A joyful group of women smiling and posing for a photo at an event, with Jazmin at the center. The image conveys empowerment, community, and celebration, showcasing a supportive and uplifting environment.

The idea didn’t start in San Diego.

It started in Australia.

Years ago, I was living abroad and working in sales when I was invited to attend an International Women’s Day event. I had never even heard of the holiday before. I assumed I was walking into a small networking brunch. Maybe 40 women, some light chatter, a mimosa, a few business cards exchanged.

What happened instead completely changed my perspective on women, leadership, and community.

I walked into a ballroom filled with over a thousand women at 8 a.m. Round tables stretched across the room. Champagne glasses were clinking. Women were wearing bold colors, structured blazers, sequins at breakfast, funky heels, bright lipstick. No one was dimming their personality to fit into the room.

And the energy wasn’t competitive. It was expansive.

Women weren’t networking to get something. They were connecting because they genuinely wanted to know each other. CEOs sat next to mothers. Founders sat next to corporate executives. Students sat next to established leaders. Status didn’t matter. Presence did.

That morning recalibrated something inside me.

For the first time, I felt what happens when women gather with intention. When we celebrate each other. When we aren’t shrinking. When we aren’t apologizing. When we aren’t subconsciously comparing ourselves to the woman sitting next to us.

I left thinking, why don’t we do this more?

Coming Back to San Diego

Years later, I moved back to San Diego. International Women’s Day approached again, and I started looking for the event. Surely this city had something similar. Surely there was a large-scale celebration dedicated to honoring women in business and leadership.

There wasn’t.

There were small meetups and corporate luncheons, but nothing that carried that electric, celebratory, powerful energy I had felt in Australia. Nothing that felt like a true room of women showing up boldly as themselves.

At the same time, I was building my business. I was growing. I was visible. And yet, I was also feeling lonely in ways no one talks about openly. Entrepreneurship can feel isolating. Leadership can feel heavy. Being the strong one can feel exhausting.

That’s when the idea clicked.

If the room doesn’t exist, you build it.

Jazmin smiling confidently next to a vintage red car, wearing a green vest and pants with a floral top. The background features vibrant greenery and modern urban elements, reflecting a stylish and energetic vibe.

Building It in Six Weeks

Once the decision was made, things moved quickly.

In less than six weeks, I reached out to other community leaders in San Diego. Instead of trying to create something alone, I asked a different question: what if we built this together?

I connected with organizations like BBB, Hera Hub, Nabo, and other women-focused communities. I explained the vision. Not a conference. Not a stiff corporate event. A celebration. A room where women could feel proud, powerful, and connected.

What happened next is something I will never forget.

Women I had met just weeks prior said yes. Women I had known for years said yes. They didn’t need a fully polished pitch deck or a perfectly mapped-out blueprint. They believed in the mission.

I have never felt more supported in a sisterhood than I did during that planning season.

There was something deeply grounding about watching women collaborate instead of compete. Watching them share resources, ideas, and energy without ego. Watching them build something collectively for other women.

That feeling is hard to describe, but it lives in my body even now.

300 Women in Barrio Logan

In 2025, we hosted our first International Women’s Day in Barrio Logan.

Over 300 women filled the space. We featured more than 35 women-owned businesses as vendors. There was a DJ. There were keynote speakers and panels. There were mimosas, rosé, mocktails, and women dressed like they had finally given themselves permission to be seen.

I remember sitting in the front row as the event began. I watched the speakers take the stage. And then I turned around and looked at the room.

A sea of women.

Smiling. Listening. Softening. Remembering.

I watched strangers exchange numbers. I watched old friends reconnect. I watched founders sit next to executives and college students sit next to CEOs. The energy wasn’t transactional. It wasn’t forced. It was expansive.

Afterward, my DMs filled up.

“I needed this.”
“I forgot how powerful I am.”
“I didn’t realize how much I needed to celebrate myself.”

That’s when I understood something clearly.

This isn’t networking.

This is identity restoration.

Large group of women gathered in a lively event, sitting attentively in a bright, open space. The crowd is diverse, with women engaged in the presentation or discussion, reflecting a sense of community, empowerment, and collaboration.

Why It Matters More Than Ever

There is something that weighs heavily on my heart lately: friendship.

As women, we often prioritize everything else. Our businesses. Our families. Our responsibilities. Somewhere along the way, connection becomes secondary.

Recently, Michelle Obama spoke about how weddings and babies have their season, but friendships are what carry you through your entire life. That line stuck with me.

International Women’s Day isn’t just about professional success. It’s about remembering that we are not meant to build our lives in isolation. It’s about reclaiming sisterhood in a culture that often teaches us to compete instead of collaborate.

When 300 aligned women gather in one room with the shared intention of celebrating each other, something shifts.

And you feel it.

2026: The Group Chat IRL

This year, the vision expands.

We are partnering with Julep Venue, Snake Oil Cocktails, Let’s Go Girls San Diego, Hera Hub, Evolution Room, Bossity Babes, Crafter, and many other women-led brands and communities.

This is collaboration in action.

Saturday, March 7, 2026
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Julep Venue
San Diego, California

Expect music, powerful conversations, resilience-driven keynotes, women-owned vendors, photo moments, and the kind of energy that reminds you who you are.

It sold out last year.

It will sell out again.

If You’ve Been Feeling Alone

If you’re building quietly and craving connection…

If you’re holding more than people realize…

If you want to sit in a room where ambition and friendship can coexist…

Buy the ticket.

Come experience the group chat IRL.

And if you feel the whisper that says, “One day I want to build something like this,” listen to it.

Because women don’t wait for rooms anymore.

We build them.