Meet Me Series, founded by Ayanna Dutton, helps connect like-minded women who celebrate diversity
Meet Me Series was founded to help connect like-minded women who celebrate diversity in one space. Whether navigating through careers, entrepreneurial ventures, or building relationships, the series helps to cultivate a network that women can tap into for guidance, support or resources. Each event is an experiential one ensuring that the women in attendance organically get to know each other through actionable tactics.
What motivated you to become an entrepreneur?
This is going to sound crazy, but I was born to go against what many would call the status quo. Being an entrepreneur or even intrapreneur within a corporate structure is a feeling that has shaped me my entire life. I believe in being my own boss, I believe in thinking outside the box and doing things in the most innovative way and I believe in celebrating uniqueness. Being an entrepreneur just fits into the lifestyle I have always dreamed of and what I have innately been doing for as long as I can remember.
How did you come up with your business idea? What inspired you?
The idea for Meet Me Series actually fell into my lap. One day I wanted to grab brunch with some friends and realized that I had a lot of friends in different circles that did not know each other. I thought it would be great to connect the women who I thought were fabulous to see what could happen. The purpose was to help these women from different walks of life connect in one experiential setting. After the success of the brunch I was asked repeatedly when the next event would be and Meet Me Series was born. From there, the goal to create organic experiences is what has kept Meet Me Series blossoming.
How do you generate new ideas to stay relevant on the market? Is it important to innovate in your space?
As a creative by nature, I am always looking for new ideas which helps with Meet Me Series because it gives me a platform to experiment. Literally any idea I come up with can be turned into a networking experience for attendees. Ideas usually come to me in any capacity, but since I love to collaborate and constantly learn new things my interaction with people and other experiences is what inspires my ideas or themes for events. By fostering that inspiration, it helps me to stay relevant, connect and of course be as innovative as I can in the space. When you think about your typical networking events they can all follow the same vertical, but with Meet Me Series the goal is always to be out of the box, relatable and purposeful.
What is your greatest fear. How do you manage it?
Up until recently my greatest fear was failure; however, I have recently altered or changed my perception on that. I do not believe in failures I believe in lessons. In life everything does not go as planned and I have learned that my challenges are not failures but lessons that I can either learn from or not learn from. I do have control and I can literally change my perception so that would be how I would manage the word "failure".
I would love for you to attend one of my events. I was going to do a brunch in two weeks, but unfortunately, I will have to postpone that until the fall. In September, I have two events I would like to do a brunch (obviously not just any type of brunch) and a poetry reading with the author of Him by H. I will definitely keep you and your community updated on that.
In the interim, I am always looking for brands/platforms to collaborate with that foster empowerment, networking and growth. Should you know of any especially within We Rule please feel free to let me know.
Lastly, I also have another business called Non-Corporate Girls Inc. At the moment our platform is a podcast, but we are also always looking to collaborate/partner so please feel free to keep us in mind moving forward
How far are you willing to go to succeed?
I am willing to go all the way to succeed. Success is limitless. Anything I put my mind to I can accomplish.
What is your proudest accomplishment of this year? What are you looking forward the most in the next 12 months?
My proudest accomplishment this year is enhancing on my collaborations with other brands. In the next 12 months, I want to acquire sponsorship/partnership opportunities as well as continue to grow the Meet Me Series subscription community.