Event Review - Talks at Dinner

Sussex women's networking group, Co-Women, was delighted to kick off 2024 with the return of the popular Talks at Dinner series in January. Here, Co-Women's resident photographer, Sophie Sheinwald, reviews the event from her perspective. Can we tempt you to join us for inspiring talks and good food along with networking in February? Let's find out...

It was a chilly January evening and quite honestly I wasn’t in the mood to leave the warmth of my home, but it was to be the very first Co-Women Talks at Dinner event with the theme of ‘Fresh Starts’. I headed out to Team Domenica Cafe in Brighton, with my camera in tow to capture some shots of the evening.

Co-Women have partnered with Team Domenica, who provide employment programmes for young people with learning disabilities. On entry I met the lovely Alice Caldecott, the charity's fundraising manager who was hosting us. It was a wonderful informal setting which soon filled up with women. We each plated up some food and sat to listen to the line up.

First up was Jess Nicks, who’s a bright energising spark of a woman who tickles the room with aliveness. As a mindset coach, she has cleverly coined the term Bitch FM to help ‘out’ that pesky underminer that lives in our head. Jess revealed her personal story of how her own powerful intention drove her towards unexpected suffering with her body. She explained how powerful decisions can be liberating and can become an obsession. Jess recognised a potential chasm between intention and consequence with our decision making. She now uses this her work to help others make fearless decisions and get the best results. Her uplifting talk reminded us that we can tune into the right inner radio!

Alice Reeves was up next. Wow this woman has empowered her way through life with integrity.  She spoke of making very clear-cut brave decisions to ensure she was working with the right people. Alice prioritises bringing in the joy! She recently co-founded Joyfully Different after recognising the barriers she had were related to her ADHD. Her diagnosis helped her assign cause and turn it to her advantage - well not just her. She is currently helping other neurodiverse business leaders to understand and embrace their differences and show up uncompromised by the status quo. I believe she is helping to find ability where others see disability. Super inspiring!

Beth Jackson was the final speaker and to be honest, got screams of laughter as she talked about ‘stupid decision making’. Totally relatable and very honest - yes we’ve all been there or we would have been silent with quizzical faces. Beth was also encouraging us to move out of our comfort zone by recognising when we are doing the same safe things over and over again. In fact from memory, I believe she said it was like eating chicken nuggets over and over again and not trying thing new - ’stop eating chicken nuggets!’. Beth runs her accountancy business alongside her sister, 2 Sisters Accounting, and they help people not feel stupid about what they need to do for accounts. Possibly the most approachable accountant ever!

There’s honestly a lot more to these women then written on this page, so please do check them out - or even better meet them up at one of the Co-Women events.

Overall the room was buzzing with inspiration and laughter, I was delighted to have joined in the evening.  Although with the inspiration from the event, I put my hand up to talk at the next one!

Tickets for our next Talks at Dinner event, on the theme of turning points are available here - do come and join us!