Portfolio.com REALLY!! Check it out!

You know that wonderful writer I met on the plane?  She was not kidding, she really did include me in her piece for Portfolio.com about the British Airways Face of Opportunity Flight!

Read it here!! 

What happens when 250 entrepreneurs and a handful of business experts are all put on one London-bound flight? More than seven hours of networking at 35,000 feet. An insider’s account of doing business in the clouds.
http://www.portfolio.com/companies-executives/2011/02/07/british-airways-face-to-face-conference-lets-entrepreneurs-network-at-35000-feet

Thank you Romy!

London and Harrod’s Here I Come!

I can feel the energy build as we leave Britain’s breadbasket and move into the suburbs of London, then there are people everywhere and traffic, whew more traffic in a day than the entire state of Wyoming sees in a week all in one place.  Roads are blocked with accidents or closed for repairs.  Andy had studied just how he was going to get me to Kensington and now we’ve done a few u turns and zig zags, but my confidence in him is very high.

Finally, the congestion on the streets lighten.  We are in Kensingtonand there are all kinds of Bentleys, Porsches and Mazarti’s,  must be in the right place. On the left a magnificent structure stands tall.  It is the Museum of Natural History.  Breathtaking! Andy does a quick flip around after we have gone by… “I just wanted you to see that,” he says to me in his fabulous British accent, “Your hotel is back this way.”  I love when I have people who want to show me great things!

The hotel had us  stumped for a moment, but then we realized we drove right past it gawking at the museum, but… there is no parking.  Andy inquires as if we can park out front, “No,” reception says.  “Well how in the devil do people get to your hotel,” asks Andy with a hint of frustration in his voice. “Car park,” I do believe the answer was.  Andy is from rather creative stock and so am I and when there is a space that is not far from the hotel with a construction sign blocking our entry, I ask if I can jump out and move it for him…. His astonished look tells me, “No” but his hearty laugh tells me he appreciated the gesture.  “You know I would have done it, “I told him.  I think he thinks I am a little off my rocker.  We do manage to dodge around the sign and get a place, “For Permit Holders Only”.  Hummm, we  both say and Andy insists on helping me in to the Eden Plaza with my bags.  Now he is the kind of driver I like to have with me  and he is a big guy.  No one is going to mess with him!

My room is the size of a small college dorm room and the shower would present a problem for anyone over a size 6, but this will be my home base for a few days and I am happy to have it!

Nap, cup of tea and a brisk walk down Brompton Road to Harrod’s come next.  I have to check this place out!

Yes, just like the pictures it is massive!  It is also bustling with people.  I want to check out the competition so I go to handbags, furniture and clothing.  Yes, you can get lost in this place! Then true to form, I am starving so I get the most expensive sushi I have ever had, but man was it good!!! Guess that is my treat for the whole trip!

My favorite part of the whole place was it’s art gallery which I can see with a fabulous exhibition of western art, craft and design.  Right now it has Matisse, Lorenzo Quinn Sculpture and paintings by Bob Dylan.  Interesting mix!

Surprisingly, London feels great to me.  I am not a big city person and usually feel so claustrophobic I can’t wait to leave, but I felt at home walking tonight.  Strange, perhaps that is a sign!

And, really, where does the time go?



I need to go back into the Thorofare, where there is no signal and certainly no machines allowed like a computer or smart phone, because yet again, I stayed up too late.  Must be a disease!  The emails were stacking up like wildfire and the aftermath, if I didn’t get a few answered was scary, plus I had lots of home work to do, prices to be converted to Pounds and Euros and plans to be organized.  That is a good enough excuse right?

I must have worked my brain good because it wouldn’t stop!  I didn’t sleep well and when Rachel knocked on the door and said, “It’s a quarter to 10,” I about had a heart attack.  I can’t remember when I slept that long!

We had a big day planned.  We were headed for the Black Country Museum.  You see the midlands are known for their mining history.  They have their own alphabet which I found hysterical and more than once I found myself looking at Rachel for an interpretation.  I thought I spoke English, but this was unlike any English I had ever heard!

We went into the old mine on a tour and I must say the story was interpretted brilliantly.  My favorite part was that of the pit ponies.  Ponies that were just big enough to work the shafts and pull the carts.  Most of them lived underground all the time.  The only time they came up was for a week at Christmas.  Fascinating!  The whole place was wonderful and I had my first fish and chips in newsprint.  Wow!  I really am getting a feel for  British life in the Midlands.

It was a wonderful day, though even in my heavy wool coat I got chilled in the Midland wind.  You would think coming from Wyoming I would be used to cold temperatures, but… I blamed it on the humidity. That we do not have.

I can’t believe the time has flown by so fast, tomorrow is Monday and I must go to London. I am going to miss this crew in Norton Canes.  I can’t wait to show them around Wyoming!

The Friday Follies

I managed to look presentable despite my follies. It helped that I had a gorgeous Alan Michael Jacket and stovepipe Stetson jeans.

Friday morning came very early since I had blogged, facebooked and Skyped until 3 am.  That is after I had prepared everything to go online because… you paid for the internet by the hour.  Yikes!  So, I did the power upload thing and minimal communicating, then fell into bed praying to make 4 hours into 8 again, if only in my mind.

When the wake up call came at 7, my eyes were fuzzy with sleep and I had to resist the temptation to fall back on my pillow.  I had to admit sleep deprivation when, in the shower, I put conditioner on my hair, only to wonder why it felt so weird and didn’t make my tresses silky soft… it was because it was hand lotion… not conditioner.  I had to laugh at the absurdity of the whole thing, it was like brushing my teeth with Desitin once when Aspen was a baby and sleep deprivation ruled … I now had to admit my lack of sleep was having an effect on me.

Out of the shower with the proper conditioner in my hair, I had to flip on BBC1, I just loved being in the UK and hearing the British accent.  At breakfast, I discovered I was not the only was suffering from the tireds, but like me everyone was rallying for our final hours together at the British Airways Conference, learning and networking.

What an honor to meet British Airways CEO, Keith Williams

I had the great pleasure of meeting the CEO of British Airways, Keith Williams and finding out first hand the committment the airline has made to small business owners and entrepreneurs.  It is my hope that other large corporations will follow the lead of this dynamic airline and help build our nations by supporting and encouraging those of us who have the agility, determination and creativity of being entrepreneurs.  I must say I was impressed by Mr. Williams as he took questions from our group graciously and answered with sincerity. 

Lord Stephen Green, UK Minister for Trade and Investment, spent time with us as did Sir Clive Woodward, Olympic Performance Director, British Olympic Association.  They, too, were wonderful speakers providing great insights and good advice.

In the midst of all of this, I was running to and fro at breaks attempting to get bags packed and checked out of my room… as you remember I had such little time the night before and had dug furiously through my suitcases so in return, I threw things furiously back in, in hopes of completely repacking when I had a chance and more than a 10 minute window. In the midst of all the activity, I was asked to do an on camera interview for the British Airways camera crew.  All I could wonder was “How dark are those circles around my eyes?”

Those dark circles were pretty big, but it didn't stop me from getting my picture taken with Simon Talling-Smith, EVP

It was sad to see everything end and all of us go our separate ways.  We all came with a common cause and had spent 48 hours networking like I have never seen networking before, encouraging each other and learning.  Now Judith was going to Thailand, Elyse to Prague, Jeffrey to Dubai, Emmanuel to Korea… all to meet someone face to face in hopes of making dreams come true.  I still had work to do at the Sofitel.  On the flight Rhonda Abrams had graciously introduced me to the assistant editor of Portfolio.com.  Romy was an amazing woman who I instantly admired and she liked my story.  Now I needed to finish an interview with her.  Can you imagine me in Portfolio??  I was very excited!

During our lunch a call came in from my penpal, Rachel,… I know we haven’t heard that word for awhile and our children are asking what is that? She was there to collect me.  This was a fabulous moment.  We have been writing to each other for somewhere around 30 years give or take a few as we don’t remember exactly when the first letter was sent.  I hadn’t seen her since she came to America when I was in college 20 years ago and I was going to meet her family for the first time. What a day!

Remember how I packed my bags thinking my secret style of” shovel it in” packing was safe with me?  Not so!  Romy wanted to see the pieces I was going to take to Harrods. So in the back room where the suitcases were stored Rachel , Romy and the bellman in top hat and tails witnessed an impromptu fashion show with jackets, belts, boots, jewelry and handbags pulled from the depths of a set of very messy bags.  Not ideal, but effective!  Romy loved  the pieces and weighed in with her expertise. 

And then… off Rachel and I went to the West Midlands of the UK complete with  traditional English Plowman’s lunch, bottle of wine and a thousand things to say.  Rachel had arranged a wonderful man named Andy to drive us so we could concentrate on catching up, good thing   because we didn’t stop talking for the whole 2.5 hours it took us to get there.

My penpal of 30 years Rachel whom I've seen twice in all that time.

London Town

Well the thought of sleep was a pipe dream I got back to the hotel and had to repack and prepare for the flight to London… another midnight pillow time and 4 am wake up call. Will I ever learn? Really how much stuff can a girl cram in one day?

And boy did I feel it this morning! When the wake up call came, the last thing in the world I wanted to do was get up, but I had no choice! To London today and only an hour to get ready.

But I felt awful… sick awful and had to throw up. Oh geez, what a way to start the day! After bit I actually started feeling better but somehow had to look like I felt like a human and get to the busses by 5. Slowly I did feel better and made it only to be confronted with the terrifically cold NY wind pushing into any nook and cranny of my long wool coat that I didn’t have tightened about me… that woke me up!

On the bus I met Barbara from Boulder, Colorado, a former fashion designer now designer of reflective items for pets and people. She was amazing and in London to find distributors.

Schlepping, schlepping two heavy bags, a gorgeous briefcase from Clair Kehrberg and my Union Jack Harrod’s Bag of good luck from Miss Julia I made it on the bus, off, check in, through security and “Whew” to the British Airways lounge for an amazing breakfast and more networking… I tell you British Airways knows how to feed people and get them to talk to each other!

On the plane they send me upstairs.. Upstairs on a plane? What? I was in shock.. how amazing little pods that made out into beds… the stuff I had only read about in magazines… the cockpit straight ahead. The absolute coolness… I felt like I was dreaming and literally in a few minutes I was sound asleep in my new little nook… I don’t even remember taking off.

My “pod mate” the person facing me was the Vice President of Marketing for British Airways, Anne Tedesco. She is one of the amazing members of team that dreamed up the Face to Face program. Pure Genius, I tell her! And mean it! I enjoy her company immensely through hot hand towels and brunch, cups of tea and the quietness of the upper deck. I say quiet because we can heard the noise level increasing from below, the natives are getting restless and starting to network at breakneck speed.

 And so we join them… one of the first people I run into is Simon Talling-Smith, the Executive Vice President, Americas for British Airways and he says to me, “I saw your video!” I nearly jumped out of my skin…. the EVP saw my video and he knew who I was before I even gave him my name…. that was a moment I won’t forget soon!

Then I meet more and more people and run into people that I met earlier and now consider friends… we consider the coolness of the flat beds for napping and even take pictures of each other in them… that is when I realize I was so out of it I have brown leggings on instead of black… man must have been that rough morning, I couldn’t even tell what color I was wearing.. and brown didn’t exactly match my boots… oh well too late now!

I made my way to first class… I was only in business class, mind you, which I thought was simply brilliant… and had a sit down with Rhonda Abrams. She schooled me with a speed consultation that left me not only spinning with excitement but a realization that I really had been doing some things wrong, how humbling it is to have someone so astute lay out the facts. I like her a lot! Rhonda then introduces me to a fabulous writer from Portfolio.com and gives me a glowing recommendation… I am trying to keep my head on straight at this point I have so much spinning in it.

The connections I have made in less than 24 hours are out of this world and I am so JAZZED.

Off the plane in what seems like two hours but is really 6 we land in a night filled London ablaze with lights. Hello HEATHROW!! I am feeling less than glamourous, sweating with bangs falling in my face and just dying to get into my room at Sofitel. Elevators, long hallways, lines…. will I ever get there? I do then I can’t figure out how to keep the lights on…. I must be really loopy! They just keep snapping off… then I see a little key pad that I have to put my room key in to keep them on… ok so I am a little slow catching on, be nice, I’ve never seen them before and right now it is hard to see anything, I am so sleep deprived.

Shower, new outfit, makeup, do something with that crazy mop of red hair I tell myself in the mirror… you’ve got to get to the cocktail party and I only have half hour…. I dig through my bags until my room now looks like Aspen’s, a mess! But mission accomplished. And I am off in Anne Beard’s Frock Coat, Stetson Stove Pipe Jeans, ZPT longhorn silver buckle, Howard Knight hand carved filigreed belt, Sam Ferraro pave diamond bronc rider and…. Leopard heels ( plus I managed to contain my mop contained into something respectable).

When I arrived at the cocktail party I was a fashionable 15 minutes late. Not bad for a girl that had to do a wardrobe change right? And was immediately grabbed by Rhonda Abrams who told me news so exciting I had to go around the corner and cry…..

New York, New York

Another night of only a few hours of sleep. I was up putting artists up on the site and facebooking. I know I should have been sleeping, but that was not big on my priority list. I was still smarting from the disappointment of not getting to NY last night.

I was scheduled to stay with a friend and mentor And be there on time for the business conference. Instead here I am again at the airport at 5 am to check in. I had copies of books in my luggage which made it heavier than the 50 pounds, but they were so important I didn’t want to leave them behind. I prayed they would let me by with a few pounds over… but no, the gal at the counter said absolutely not… ugh!! Ugh!

After landing in NY, I was so excited to get to the conference I actually told the driver to take me to the wrong hotel… I really hate to admit that. I am not sure if I was tired or just way too overloaded, but it happened. Want to know how disgusted with myself I was when I discovered that minor error… just guess!

Feeling like a complete moron I had to call him up to come get me and take me to the right place… now that takes some eating crow. But I was going to get to this conference and get started one way or another so I swallowed my pride and made the call.

I couldn’t check in so I had to check my bags with everyone else that had arrived that morning. Not wanting to go into a conference in a t-shirt and jeans, I rummaged through my bags and pulled out an awesome Kippy’s leather jacket to wear.

It did the trick. I was one of the few not in business attire and people noticed. Many of the attendees recognized the western part from the video.. that was really cool! I made two amazing sessions and learned so much about global funding and exporting, then got to vote for the winners in the Shark Tank with judges Bill Rancic, Barbara Corcoran and Bethenny Frankel… it was really cool and well done. I have to say British Airways is a first class act and they know how to do a conference.

I have collected more business cards and had to chance to talk about western design to more people that really want to listen than I have in several years! Exciting!

Now off to dinner with my friend and hopefully sleep!

Not to be defeated!

The crunch of snow under our feet told us it was cold. And cold it was.. 15 below to be exact. Thank goodness for wool socks and a long wool coat. It seems strange to be carrying an umbrella in my briefcase at this exact moment, the rain of London feels so far way. It is pitch black and 4:48 am in the mountain time zone. The Billings, Montana airport is only a few minutes away. As hard as I tried I couldn’t make everything I needed fit into one bag. I knew it was a pipe dream but I did give it a try. Now I could have probably accomplished the task it there was a fork lift to move it around with, but those darn weight limits… they get you everytime especially when you pack cowboy boots and leather coats. Apparently most of the TSA folks didn’t grow up throwing bales of hay into feeders, I still think I have those muscles… or maybe it is all the push ups that Master Yager makes me do in Tae Kwon Do. What ever it is, I don’t mind a bag over fifty pounds.

Somewhere in the midst of putting myself together this morning, I figured out that I will stay in ten different places over the next 13 days. Billings, two different places in New York City, London, Birmingham, London again, Paris, Burgundy, Paris again and New York City on my way home. I guess those muscles are going to get a work out as is my travel accumen.

The fact that I am on Delta this morning taking the first step to my dream is finally sinking in. The reality is I haven’t even had a chance to totally absorb the magnitude of this trip. With kids, grandma, animals, work and life in general knocking on my door every moment, all I have been able to do is make lists and take one day at a time. As I held my little girl close this morning and felt her tears, mine came spilling over too. But she, too, understands in a 7 year old kind of way how big this is because she whispered through her sobs, “Mom, I love you and I know you are going to do it!”

This trip feels like the beginning of the rest of my life. I heard this morning from the American Friends of Blerancourt in Paris. The communiques are positive, though the museum is undergoing a renovation and won’t be open for 2-3 years. I don’t mind that. It will take me that long to put together a fabulous exhibition of the American West.

As for Harrods, I have ideas spilling all over the place. I have gorgeous pieces from many designers with me and enough images of fabulous western design to fill a book. I think every finger, toe and hair is crossed in hopes that my pitch to them brings as much excitement to their creative business souls as it does mine.

Wednesday, I begin the International Business Conference with British Airways. I have signed up for 5 different classes on International Business, exporting and marketing. I know it will as one of my friends said it best, “like trying to drink from a firehose, ” but none the less I couldn’t be more stoked about learning everything I can.

On Thursday, I leave for London on a British Airways Charter Flight with the other winners. On the flight I get to sit down and chat with Rhonda Abrams about how to build my business internationally, I can’t wait to hear what she says.

But… I get to Minneapolis and now my flight to JFK has been cancelled. Nothing until tomorrow morning. I won’t get there until half the day is over.. I am heartbroken. What will I miss? Ugh!!  But it is ok… I will make the best of it… how about a nap?