A Deeper Look At Ladyboss Of Fargo Moorhead

Written by: Brady Drake

With 4,600+ members, Ladybosses of Fargo Moorhead has accomplished an impressive reach in a short time and is still growing. The organization focuses on connecting and empowering women of the FM. We sat down with the founders, Danyel Moe and Laura Caroon to learn more about the business.

What is Ladyboss? How did the idea for it come about?
Ladyboss FM is a network of women making an impact in the community. We’re currently over 4,500 ladies strong and growing every day.

Ladyboss started in 2018 with an idea. Danyel and I (Laura) worked closely together in the marketing department at Concordia College. As we spent more time together, we started dreaming up our own projects. It turned out we both had an insatiable passion for empowering women and decided to do something about it. 

We started with an idea for a conference. We wanted to create a one-day conference for women to spark connections among the awesome women of our community. We wanted to invite leaders to speak about topics that weren’t being talked about enough and offer opportunities to ignite creativity and have the event feel special and fun and totally instagrammable.

And, because we’re both marketers, we knew we needed to build an audience. So, we started a Facebook group. And we invited 80 of our friends. It felt a little silly in the beginning, but it wasn’t that long before people started engaging. We introduced ourselves and asked new members to introduce themselves. They were sharing their favorite podcasts and books and asking each other for recommendations. We challenged them to ask another member to coffee to get to know each other. And they did. They started inviting their friends to join. And, their friends invited their friends. And the group grew. We got really excited. 

We wanted to offer opportunities to build connections offline and we held our first Ladyboss event less than four weeks after we started the group. It was a Galentine’s Day painting party at Make Room, a local business owned by Ladyboss Chelsea Thorson.

Women showed up. Women that didn’t know each other. Women that didn’t even know us. They showed up, learned new things, they created, they laughed together and they wanted more. Needless to say, it didn’t take us long to achieve a proof of concept.

By the time we opened ticket sales for our Ladyboss Summit in April, we had over 800 members in the group. We sold out of our 50 tickets to the event in about a week.

How can people get involved?
The best way to get plugged in to the community is to join our Facebook group or check out our Facebook page. Other than that you can find us one Twitter and Instagram @ladybossfm or on our site ladybossfm.com.

How can women benefit from Ladyboss?
Ladyboss is a community for womxn, for artists, for makers, for small business owners, for corporate executives, for health care providers, teachers, doers and dreamers. It’s a place to make new connections, try new things, learn from and support each other. Ladyboss is about empowerment through educating ourselves, connecting with one another, and being the best advocates for women that we can be.

What types of activities does the organization offer?
Aside from our active group online, we offer regular in-person events including panel discussions, book clubs, speed-networking, collaborations with local businesses, self-care experiences, happy hours, creative endeavors and we’ll be hosting our third annual conference at The Pines on June 16, 2020 called Ladyboss Summit.

Who is perfect for Ladyboss?
Ladybosses can look and act in many different ways. We celebrate the diverse women in our group. Our specific definition of a Ladyboss is: an empowered womxn, confident in her abilities and instinct, boldly leading with heart and integrity. If that sounds like you, you’re Ladyboss material and we’d love to have you in our group.

What impact have you seen the organization make already?
We hear stories all the time about how women are making awesome connections through this community and it’s so inspiring and humbling. Women who are solo-entrepreneurs have found places to plug in and find women with similar challenges, women going back to school to further their education have found mentors in their new fields, women have found leadership opportunities, women have found volunteers to support their non-profits, women have even found their dream jobs through Ladyboss. 

Now that we’ve created the space for this community to happen, we can’t imagine going back to a time without it. 

Last year, Ladyboss FM won a YWCA Woman of the Year award in the category of “Leader in Women’s Empowerment”. That was such an honor and that really solidified for us that Ladyboss wasn’t going away any time soon. The Ladyboss community is bigger than the two of us, and it’s something the women in our community were yearning for.

What is your dream for Ladyboss?
Our hope for Ladyboss is to leave a legacy of connection between women in and outside of our community. We want a network of strong empowered women leading in our businesses, education and elected offices, all working together to create lasting change for the next generations. 

In what ways can our community work to uplift our ladybosses?
Hire women. Promote women. Elect women. Invest in women. Pay women.

What are some tips you have for your fellow ladybosses?
Be your own biggest advocate. Whether that means asking for the raise at work, taking the opportunities that come your way, getting a second doctor’s opinion on a health issue or saying no to the things and the people that drain you. Speak up for yourself!

What’s next for Ladyboss?
You’ll be seeing a lot more Ladyboss in 2020! We’ve got some big changes and plans on the horizon, so you’ll want to follow along on social and get on our newsletter for the latest news, events and opportunities.


January – Nancy Kelly, Owner of Labor Masters

Nancy Kelly

February – Lexa Rundquist, Artist and Owner of AEROW

Lexa Rundquist

March – Theresa Garrett

Theresa Garrett

April – Jessie Rock, Geology Lecturer, Department of Geosciences, North Dakota State University and President of the Fargo-Moorhead Science Museum Project

Jessie Rock, Geology Lecturer, Department of Geosciences, North Dakota State University and President of the Fargo-Moorhead Science Museum Project

June – Dr. Faith Ngunjiri, Professor at Concordia College’s Offutt School of Business

June - Dr. Faith Ngunjiri, Professor at Concordia College’s Offutt School of Business

July – Steph Laritsen, Owner of All Things Finance LLC and Co-Owner of Retirement Planners

July - Steph Laritsen, Owner of All Things Finance LLC and Co-Owner of Retirement Planners

September – Yvette Reyes, Trail King Industries Welder

Yvette Reyes
Nicole Turchin

November – Dani Gilseth, Dori Walter and Aimee Hanson, Grateful Cratefulls

Dani Gilseth, Dori Walter and Aimee Hanson, Grateful Cratefulls

December – Dani Leverington, Engineer Officer in the North Dakota National Guard and Owner of Downtown Yoga

Dani Leverington, Engineer Officer in the North Dakota National Guard and Owner of Downtown Yoga
Share This Article
Follow:
Brady is the Editorial Director at Spotlight Media in Fargo, ND.