Abiba Biao photo
Sonal Soveni and Kathleen Griffith.
In a warmly lit room on Chapel Street, entrepreneur and business strategist Kathleen Griffith posed a question to her audience: “What’s your outrageous ask?”
Griffith asked that question on a recent Saturday as over a dozen people gathered at The Table & Gallery, located at 1209 Chapel St., for a meet and greet and book signing for Build Like a Woman: The Blueprint for Creating a Business and Life you Love.
The book, authored by Griffith, details foundational business and lifestyle tips for women for self-improvement and entrepreneurial success.
Sonal Soveni, owner of The Table & Gallery, described the event as a “powerful collaboration” between female entrepreneurs. The Table & Gallery strives to encourage “the art of storytelling,” she said, by curating an open environment for writers, authors, and artists to share their stories.
Being inspired by Griffith’s journey and following her progress online, Soveni went on to complete her own “outrageous ask” to invite Griffith to her venue, and she succeeded. Now, Soveni hopes to motivate others through Griffith’s presence and plans to host more book signings and artist exhibitions in the future.
“I want them [attendees] to be inspired, motivated, and find the right key individuals to connect with so they can start building their network and their community of support, because community is a big thing at The Table and Gallery,” she said. “Like they say, it takes a village to raise [a child], it takes a community to build a business and to keep going and to keep thriving.”
Griffith, who has interviewed media giants like Oprah Winfrey and Arianna Huffington, said that she felt inspired to write the book thanks to her work advising Fortune 500 companies to help small businesses. The book is divided into two parts: mindset and skillset. During the process of compiling the book, Griffith said that she learned different ways to ease the writing process, such as adopting the Pomodoro Technique.
While the book is a nod to self-improvement, it also focuses on femininity and female empowerment in the workplace and throughout life, through a retrospective analysis of her own experience. Griffith emphasized the importance of embracing “breakdowns” and tumultuous life events to reach “breakthroughs.”
“I wanted to be the voice that I needed back then. I just felt like there were so many men, there were so many male voices that I did not relate to or resonate with,” she said during a Q&A session. “But then looking around like we are as women, so untapped. We are so powerful … We have so much potential and possibility in us, and I just also believe the world has not experienced the unleashment of what it is to be a woman yet.”
Soveni found herself personally moved by Build Like a Woman, referencing a passage in the book about collaboration, that reminded her of her own “dream team” around her such as photographer Stephen Joyner Jr. and Head Chef Lylian Moss.
“‘The foundational secret to people who achieve their goals: Acircle,’” Soveni read from the book. “So having those warriors, those key individuals, come together and really light up your vision and mission because they are your torch light, they’re going to shine more light on what you’re trying to achieve.”
Takisha Desgrottes: Hearing from other women "makes you think, ‘I’m not alone.’”
Listening intently throughout the Q&A was Takisha Desgrottes. Desgrottes had only met Soveni and discovered The Table and Gallery last month. Charmed by her energy, she walked into the establishment and has been a patron ever since.
While Desgrottes says that she doesn’t go out often, she found the event informational and was glad to stick around. From the conversation, Desgrottes said that she was invested in Griffith’s advice and would get a digital version of the book, remarking on the sense of camaraderie built throughout the Q&A.
“Even though you know that there are women out there going through things and kind of having the same likeness — and want the same self care, and that have goals — hearing it sometimes in a room full of good energy just kind of makes you think, ‘I’m not alone,’” she said. “There’s so many other women sitting in their self care and wanting to do things and build like women.”
Desgrottes cited her own personal goals, now wanting to enjoy her life, retire with her husband, and move to the Caribbean in a year’s time. While she continues to work towards that objective, she also had a few words of advice for passersby in the area.
“Don’t walk by The Table [and Gallery], right? Come in, step in, see if it’s for you, because it may not be for everybody, but don’t walk by something just because you don’t recognize the name or because it’s not something your friends have talked about. Step out of your comfort zone, because that’s what we did.”
At Griffith’s book talk.