A sold-out crowd packed Theater 6 at Alamo Drafthouse on March 28th, as women entrepreneurs, business owners and corporate executives gathered for the second “Women of Katy” event put on by the Katy Area Chamber of Commerce and the Katy Business Association. This event, in a symposium format, was held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the venue at 2707 Commercial Center Blvd Suite K-100, in Katy.

“The goal of this program is to provide real-time resources that you can put into action today,” said Katy Area Chamber Vice President of Business Development Stacy Jacobs as she welcomed participants.

After sponsor introductions from KBA President Olivia Martin, the program kicked off with a presentation from Elizabeth Westbrook, a licensed social worker and psychotherapist who works at Here Comes the Sun Counseling in Katy, who advised attendees on “How to Go from Chaos to Calm.” Westbrook estimated that about 50 per cent of women struggle with stress; she addressed the challenges faced not only by “single moms” but “married single moms” who take on all of the parental duties and of the “sandwich generation” who may be caring for aging parents as well. She also gave pointers on how to run a “mental health friendly” business, which included taking care of yourself, showing up for your employees, covering the expense of therapy for employees, taking “mental health days,” and cultivating a culture of compassion.

In session two of the symposium, a distinguished panel explained how attendees could “level up” through education, mentoring and community resources. Presenters included Beth Johnson, executive director of public relations and community partnerships for the University of Houston at Sugar Land and Katy; Deysi Crespo, executive director of Katy Christian Ministries and professor at the University of Houston; Michelle Ngome, outreach director for Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses; and Sandra Louvier, director at the Center for Entrepreneurship at Houston Community College NW. In moderating the session, Martin cited her own experiences in some of these programs and explained how they had helped her in business.

The last session of the day was facilitated by Alex Lane, owner of LaneMKTG, who gave a plethora of tips on elevating a company’s digital presence through more effective search engine optimization techniques, social media utilization, and paid digital advertising.

The event also provided the opportunity for networking during lunchtime and between sessions.

Martin and Jacobs announced that the next “Women of Katy” event – which are planned at quarterly intervals – will focus on networking.