If you are reading this, then you probably already know that I am a floral designer who launched her own business in January 2017.  (If you don't know me, scroll down to the "About Me" blog just before this one.)

What you might not know is that one of the first things I did in that month was call all of my amazing friends who had already started their own businesses and try to get some good advice.

It was on just such a Girl Boss phone call that Becca Zver of Milsom and Bloom told me I had to join The Rising Tide Society.

"The Rising Tide? What's that?" I asked.  Becca went on to explain that it was an online community of like minded creative individuals who focus on "Community Over Competition."

This is a concept I love.  In fact, my desire to give people honest, candid advice, even if it causes me to make a little less money was one of the reasons I wanted to be in business for myself.  

Sounds counterintuitive, and don't get me wrong I believe it is very important to make a profit, but I am hoping that I will be able to make money and be true to my core values.  Time will tell, let's hope I am still blogging in a year!

It is also a great place to look for other D.C. wedding photographers or D.C. wedding planners or any other D.C. wedding vendors who share similar principles.

So, I could go on and on about Natalie Franke and her creation, The Rising Tide, but if you click on the links above, I think she could probably explain it much better.

This brings me to Tuesday's Together, an online group with community opportunities that actually meet in person once a month to go over small creative business related topics.

This week, I attended my first gathering at The Unicorn Pub (got to love that name) in D.C. where Adam Mason gave a talk on SEO (Search Engine Optimization).  

Adam talked about the importance of Alt Tag and File names and tools like Clicky and Yoast, and a lot of other stuff that I am pretty sure went right over my head! Oh and blogging;)  He has also started a podcast, The Bearded Tog, so go check that out if you're curious for more.

So once the work part was over, Adam and Brittany Collier (The Washington DC Chapter Organizer) opened the floor for discussion and then mingle time.

I ran into Erin Tetterton, Tiffany Rivera, Rebekah Disch and made some new friends with Ana Isabel and Nicole Nespore.  There were probably about 20 other people that I didn't even have a chance to meet but would have liked to.

All in all it was a very interesting experience and I plan on attending again.  Great job guys, and thanks for creating something us creatives needed and then not charging us for it!