events, we expanded to TikTok (some featured images below), and we have grown to over 200 registered Travel Sisters!  

Teresa and I are meeting tomorrow to nail down four trip proposals for the February newsletter (to be published February 20th.)  There will be trip for every budget category.  We will float out specific proposals, gauge interest based on a survey, and then start "tailoring" as needed based on who has expressed an interest.  Live breakout events will have a breakout dedicated to one of the four trips each Thursday in March!  Look for more info coming soon!  

Dangit I meant to snap a screenshot. 

We met 5 Travel Sisters last night and I got so excited I forgot to take the picture, lol! 

Vanessa, Belinda, Melinda, Jessica and Renee have agreed to help facilitate our breakout groups Thursday and we walked them through the process/ agenda for the breakouts and we just had a wonderful time!  Such articulate, authentic and compelling people - we could not have assembled a better team and we are so lucky they have "heard the call" to help lift this project!

More and more, I am hearing from women who are clearly invested in this project and want it to succeed.  They are sharing their experiences and insights, giving us great ideas, and it is becoming clearer and clearer how we should proceed.  It's a little different than we predicted - and that's okay! For example, we are finding that interaction on social media just isn't sufficient to make people feel connected.  So, we need to lean on virtual and (one day) in person live events to build this network.  And we can do that!

Thursday's event will be limited in capacity and we are all a little frustrated by that reality. But, it also insures that the people who DO participate have a really great experience.  We are hoping a good number of those women will agree to facilitate later "breakout events" and we can very quickly scale up without compromising quality.  We want these groups to be small enough that people truly interact, share their story a bit, and feel seen and heard.  We want them to look forward to the next event and find out how we are going to all work together to "move the ball."  

Watch your email if you've RSVP'd for the event. Want to RSVP?  Go to https://bit.ly/Jan27yes.  We will let you know around lunchtime Wednesday if we can accommodate your request to join.  If you are coming - we will lay out the agenda so you can feel ready to jump in.  If we can't accommodate you this time - just hang in there!  We're going to scale up as quickly as we can to meet everyone's needs! If you would be willing to help facilitate breakout groups, please let us know by emailing Angie at [email protected].

If the breakout groups go as well as last night's meeting with the facilitators, we are well on our way to building a successful model for authentic and productive interaction so we can get together and GO!  We can't wait : )

Lots of fun content - we announce a new interactive Live online event for 1/27/22, float out a trip idea for late February / March (take the survey!), and advise you about cruising without a passport.

Click here to be linked to the newsletter!

At our first live virtual event, I told a story about how we intend to proceed with building this network.  We've built some "buildings" - a website, a registration process, a MeetUp group, some social media platform pages.  We charged our attendees to "start walking" - to access and engage with those resources so we know which ones will work and which ones won't.  Once the paths are well worn, we can "build sidewalks." By that I mean we will build up and reinforce those processes and platforms and dedicate our time and attention to them.  

One takeaway we have from last week is that while getting 500 registered to hold a live event is a great long-term goal (by the way, we are at 150!) , some of the people registered are fired up and ready to GO!  And that's great!  I've loved hearing folks use the language we've created to connect - we just need to make sure there is hope that those efforts pay benefits. So, We're tracking what codes have a critical mass building.  For example, we have NINETEEN women who are code 42!  We have SEVENTEEN that are code 25.  We have FIFTEEN women that are code 83.  Seems like we might be able to pull together a group email that pulls them together and then maybe we can have a get together, either virtually or in person?  

A second takeaway is that it might be a good idea to float out one trip idea - maybe a short Caribbean cruise or a getaway to a warm locale - and just see if some women want to go?!  We could puzzle together roommates in the most rational way possible given the data we have?

A third takeaway is that we need to make some data tables that tell Travel Sisters what other codes they might be compatible with because they are just "one variable" off.  If you knew what that variable was, based on the trip destination and itinerary, you might realize a Travel Sister with a "one off" code would be just as compatible as a perfect match.  For example, if you are a "strictly planned itinerary" person but the trip is a cruise that allows for a lot of individualization (as opposed to a group bus tour in Europe), you might get along just fine with a Travel Sister that prefers spontaneous and flexible itineraries.  We need to get that info in our Travel Sisters' hands so they can make the best choices for them based on specific circumstances, especially while we are small and growing. 

This will be a good week to lay the groundwork for some of those ideas since, unfortunately, Teresa's mother in law passed away Sunday.  It was not a surprise, and she lived a long and remarkable life, but you can never really be ready for the passing of the family matriarch.  So, we've canceled our weekly Travel Sisters meeting and we will hit the ground running on these ideas next week.  Feels like lots of families out there are doing their best in troubled times and we could all take a week to take care of ourselves and our loved ones.  All will take place in due time and there's a lot of hope that these are the darkest days and better ones are ahead.

Y'all be well and chime in if you want to weigh in on any of these ideas.  We'd love feedback!