UPCOMING EVENT:

From Comfortable in Your Skin to Confident in Your Work

A luncheon brunch on body confidence and business confidence with Liz Hansen,
founder of Chicago Boudoir Photography

Tuesday, October 27th

11:00 am - 1:00 pm

Nirvana Kitchen and Wine Bar

700 Hawthorn Row Unit 100, Vernon Hills, IL 60061 (Hawthorn Mall)


$35 – Space is limited!

Includes brunch, soft drinks, connection circles (networking), and presentation


Come as you are. Leave feeling a little more at home in your own skin.

What does feeling confident in your body have to do with feeling confident in your business?

More than you think. Confidence in your skin shows up in your pricing, your risks, and the way you show up for others.

Your relationship with your body shapes the way you move through the world, including the business world. When you feel confident in your own skin, you carry yourself differently. You take up more space. You spend less energy worrying about how you're perceived and more energy showing up as yourself. That shift doesn't stay in the mirror. It follows you into the way you price your work, the risks you're willing to take, and the way you show up for the people you serve.

This luncheon is a chance to explore that connection with Liz Hansen, someone who has spent over a decade helping women see themselves differently, one portrait at a time.

What You'll Experience:

Liz will draw on her own entrepreneurial journey and everything she's learned photographing thousands of women to walk us through how body confidence and business confidence are connected, backed by real, specific examples, not just theory.

Liz's new book, A Year of Body Confidence, pairs a daily affirmation with a small, doable action for every day of the year. During our time together, she'll lead the group through some of those affirmations and a few of the activities from the book, so you leave with more than an idea. You leave with something you actually practiced in the room.

What is a Grateful Connections gathering like?

CIRCLES OF CONNECTION

Let's be honest about what this isn't: it isn't a room where you're handed a drink, pointed toward a crowd of strangers, and left to fend for yourself. It isn't a stack of business cards you'll find in your bag a month later, attached to a face you can't quite place. And it isn't "networking" in the way that word usually makes your stomach drop.


If you've never been to one of our events, here's the simplest way to put it: this is an evening built for meeting a few real people, not a room full of them. Everything about the night- where you sit, who you sit with, what you talk about, when you move- is guided and designed on purpose, so connection happens naturally instead of being something you have to work up the nerve to chase.

Here's what that looks like in practice:

* You're never walking in cold. From check-in on, there are easy, built-in ways to start talking to someone- no forced icebreakers, no standing alone with a plate wondering who to approach.
* You're seated with intention, not left to find a seat. You'll draw into a small table of women you haven't met yet, so the first connection of the night is already made for you.

* You'll have something real to talk about. Our speakers give the whole room shared language and shared stories- so table conversation isn't "so, what do you do," it's "did that land for you the way it landed for me."
* You'll meet more than one table's worth of people. Partway through the evening, you'll move to a new table, so the night isn't limited to whoever you happened to sit near first.

* We'll have a roster of those who are in attendance so you know who is in the room and who you may like to connect with.

This is Circles of Connection: our name for an evening that's about genuine connection and real conversation, not transactions. It's for anyone who'd rather leave with two honest conversations than fifty forgettable ones- including, maybe especially, if the word "networking" usually makes you want to stay home.

Perfect For

  • Business owners who are ready to ask for what they're worth without the inner cringe

  • Anyone who's tired of playing small and ready to practice something different

  • Anyone who wants practical tools for quieting self-doubt, not just inspiration for a day

About the Speaker

Image

Meet Liz Hansen, Chicago Boudoir Photographer

Liz Hansen is a professional photographer and a champion of women's confidence. She's the founder and owner of Chicago Boudoir Photography, a boutique studio specializing in luxury portrait experiences for women.

Since opening in 2011, Liz has photographed more than 2,000 women and built her business around the belief that every woman deserves to see herself as beautiful, confident, and worthy of celebration.

Liz holds a BA in Art and an MA in Education. Her work has been featured on the TEDx stage, on National Public Radio, and at ImagingUSA. She lives in Evanston, Illinois, with her husband and two teenage daughters.

About Your Host

Hi- I'm Malinda

Founder of Grateful Connections and a die-hard cheerleader for women in business. During 25 years in corporate healthcare sales, I dreamed about working for MYSELF instead of some large corporation, and I told myself that keeping "entrepreneur" as a someday fantasy was safer than actually trying and maybe failing.

I tried things on the side for years, none of which stuck enough to let me walk away, until corporate life stopped being something I could push through, and I gave my notice for good. As a true extrovert and photographer, I needed to get out and meet like-minded women, but the networking groups already out there only let in one of each kind of business owner, one photographer, one realtor, one everything. I believe strongly in collaboration over competition, so I built my own community and personal branding photography business instead.

That is Grateful Connections, a place built on Comfort, Connection, and Confidence, for women figuring out their own definition of success through gatherings, education, and branding photos that help them connect with their ideal client.

What You'll Walk Away With

  • Be seen and put yourself out there

  • Take up space and pursue your ambitions

  • Ask for and receive more money

  • Stand behind your work and own your expertise

  • Take risks and make bold decisions

  • Evolve and grow instead of staying stuck in what feels safe and familiar

COMFORT → CONNECTION → CONFIDENCE

Everything I do here runs through one simple framework: Comfort → Connection → Confidence.

When you feel comfortable, real connections become possible, then with practice, confidence follows!

This luncheon is built for exactly that arc. We start with an easy, low-pressure room over lunch (comfort), build real connection through the shared affirmation practice (connection), and walk away with something practical to carry into how you show up in your business (confidence).

Tickets

Say yes to growth, support, and meaningful community.
Grab your ticket and be part of something special.

$35 – Space is limited!

Includes brunch, soft drinks, connection circles (networking), and presentation