Dining With Bevy Life With ViSion
Dining With Bevy Life With ViSion
Bevy Smith was walking towards me and introduced herself. A bit flustered I responded,“ Hello, I’ m FashionFwdLette”.“ That’ s not what your mother named you”, she responded. I said,“ Let’ s try this again”. This time I was settled and responded,“ Hello, I’ m Paulette Edwards and it’ s a pleasure to meet you.”
Back in August last year a great friend of mine, Teneka Steed, mentioned that the legendary Bevy Smith was coming to Charlotte, NC that month for a networking event that was invite only via e-‐ mailing your resume. Only 50 people would be chosen and attendees must pay a $ 100 entry fee. Within 24 hours of submitting my resume I received a follow-‐ up e-‐ mail inviting me to be one of the elite members to attend.
If you are a bit wet behind the ears and unaware who Bevy Smith is, let me tell you. Bevy Smith is an entrepreneur from Harlem. She is a high-‐ powered fashion executive at Rolling Stone, fashion editor-‐ at-‐ large for VIBE, TV personality and now Social Media Maven. She is also the creator of Dinner with Bevy, a dinner party series in which Bevy brings together influential people from across entertainment, fashion and media. She launched her Dining with Bevy: Life with Vision two months ago in New York City. Visit dinnerwithbevy. com for details. She doesn’ t care for titles but I would consider her a guru. Bevy’ s spirit is very welcoming and the smile on her face puts you at ease.
I woke up the day of the event on fire and ready to learn new things while networking with a room of individuals married to their passion. Immediately upon arriving I felt I was entering into a room full of energy. The power of networking and creating everlasting impression allows limitless possibilities.
I was seated at the first table and wanted to soak up all the information she had to give like a sponge.” I want people to walk away knowing that they connected with people, learned, shared, fellowshipped and now they have the tools to move forward” said Smith. She was sure to give us the uncut version of her experiences in the industry. Her topics of discussion were: Intentions, Fellowship, Focus, Do the Work and Truest Desires.
Smith said to know your well-‐ wishers, people that wish you well and will do anything in their power to help you reach your goal. Knowing your intentions along with the person’ s who is reaching out for opportunities are important. Smith mentioned it’ s okay to turn some things down, which simply means be mindful of what you are associated with because you are your brand.
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Fellowship is pretty clear: open up doorways that build your future. Don’ t be afraid to meet other people that aren’ t like you. You never know what opportunities will present itself after the initial contact is made. It’ s true that the first impression is the most important because it has an everlasting imprint. Introduce yourself with a smile and a firm grip.
Focus. Most times we have so many ideas flowing in our heads at a time. I know I’ m guilty of this one moment I’ m thinking about starting a magazine, the next about my blog, then about my children’ s boutique and Hugs from Paulette. I find myself getting overwhelmed because I’ m so driven to succeed and not fail. Smith made it clear that it’ s okay to have several goals yet only focus on 1.5 at a time and nail it. When you are working on many things at a time one area will go lacking.
Do the Work. That is straight to the point. Be willing to do the work regardless of who’ s looking. It’ s simple, you are your resume! Never feel that you’ ve arrived, invest in your future. Investing can be anything from reading, taking classes, attending events and interning.