September is here! And as much as I love summer, I always find myself so thrilled when September rolls around. My kids are back in school (which means my sanity has room to find its way back into my life... IYKYK!), the subtle shift of Minnesota seasons is underway, aaaaaand... Celebration is only weeks away! Eek!
I know many of you have yet to attend Celebration, but in my corner of the Polka Dot world, it's the highlight of my year. I absolutely love being in such close proximity to so many bright lights. Between the amazing speakers, the hundreds of hugs, and all the tears and laughs and insights, it's not possible to pin down exactly what I love most. All of it is worth the trip, and what I bring home with me will keep my cup filled for many months to come. I do my best to fill as many of my sisters' cups in the process as well.
And if you won't be there this year, do the next best thing and find a group of local sisters or a virtual connect to get your Dot cup filled! The best part about being a Dot is that there are so many ways to connect. We are abundant indeed!
Creatively yours,
Danielle Anderson Member Magazine Editor
ADVERTISE IN PINK INK
For more information contact Danielle at danielle@polkadotpowerhouse.com
THE POWER OF CONNECTION
The simple but life-changing impact of connection is the pure magic of our sisterhood. The connection possibilities within our sisterhood have the power to not only change and improve the life of each and every member, but also create a lasting, positive impact on everyone they meet across the globe. Connection can, at times, be underrated, but as members of Polka Dot Powerhouse, we know the truth –connection is the core of what we do and is so important. Connection is the fuel that drives our sisterhood.
IMPORTANT DATES
SEPT 23
RELAUNCH
Kitsap County, WA
Elaine Turso
SEPT 26
PASSING OF THE TORCH
Denver, CO
Mel Cunningham
OCT 25-26
ANNUAL CELEBRATION
Boise, ID
WHAT IS POLKA DOT?
MONTHLY ONLINE MEETINGS
SEPT 19 @ 11AM CT USA
SEPT 26 @ 5PM CT USA
MESSAGE FROM THE FOUNDER
Hey Dot Sister! Happy September!
Fall is a very abundant time at Polka Dot Powerhouse and we are so grateful for all that it brings.
This extraordinary sisterhood continues to grow and evolve in perfect timing, and we reach each new member at the exact moment we are meant to. What a beautiful gift. Tina, thank you.
As the seasons change and the abundance grows, I am reminded to always embrace each new chapter in life with the lessons and gifts it holds and the amazing opportunity that lies with each member and leader we get to work with. The light each person brings to the table and how much we grow from it and them is such a life-giving wonder.
As we approach Celebration in October and an abundant fall, I want to remind you and myself to be as present as possible and give gratitude. There is no moment that will be like this one and we have so much to learn from one another. There is so much that sparkles here.
Thank you for being you. You matter here.
With gratitude and respect,
Shannon Crotty Founder/CEO Polka Dot Powerhouse
Meet Our Featured DECADE DOT
1. If you were given an opportunity to give an intro to yourself in a few sentences, what would that intro be?
Carol has served as a healthcare provider in a hospital setting and as an entrepreneur. She is passionate about helping individuals live their best life through breathing strategies, body awareness, and positivity.
2. What are you currently focused on?
Since I retired, I have been active in my church, as well as being a board member for JONAH and Evolving Wellness. Because of my desire to serve the community, I am also working with World Relief to support a newly arrived refugee family.
3. What first you made you jump and join Polka Dot Powerhouse?
That's easy. The positive energy, powerful women, and opportunities to connect.
4. What is your favorite aspect of our sisterhood?
Dancing at Celebration! The women, the laughter, the energy, so much good.
5. What advice would you give someone who just joined?
Take the time to make the connections, discover deep friendships, and explore creative opportunities.
6. What do you want to be known for?
My joyful, adventurous spirit, passion for serving our community, and an exuberant dancer.
7. Where can we find you (website, social media)?
carol.rudd52
Learn more about Carol Rudd in the video interview we did with her, located on our YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/@polkadotpowerhouse
Carol Rudd
You won't want to miss these fun interviews with Managing Directors, Decade Dots, Rockstar Referrers and MORE! Shannon Crotty, our Founder and CEO, sits down with these incredible women to talk about the magic they've experienced on their journey with Polka Dot Powerhouse.
SHANNON’S POSITIVITY CALLS & CONNECT THE DOTS MEETING REGISTRATION
Shannon Crotty’s Special Member Connects will now be held once a month. Members must now be logged in to register for both the Positivity Calls with Shannon Crotty AND the Connect the Dot calls with Lisa Condon.
Members > Positivity Zoom Members > Connecting the Dots
On each Positivity Zoom, we will draw from attending members to win a membership renewal. You must be present at the time of the drawing to win.
The upcoming dates are as follows:
October 16th @ 2:00 pm Positivity
November 18th @ 1:00 pm Positivity
December 2nd @ 9:00 am Positivity
Central Time Zone
ATTENTION DOTS!
Pink Ink Magazine is officially open for submissions, and we want to hear from you! The mission behind Pink Ink Magazine is to celebrate the culture of our community, which can be boiled down to one word: SISTERHOOD.
We aim to pack each issue of Pink Ink with as much sisterhood as possible, and to do that, we need your help! If you have a story or experience you want to share that might be a good fit for the magazine, we’d love to see it. Below are the official Pink Ink Article Submission Guidelines for you to follow to increase your chances of having your article published.
Submission Guidelines:
• Submit your article as a Microsoft Word file or sharable Google Doc to Member Magazine Editor, Danielle at danielle@polkadotpowerhouse.com
• Aim for approximately 1,000-2,000 words
• Include 5-8 photos to use in addition to the article; send these as attachments to your submission email
• Your article should include a catchy title
• Be sure to proofread and fix any typos prior to submission
• All material needs to be your original work and previously unpublished elsewhere
Examples of What to Submit:
• Your Dot story
• An experience that involves sisterhood
• A story that shares about uplifting and encouraging women
• What connection, collaboration, or community means to you
Examples of What NOT to Submit:
• Articles that sell or directly promote your business, services, or products
• Recipes or how-to articles
• Content that is industry specific
• Articles that don’t correlate directly to sisterhood
Important Notes:
• Submission of an article does not guarantee that your article will be published; we reserve the right to reject any article for any reason. If your article is accepted for publication, you will be notified directly.
• Accepted submissions may be published in any issue within the publication year as we see fit.
• If we choose to publish your submission, your article will undergo editing by our magazine editor.
Reach out to Member Magazine Editor, Danielle at danielle@polkadotpowerhouse.com with any questions. We can’t wait to hear your stories!
Connecting the Dots: ELEVATING YOUR MEMBERSHIP
Tip #3: Connecting Through Facebook Groups
Social media is a way of life and here to stay. There are many forms; however, for Polka Dot Powerhouse, Facebook is currently the primary social media channel. It is an additional way for you to learn about and connect with your Dot sisters all over the world. Time zones do not pose a barrier on social media, and it provides insight into what people
are engaged in, personally and professionally.
Here are three tips to navigate Polka Dot Powerhouse Facebook groups:
Home/Local Chapter: Many of the local chapters have two different Facebook groups that you can join. The first is the public-facing group,
which allows the local community to see what Polka Dot Powerhouse is all about and how they can engage. The second is the private memberonly group, which allows local members to connect. Be sure that you speak to your managing director to understand what social media platforms the chapter uses and how they use them.
Lisa runs a Connecting the Dots: Tips to Elevating Your Membership call each month. You can find the monthly meetings at www.polkadotpowerhouse.com/members/connecting-the-dots.
Be sure to log in to your account first. If you have any questions, please reach out to her at Lisa@LisaCondon.com.
5 AND 10 YEAR BADGE REQUEST
We would like to celebrate the longevity of our committed Dot Sisters. 5 and 10 year Dots can submit for their exclusive pins and badges directly and easily on the website now!
Members > Account > 5 & 10 Year Submissions
(Be sure to check your membership history prior to submission to verify your eligibility.)
Polka Dot Powerhouse Members: Want to see who is connecting? Interested in who is looking to connect? What about seeing new Dots who introduce themselves? This is the Facebook group to do just that. If you want some connection motivation or virtual Dot love, this is the group to go to.
Polka Dot Powerhouse MembersShowcase: Dots are always looking to support other Dots; however, unless they know what you are up to, it can be difficult. This Facebook group makes it easier to get your message out. In the group, you can post events you are involved
in, promotions you are running, and help you may need. There are limits to how often you can post and additional rules, so please be sure to check them before posting.
As a connection company, Polka Dot Powerhouse continuously strives to find platforms where sisters can find one another. Facebook groups are a wonderful option to enhance your connections.
Lisa runs a Connecting the Dots: Tips to Elevating Your Membership call each month. You can find the monthly meetings at https:// www.polkadotpowerhouse.com/
members/connecting-the-dots. Be sure to log in to your account first. If you have any questions, please reach out to Lisa@LisaCondon.com.
Lisa Condon Member Orientation Coordinator
FEATURING YOUR 2024 CELEBRATION SPEAKERS
DOT STORE
FROM SORORITY BOWS TO SISTERHOOD BONDS
Finding My Sisters with Polka Dot Powerhouse
By Kiki Ringer
When Shannon Crotty’s new magazine offers an opportunity to submit an article on sisterhood, you definitely say yes. And when that invitation also comes with the chance to work closely with one of your Dot sisters, you say, hell yes!
“We’re seeking article submissions from YOU!”
Sure! This will be fun, I thought. Easy peasy, I’m a writer. I can whip this up quickly. I’ll just write about how much my Dot sisters mean to me. Then, as I sat down to write, I began by digging back into my path to the Dots, and the depth of the emotional journey paralyzed me. Pushed down for decades, the pain of not belonging when I longed to so desperately rose back to the surface. I had resisted attempting to fit in again until Polka Dot Powerhouse came along.
Upon first hearing the name “Polka Dot Powerhouse,” I was instantly pulled back into the idea of “sisterhood” that sprang from my sorority days at the University of Alabama. Back then, sisterhood was superficial and far from authentic. I did my best to fit in with my big hair adorned with bows and strings of pearls worn casually over my sweatshirts. The thought of going back to that fakeness was almost too much to bear. Oh, please, no. I grew up with two older brothers, rough-housing and skinning knees from falls off skateboards. Polka Dot Powerhouse sounded way too girly for me.
For many, memories of sorority life are filled with fun, parties, deep friendships, and lasting connections. But for me, memories of those days evoke something entirely different. Rush at Bama was a week-long whirlwind of “interviews”—a fast-paced, highly energetic blur of sisterhood
promises as you were hustled through 18 houses, each one touting its unique version of sisterhood. There was the brainy house, the party house, the fashionista house, the grungy house. I didn’t fit into just one; all the different parts of me seemed to find a home in all of them. So when it came time to choose my top three, it wasn’t easy. I remember Bid Day like it wasn’t 30 years ago.
I received a bid from my third choice. While all the girls around me squealed with excitement (hence why it was also called Squeal Day back then), I sat in silence. Afterward, moving in unison with the thousands of other girls, I shuffled along to Sorority Row to find my new house with my new sisters. As I walked through the front doors of the old colonial, I was met with wild cheers and enthusiastic hugs. “Welcome, sister!” echoed through the house.
The sister who had been my host several times found me and ushered me upstairs to her room. She quickly shut the door, turned to me with a gleam in her eye, and said, “Are you ready to party?” Her look insisted I answer yes. She handed me a red plastic cup and raised a toast. “To sisterhood!” “To sisterhood,” I replied, trying to match her enthusiasm. A few more girls came in, and after fast introductions, we moved to the hallway where another girl quietly stood in her doorway.
“Hi, Kirsten.” Her voice was soft and calming, a stark contrast to the rowdy crowd of girls I was with. She had been the other sister to show me around the house during rush week, and her energy was completely different from the group surrounding me now.
“Don’t mind her. She’s just taking a break from studying,” one of the girls said, and they all laughed. At her. She smiled meekly at me and turned to go back into her room. I couldn’t help but wonder, is this what sisterhood was?
The next few weeks were a blur. I soon discovered I’d received the wrong bid; I learned that because my mom had been a member of one of my final three, I was “legacy” at that sorority, which should have meant an automatic offer. I spent the next few weeks going back and forth between two sororities— lunch at one, dinner at another— never quite fitting in at either. By the time the paperwork was finalized with my correct bid, four weeks had passed. Four crucial weeks that had bonded my pledge class without me. I was an outsider from the start.
And I stayed an outsider for most of my sorority days. Instead of dating frat boys, I hung out with the football team. Instead of attending
social formals, I danced as Dave Matthews performed at a local dive bar. Sure, I made a few lifelong friends—women I call “sisters”— but for the most part, I always felt outside the circle. I was more appreciated as a rugby little sister than a sorority sister. If this was sisterhood, I wanted my brothers back.
This is why Polka Dot Powerhouse was initially an enigma to me. A connection company for women that touts no drama and values relationships over business? I was skeptical but curious. Being relatively new to Colorado, I knew networking would be important to help me grow my newly relaunched business. Hell, beyond that, I needed to make friends. We all know how hard it is to make friends as adults, especially women. We play so many roles—wife, mom, business owner. Where do the lines cross and friendships begin?
When the world shut down in March 2020, the Dots kept going. By May, I was seeking more conversation than my daily dose with George, my Doberman, and I signed up for my first meeting, led by Connie Kercher, a powerhouse of positive energy—intimidatingly so for this small-business owner. She didn’t have a shy bone in her body. She enthusiastically greeted every woman by name followed by a genuine “my friend” or “rockstar.” She oozed confidence. I am not going to fit in here, I thought. I’m not this put together. I don’t have confidence like that. My hair and make-up will never look that good. But what I witnessed during my first meeting solidified my place with this group.
As the Brady Bunch boxes popped open, faces appeared—some with no makeup, others with unkempt hair, some wearing shirts covered in dog hair. These women showed up
as their authentic selves, exactly as they were at that moment. “Come as you are” had never had more meaning, and it was celebrated. “I showered today.” “I put on pants!” “I’m here.” Every admission was met with genuine enthusiasm. Then Connie spoke.
Here was this put-together, energetic professional, and she got personal. I don’t remember the subject— it was the response of these women that truly struck me. Not knowing Connie at all, I could sense that this break in professionalism was uncharacteristic, and the outpouring of authentic care was palpable. This group of women supported one another in the way only sisters can—unconditionally, without judgment, and always there for each other. The sense of belonging, the acceptance of who I am as an individual… me for me! I don’t need to try and fit in with my pearls and sweatshirts, big hair and bows. I can show up as authentically me?
Sign me up.
Fast forward four years (the same amount of time spent at my sorority), and I can’t imagine the person I would be without the Dots. It’s an experience I never had in college. Surrounding myself with supportive women has boosted my confidence as a business owner, a mom, and an all-powerful
woman. I remember being at one of Shannon’s events with a room of 150+ women cheering on one woman who had just quit her day job to follow her dreams. It’s this kind of unconditional support that sisterhood is all about. The openness of members to share, connect, and be curious about each other draws in women from all walks of life. And with the abundance mentality, there’s room for everyone. “We all go up together”—a motto that couldn’t be truer for the Dots.
For me, though, sisterhood is more than the meetings and organized events that bring us together. The sorority did those too. It's more than the deep dive small group masterminds (shout out to my Diamonds and the Renegade Unicorns!). It's the authentic connection, the sisterhood outside the sisterhood. It’s seen through the outpouring of love when George crossed the rainbow bridge; the celebration of marriages and pregnancies; the genuine friendships grown through impromptu dinners or coffee connects; the memories made of going parasailing in Florida, road tripping to Celebration, or raucously giggling down water slides at the park. It’s having that sister to always encourage you to keep going and having someone to call when you have a win—big or small—to celebrate.
It’s the sisterhood I always wanted.
Kirsten "Kiki" Ringer is the founder of KLR Literary Management, with 30 years of experience in the publishing and entertainment industries, including roles at The Walt Disney Studios and working with Nobel and Pulitzer prize winning authors. She’s passionate about guiding authors through the complexities of publishing and crafting stories that resonate. An accomplished author herself, Kiki is dedicated to building genuine connections within the literary community.
NEW DIAMOND ACTIVITY
with Anahita & Samme
Every 2nd & 4th Tuesday, at 11am CST
Join Diamond Members Anahita Shahrvini and Samme Marazas for Social Media Coworking. We love when our members collaborate!
ANNUAL DIAMOND SUMMIT
September 30, 2024
Theme: Embrace Your Sparkle For Diamond Members only.
DIAMOND SMALL GROUP MASTERMINDS
Starting October 1, 2024 Upgrade your membership to participate.
DIAMOND SPEED CONNECT
October 30, 2024 at 11am CST Register Here Open to all members.
2024 DIAMOND MANAGING DIRECTORS MASTERMIND
with Mindy & Elaine
October 30, 2024 @ 12pm CST 2024 MD Diamond MastermindOpen to ALL MDs Link to Register
MASTERCLASS
MEET A ROCKSTAR REFERRER JEN BEE
We are honored to feature Jen Bee, an absolutely ALLIN Dot sister out of the Westminster, CO chapter. Jen recently hit Rockstar Referrer status by helping 12 new members find and join our sisterhood by using her official member referral link. By doing so, Jen has earned her next year of Dot membership on us. Jen really knows how to tackle her goals in a big way, and we are so excited to get some insight and inspiration from her.
Who is Jen Bee?
Jen Bee is a passionate life and business coach, speaker, mom to two amazing adopted boys (8 and 12), and wife to her better half, Kristina. Leveraging her own journey of "mess to message," she founded GROW (Get Ready To Own Your Worth), empowering women and entrepreneurs to step into their worth.
What strategies have helped you succeed in the referral program?
When I wholeheartedly believe in something, I shout it from the rooftops! I have been intentional in achieving my 12+ sister referrals, meeting other women business owners (whether in other networking meetings, on social media, or with friends and family), and organically sharing how Dots has changed my life and business.
What tips do you have for approaching potential referrals?
Believe in your impact! Remember that each day we wake up with the opportunity to change someone’s life. This year I went from 0 to 12+ in a matter of months. The right future sisters will come across your path, but we have to be ready to share from the heart.
How has the referral program impacted you personally and professionally?
Who doesn’t like a little pocket of joy in their day? Between the little notes in the mail, virtual swag, and kudos from other sisters, the referral program has helped me boost my business, my connections, and I feel like I am making a difference by uplifting our community and others.
Where can people find you?
You can follow me on my personal Facebook page under Jen Bee, and learn about all things GROW and programs at www.growwithjenbee.com.
You can find out more about Jen and how this rockstar has really jumped into her membership and hit this goal by watching the interview we did with her on our YouTube channel by visiting: https://www.youtube.com/@Polkadotpowerhouse
Each of us was introduced to Dots by another amazing woman, and it's changed our lives. I think reflecting on that passion and the gift of connection, it’s easy to share (as an invitation, not a “pitch") to other amazing women. Share your story of sisterhood organically and others will notice and be naturally curious.
What advice would you give to other members aiming for 12 points since the point system just started over again?
#DOTSDOINGGOOD
We love to celebrate all that our Dot sisters are doing to make the world a better place. Use hashtag #dotsdoinggood to help us find your posts and celebrate you in the future. Use hashtag #dotsdoinggood to help us find your posts and celebrate you in the future.
do you know someone interested in starting their own local chapter of Polka Dot Powerhouse?
