WOMEN INSPIRING WOMEN Event Recap! (Spoiler: It was EPIC!!)

​​Today on the podcast in this solo episode, I’m sharing a behind-the-scenes look at the fifth and final year of Women Inspiring Women, an event that has meant so much to me personally and professionally. What began in my backyard in 2021 with just 24 guests, grew into a 100+ woman gathering rooted in connection, community, and support. I reflect on how this event was born out of grief, evolved over the years, and the powerful reminder of what happens when women choose to show up for each other.

Tune in to hear more about:
 • The origin story of Women Inspiring Women and how it grew from backyard, to legacy.
 • Why showing up for events (even when it feels uncomfortable) can be life-changing.
 • The role of connection, networking, and friendship in both business and life.
 • Lessons in hosting events with intention, purpose, and community at the heart.
 • Gratitude for the women, partners, and supporters who made this event possible.

My hope is that this conversation inspires you to keep finding rooms that expand you, invest in connection, and never underestimate the magic of community! To stay connected or here about future events like my Girlfriends Walks, follow me on Instagram @AlliArruda!

Event Mentioned: High Vibe Women Sat Oct 18th: https://www.highvibewomen.ca/october-2025-event
Use my code ALLI50 at checkout!

Upcoming Events:
GIRLFRIENDS WALKS are back!

Next Walk:
• Oakville, Monday October 6th!
It’s more than a walk—it’s an opportunity to build authentic connections, meet like-minded women, and even spark collaborations or new business opportunities.

Check www.inspireandmove.ca/store to get tickets & join me for the next one!

Let's Connect!
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Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Welcome to Inspire and Move, the show that inspires you to create, connect, and grow. I'm going to bring you meaningful conversations, aha moments, and all the motivation you need to up-level every part of your life. I'm Ali Aruda, founder of Inspire and Move and your personal hype girl. I've gone from fashion school to celebrity stylist to corporate marketing to brick and mortar entrepreneurship with my husband, each time learning incredible lessons how to pivot, reimagine, and implement the steps to become successful. I'm passionate about inspiring others to live their best life. A life of joy. We have the power to design a life that we love because life is too short not to. The best part is that you weren't meant to do this alone. If you feel like you are meant for more, let me ride Shotgun with you and together, let's get you to where you want to go. Hello, you guys. Welcome back to the Inspire Move Podcast. I'm your host, Ali Aruda, and I am coming to you the day after Women Inspiring Women. So if you are new to this show or finding me on YouTube and you're like, what the heck is Woman Inspiring Woman? Fear not. Let me give you the scoop. Women Inspiring Women is an event that I am just so proud of. We just hosted it last night for year five, which also happens to be the last chapter of this little event legacy. I started this event in 2021, which, as many of you know, is probably a very funky time, depending on where you were in the world. That it was a time when we were told not to be together, not to be around one another. But by the time that I hosted the event in 2021, it was in September, a lot of us were really craving community and connection and that in-person time. And I felt a calling to host an in-person event. I thought I'll host it in my backyard this way, you know, if we're outside and it's early September, it'll be lovely. Well, a massive detail here that is a I don't even want to call it a plot twist because I wish it wasn't even a detail, but it's the reality and the reality of my life. That six days before I hosted the event, my dad passed away. And actually, the the true truth is that I had planned the event to be on whatever date it was, as well as two weeks later I had a rain date, which I've done every year. I always, it's an outdoor event, always have a rain date planned. And my dad had gone unexpectedly into the hospital. And so I reached out to all the ticket holders and my sponsors and partners and just said, you know, can we please move it to the rain date? My dad's in the hospital, want to buy him a little bit more time. And so we moved it to the rain date. And unfortunately, the story doesn't end happily. That my dad's time was a different type of time, and he's passed on. Now, obviously, I was left in a ridiculously fragile state, remarkably emotional. I was at rock bottom, like holy life trauma, grief, and loss. But I had this event. I had like 24 women coming to my house to look forward to this beautiful event, all about community and connection. I had partners that were providing wine and furniture. I had an illustrator, I curated this experience, and I was so committed to my why for what this event was that I forged ahead. I was like, these 24 people, they are coming, they want this event. I have to move ahead. And we had the event, and it was beautiful. I obviously was in a very different state than I have been in every other event moving forward, but I remained so proud of myself that I kept that vision as my North Star and moved forward with what I had planned. Now, this gets this story gets so much better. Then I had the same event the following year. Again in September in 2022, the event doubled in size. 2023, it was like one and a half times the size because it didn't quite double, but we went from, I think, about 50 some guests to about 74, 75 guests in 2023. And then last year, 2024, we hit 100 guests, one of which was my best friend, Rochelle from Sydney. So she was like a guest of honor coming all the way from Sydney, Australia. And then this year, last night, year five, we also welcomed 100 plus women. We really can't fit more than that. Like I'd love to say it got to be, you know, 200, 300, but the backyard is only so big. And knock on wood, no one has ever gone into the pool. I am so grateful. And I also have so much gratitude because as an outdoor event in Canada, in Ontario, where we experience all the seasons, it's a little risky. And I kind of feel like I'm playing Russian roulette by having the same event year over year outdoors, but I must have done something right, or I've got some really strong relationships upstairs, the powers that be, that we have been blessed with just exquisite weather year over year. And you guys, last night was just magic. My favorite part of the evening was I always like to do a little speech just to thank everyone for attending and thank all my sponsors and my partners. And a couple years ago, we brought in a charitable raffle. And that all that money goes towards CAMH, which is the Center for Addiction and Mental Health, as well as the USANA Foundation. And with the USANA Foundation, we actually have a family fund set up specifically in memory of my dad and brother. So both of those two causes are very close to my heart because if you've been following me for a while or you've listened to the show, my brother suffered with mental illness and sadly took his own life in August of 2004 and had actually spent some time at CamH. And I actually share that, I've never shared that before. So I shared that for the very first time on Thursday with all my guests. So that's last night, but never know when you're listening to this, as well as sharing this with you guys here, all my podcast besties. So that's a really intimate detail for me and my family. So I'm really proud of that element that was added to the event. And last year we raised$5,000 in one night, which is amazing. And that was the goal for last night's event as well. But I actually wanted to raise more than that. Just I'm a big goal setter. So I was like, I'd love that we raised$5,000 last year, but I would really like to raise more than that this year and not like$5,005. I won't I'm looking for like a$5,400,$500,000,$600. Well, we've done a quick tally, and we were actually able to share that in my speech to share with everyone, which is so amazing. I've never been able to do that before. So that is some quick math and tallying from Matt and my dear friend Christina Bartold, who is a hustler when it comes to selling raffle tickets. And we raised just over$5,400. Now, I will share this again on Instagram when we are truly at capacity for what we raise because Matt and I always add personal dollars of our own. So I'm feeling really confident that we'll be at least at$6,000. So stay tuned, it'll appear on social media. But it's just a lovely addition to the evening that is all about networking and connection. And I was leaving you hanging there. I was saying my favorite part of the evening was in my speech, I always ask for a show of hands of who's here for the very first time. And it was at least 50% of the women in this quote unquote room, a backyard, that raised their hand. I had full-body chills and had tears in my eyes. I think that's where I made that word in one. But between the chills and these tears that I had to really fight back because I was just the beginning of my speech, was one of my most favorite moments because it just made me feel so proud of all these women, many of whom are arriving by themselves. Coming to this event, whether they know me or it's a referral recommendation from a friend or a colleague. They saw it on social media. I didn't know all the women at my house last year, this year. And I am so happy to open my home to them, but I am just so proud of them for showing up. And that's a big part of what I wanted to share in this episode is what it takes to show up and go to events and why you should. You should always be doing this. You should always be stretching yourself and doing things that are uncomfortable, going to in-person events because the magic of in-person events and in-person connection is so powerful in life and in business. And there was also a moment where I actually went out front where Matt and Christina were checking all the guests in and just thought, I'll just kind of like welcome people myself and then encourage them to come in the backyard, explain the flow of the event and all the different experiences we've created for them for the evening. And I saw a couple girls arrive that I recognized from some of my girlfriend walks that I've hosted here in Oakville, Ontario. And they went out of their way to tell me that we met at X, Y, or Z Girlfriend's Walk, and we wanted to come to this event together tonight. I saw that at least twice. And these are two very different types of events, but the purpose and the vision of both of these events are the same. And this is what I've been so committed to when I design events is about community and connection in women. Because we're in a time where I feel like there's two different versions. You have sort of the rise above each other and step on each other and like climb that ladder and be the most successful. But there's also a more beautiful way to do that with a lot more grace of yes, ascend and be successful, but extend your hand for that other woman and help her do the same thing. Give her the connection that she needs, help her with the question that she has, connect her with who she needs to be connected to. That is always what these events are about. And I always say that they're great for networking for your business, but maybe they're also great for finding some new girlfriends. Because the thing that is that common thread, that common through line is that there's at least one value that everybody here in last night's event shares. And they want to feel expanded. They want connection. And that comes from being in those rooms together. Whether it be a cheap and cheerful girlfriend's walk that you are putting on your sneakers and you're grabbing an iced coffee and/or a glass of wine, depending on what time the event is, and going for a walk and having great conversation, or you're getting all dolled up, getting your hair and makeup done, picking a fabulous outfit and feeling like your best version of yourself and coming and just floating through this event and attracting like-minded energy. And that just has to be one of the most beautiful byproducts of this event and many other events. There are so many other events, and I am so grateful. I have so many business besties and close girlfriends that host events. And I love being in their event energy, but I also love hosting them. And they're two very different experiences. Like you could probably hear it in my voice. I am tired. I was just on the phone with my mom before hitting record, and she's she uh lovingly said that I sounded very tired and uh it's it's accurate. But I also wanted to show up for all of you and share my tired energy, but also my high vibe energy of how much love and gratitude I have for this event and all of the women that joined us and all of the people that made the event possible. You can't throw events, depending on what the scale of them are, but I rely so much on amazing partners because every year I want to create a similar experience in so many ways, but then a different experience. And to provide further context of what this event is, if you again are like Ali, what the heck is Women Inspiring Women? It is a female networking event. I don't sell anything. And now we are done the event, we have closed out the legacy with year five, but year over year, I've never sold anything. I'm not selling anything quote unquote from stage. I don't have any offers or retreats or programs or other events. It is purely about connection, and I sit in the gratitude and appreciation of all the guests that are in attendance and all of the partners that have helped me make the evening possible. And so the common things are having, you know, great drinks and some yummy food, but every year I want to have an experience for the girls. So we have had an illustrator, we have had a fragrance bar with Sage Wellness making your own custom essential oils. We have had forever bracelets, we have had like gifting a gifting lounge. And this year we had custom candles made for all of the women that were curated scents, specifically designed for women-inspiring women with Koa and Kind. You've heard me talk about them on the show before. They're a lovely husband and wife duo. And every guest got to go home with a custom woman-inspiring woman candle, as well as a couple of really amazing other experiences. And I was telling a few women that it's like an adult scavenger hunt that you get to go and experience this, experience this, maybe grab a glass of champagne at the champagne wall, and there's a little gift for you there as well. And just things that people make people feel special. And I've said this many times when talking about events that I so often design events around what would I enjoy? What would I like? And I love a female networking event. I also love events where I can listen to keynote speakers and I can take notes, but I also love workout events. So that's why I've tried to dabble in a few of them. But I have other friends that do them so much better when it comes to keynote speakers or panels, and I don't want to oversaturate. And people have already been asking, like, what's next? What's next? Although Matt also thinks that there will be another Women is Trying Woman next year. And the uh the plot twist legitimately is that our house is for sale, and so next September we will not be in said house that is the event house and venue house for this amazing event. But taking it back to the purpose of this event and not only just this event, but events like this is how you can prioritize times like this, events like this, to get in your calendar. And you have to be gentle with yourself in terms of knowing, you know, what's your social capacity so that you can also show up with the best energy. Don't overbook your calendar where you're rolling into events like a gremlin and you're grumpy and you have bad energy that's just kind of not gonna attract the connections that you want. There's a lot that goes into it. Like you want to ensure you're nourishing your body, and I'm a big proponent of generating great energy through movement, and that will always be a priority for me. So even how I design my day on event day starts with a movement, starts with a workout, whether it be strength training, a one-on-one training session with my trainer, maybe it's cardio. I opted for cardio with a really fire DJ playlist so I could really feel the endorphins of music and playing with different interval speeds and getting that good sweat going. I did a cold plunge, and then also had time carved out for okay, we need to do like sound check. We have the rentals arriving, we have these moving parts, hair and makeup, very important to you know, just feel your best. I feel my best with that, as well as a spray tan, and then a great outfit. And all of that comes together. We were able to set aside time to capture some amazing content before, which I've actually not been able to do in years past because we've been so down to the wire. But year over year, Matt and I have just been working together, dialed in with all the to-dos on our list. And I don't have an assistant, we don't have an assistant, we have done everything to prepare for it along with amazing partners, and I'm just so grateful that the event turned out to be the way that it did. And just kind of going back to the idea of events, I strongly encourage you. You know, it's September, it is kind of coming into this end of the year energy, but a different season, you know, depending where you are, summer's maybe coming to an end. Depending where you are, maybe summer's just starting. So let's take the weather seasons out of it. But just coming into that sort of those final months of the year, and you want to finish strong. I don't know about you, but I want to finish strong. And to me, for what we do, some of that is reliant on events and connection and networking. And you can be a brick and mortar business owner, you can be a service-based business owner, get in yourself in rooms where there are people doing the same things as you, they are doing complimentary things as you, they are doing things that are bigger than you, they're more successful than you. Get around them, learn from them, be in their energy, make those connections, make those contacts, book those coffee dates virtual, in person, maybe do a gather some girls and do a networking dinner where you don't have to sell tickets for it, you don't have to make money off of it. Just pick a restaurant, book a table, maybe it's table of six, and you collect a couple girls that you really connected with at whatever event you were at, and you go carry on the conversation. If you like to work out, maybe you book a workout class, Pilates class, and then you go for coffee, or then you go for brunch. There's so much opportunity to mix business and pleasure and make it fun. It doesn't have to be, you know, these boardroom meetings or Zoom calls. Get out there, go do things that get your energy moving and do things that bring you joy and spending that time generating good energy, but also generating great ideas and see what can come from that. I did that right after one of my events that I attended recently. And it just being able to continue those conversations that you started. Because if you're having these great conversations at events, chances are they're probably only about four minutes. Unless you spend the whole night or the whole day chatting with each other. That could be, you know, that could be your MO, and that's totally fine. But I feel like for a lot of us, they're very short and sweet, or you want to capture some content. So maybe you need to prioritize those connections. We actually talk about this in our mastermind, where part of the mastermind is actually time for people to book appointments with one another. That could be a phone call, video call, in-person, coffee date, lunch, whatever it looks like. Again, you have to kind of see what jives for you and what feels best. But being able to get some of those times on the calendar to nurture those relationships. And that is where so much of the magic in networking happens and having those repeat collisions and those repeat dates where you're gonna see each other. And going back to the magic of last night, I witnessed so much of that. There were so many connections that I was able to witness that just brought me so much joy of seeing people that met in our mastermind, seeing girls that have met at Benchmark, our gym, seeing girls that have met at my girlfriend walks, that all came together for this beautiful event and then knew each other, are connecting with other groups of women and they're introducing each other and seeing the collaborations and business opportunities that are unfolding. So if you are listening to this and you've never attended an event before, I challenge you and I encourage you to go to one and start small. Don't overwhelm yourself. Don't think that you're gonna go to, you know, Tony Robbins UPW and you're gonna walk on fire. Maybe you start with something local, something that's maybe like a lower ticket price so you don't overwhelm yourself from a cost commitment as well, and then graduate. And if you're someone who's more experienced with events, well, how many events are you attending? Are you attending a variety of events? Those are all things I want you guys to think about. And if you are listening to this and you are an event girly, well, you should join me at High Five Women. My friends Christina and Maria host this event a few times a year. This next one is on Saturday, October 18th in Burlington, Ontario. It's going to be amazing. I'm gonna drop my code, a$50 code, that you can enjoy some savings on. I will be there. Your girl will be there. I am the hype girl for the day. I get to do a little movement break for all of you, and they are always at my events, and I just have so much gratitude for that. So I want to ensure that I am sharing the love and the message with all of you to join us at that event on Saturday, October 18th in Burlington, Ontario. Again, the discount code for tickets will be in the show notes as well as the link for tickets, and it's gonna be so fun. It's a full day event. I highly encourage you to join us. We're probably gonna do something at Benchmark as well to have a little movement day the day prior on the Friday morning. But just want to encourage you guys to get those events on your calendar because they have been so game-changing for me. Literally, that is how I met Christina and Maria was through masterminds and events and so many other great girlfriends of mine that might not live here because we do attend a lot of events in the US. But I'm okay with that. The support that came in via voice note and text messages for me from those girlfriends that don't live here just made me feel so loved and supported. And that's something I encourage you guys to do as well. That if you have events, event friends, like friends that host events, then make sure you're pouring into them and giving them good wishes and think about them because we we pay attention to that. And that makes us feel good, or also brings awareness where like, oh, shocking. I didn't hear from that person. That doesn't feel great. So those are some good takeaways for you as well. That just think about those friends that are curating amazing experiences and events, and that there's a lot that goes into it. That's probably a whole podcast episode on its own, and I think that would actually be fun to do like as a panel. So dope to self. I'll make that in my podcast notes to do in the near future. But that is all for today, you guys. I actually kind of went on and on a lot more because I, well, I'm tired, but I'm energized and I'm excited, and I wanted to share in real time with all of you the magic that was women inspiring women. If you don't already follow me on Instagram, please do, because there's gonna be so much amazing content on there for Women Inspiring Women, especially the fact that it's the end of the WIW, that's what we call it on social. The Women Inspiring Women era. And I did a couple of pieces of content that was like my outfits through the years. I'm gonna show group photos through the years because when we started with those 24 amazing women to where we were last night is truly magical. And I'm just so grateful how the event has grown and evolved and all the women that it has attracted over the years. It's so special. So closing out this episode with love and gratitude for everybody that has joined last night and all the women in spirit moon years over the five years. And for all of you listening and watching to the show. Thank you so much for sending you all so much love. We'll see you again soon. Thank you so much for listening. If you loved this episode, it would mean so much to me if you took a few seconds and shared this on social media, sent it to a friend, or left a five star review. There is power in community, and I'm so grateful to have you part of mine.