WithIt Inspires And Connects At 2024 Annual Conference

Furniture World News Desk on 8/15/2024

Over 150 women representing all aspects of the home and furnishings industry gathered for WithIt’s 2024 Annual Professional Conference in June 2024 with the goal of connecting and learning from others.

Held each summer, WithIt’s conference is designed to provide a space for women at all stages of their home and furnishings career to network, create meaningful relationships and learn business and professional skills. 

Though women are often the ones making decisions when it comes to home and furnishings, the industry, and particularly leadership within the industry, is still male dominated. The WithIt Annual Conference provides a space for female professionals to come together, share perspectives, learn from each other and build connections which can help change this imbalance.

“Within the walls of the WithIt Professional Conference, the industry is being shaped before one’s very eyes,” says Jenny Tinsley with Culp Inc. Tinsley serves on WithIt’s Board of Directors and was a leader on the conference committee. “Experienced members of our industry humbly share their wisdom; lasting and meaningful connections are made; and inspiration, motivation, and excitement are palpable in the air. There is power in human connection. There is power in being in a space with hundreds of women who are honing their leadership skills and striving for success. Their future is the industry’s future. Their success is the industry’s success.”

On the first day of the conference, attendees had the opportunity to attend breakout sessions exploring the entrepreneurial operating systems, getting to the c-suite and emotional intelligence in leadership and business. After the breakout sessions, a member meeting was held to share membership updates and wins from the previous year. The evening ended with a cocktail hour of networking and group dinners. 

The second day kicked off with three speakers sharing business lessons and advice from their time in the industry. Keynote Portia Mount, the Founder and CEO of Mount Creative, LLC, began the morning with a discussion on finding purpose and creating impact in any field. 

“The pipeline for women coming into entry level roles has been very strong across the board,” Mount said during her speech. “However, one of the things we talk about with the pipeline is women move into positions and then in middle management get stuck, and if you are a Black or Brown woman in this room, it is even more challenging. What’s happening is we see really good movement up until middle management and then the ability to break through to the VP/SVP level is really tough. Why this matters is you can’t get more women CEOs if you don’t fix this problem.” 

Caroline Hipple, the Chief Creative Officer at Hooker Furnishings and one of the founding members of WithIt, also spoke during the morning session. She and Dorothy Belshaw, President of Andmore, spoke on the theme “Dynamic Leadership in Action.” Hipple’s talk was titled “Being The CEO Of You” and centered on the lessons she learned from her decades in the home and furnishings industry. 

“Don’t ever let them tell you you don’t know what you’re doing,” Hipple told the crowd. “Because you do. If you’re the CEO of you, you know. If you’ve developed your skills, if you do know what you’re doing, own that.”

Belshaw’s talk focused on the idea of taking big leaps in your career and personal life in order to continue to gain new experiences and grow. She titled it “Drop In, Mama: Big Hairy Career Moves And Why We Make Them.” She shared personal anecdotes of some of the career moves she’s made that scared her and the lessons she learned along the way.

“You will fail, so try to learn from that,” she said. “That’s how you’re going to be able to take a risk, it’s knowing that if you fail you will learn, and you won’t die from failing. You'll move on, you’ll learn from it and transform.” 

After the morning speakers, attendees were split into three groups to attend three dynamic workshops. Groups spent an hour at each workshop before moving on to the next one, ensuring everyone was able to benefit from each of them. The workshops were “Exploring Dynamic Mentorship” with Courtney Panther of Sleep Number; Sustainability and Transformative Thinking with Jenny Tinsley of Culp; and Tools to Transform the Workplace with Bree Cassidy  of Howard Elliott.

The final day of the conference began with a keynote address by Micah Ray, founder of D4 Concepts. Micah’s expertise in communicating effectively with all types of folks was incredibly valuable to attendees as they look to achieve their own professional goals. His talk was followed by a panel discussion on communication featuring women from different sections of the industry that had important and vulnerable insights around talking with employees and clients. 

The gathering ended on a positive note with closing speaker Ellen Taaffe, an author and professor at the Kellogg School of Management of Northwestern University. Taaffe explained that many women encounter a mirrored door in their career―the place where, when presented with opportunities, women reflect inward and hesitate, and deem they’re not ready or worthy enough to move forward. 

Taaffe shared with the attendees the ways to recognize and overcome the gendered expectations that women internalize over their lifetimes that create a hidden barrier that keeps us from reaching our full potential. She shared five success strategies that can often get professionals to a certain point and then block them from furthering in their career.

Sponsors for the Annual Conference include Tempur Sealy, Manwah, La-Z-Boy, J.B. Hunt, Synchrony, THS Creative, Universal Explore Home, Furnitureland South, Sunbrella, Crestview Collection, Jola, Kingsdown, Furniture Today, Kuka Home, AHFA, Furniture 1st, Andmore, Dallas Market Center, Havertys, Stump, Home Furnishings Association and Springs Creative.

About WithIt

WithIt is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1997 on the core belief that women should play a major role in the growth and development of the retail and home furnishings industries. Expanding on the values and their initial mission, WithIt has grown to include international membership, whose supporters encompasses innovators, influencers, thought leaders and senior executives for leading retailer, home and furnishings brands. Building on their mission WithIt’s continues to grow and affirming their core values: integrity, responsibility, fairness, respect, transparency and community.