The Room I Was Meant to Create: A Recap of the 3rd Annual Build Your Brand Event

There are some things you plan for months. You make the spreadsheets, send approximately 900 emails, order the water, pack the swag bags, make the name tags, coordinate speakers, plan the food, write the workshop, and wonder approximately 47 times if you forgot something incredibly important.

And then the day finally arrives.

The room starts filling with women you may have never met in person before. Women you've followed online for years. Women who are building businesses, raising families, changing careers, taking risks, figuring things out as they go, and chasing something that matters deeply to them.

And suddenly, all of the planning becomes something completely different. It becomes a room full of actual people.

That was the biggest thing I took away from the third annual Build Your Brand event this year, and honestly, it surprised me.

I felt calm.

Not the frantic kind of calm where you're standing there smiling while mentally running through a checklist of everything that could possibly go wrong. I mean actual calm. The kind where you look around and realize, Oh. This is exactly where I'm supposed to be.

And that feeling has stayed with me.

Why I Created Build Your Brand

I originally created Build Your Brand because I kept seeing the same thing happen with the women I work with as a brand photographer. These women were building incredible businesses. They were experts in what they did. They had ideas, experience, stories, skills, and something genuinely valuable to offer, but so much of the business world had become focused on packaging yourself into something that looks polished enough for the internet.

Post consistently. Make the Reel. Use the trending audio. Make sure your colors match. Talk about your offer. Talk about your offer again. Make a Canva graphic. Figure out the algorithm. Try to make your business look established enough that people take you seriously.

And somewhere in all of that, I think a lot of women started forgetting that a personal brand is built around an actual person.

A human being.

A woman with opinions, quirks, stories, humor, experiences, failures, big dreams, weird little interests, strong values, and a personality that cannot be replicated by a template.

That is what Build Your Brand has become for me. It isn't really just about branding. It's about being seen.

Especially as a woman building a business.

Women Are Building Some Really Cool Shit in Pennsylvania

One of my favorite things about this event is getting women with completely different businesses and backgrounds into the same room.

There are women in health and wellness, beauty, real estate, coaching, creative businesses, professional services and so many other industries. Some have been in business for years and are scaling. Some are still figuring out exactly what their business is going to become. Some are transitioning out of careers they thought they'd have forever. Some are building businesses around their families. Some are finally giving themselves permission to take their own business seriously.

There is no single version of what a successful female entrepreneur looks like, and I think that's something worth celebrating.

Here in Pennsylvania, there are women-owned businesses everywhere. From Berks County and Reading to Wyomissing, Lancaster, Allentown, Philadelphia and the surrounding areas, women are building businesses that support their families, serve their communities, create opportunities and give them a level of freedom they couldn't find somewhere else.

And I love being surrounded by that energy.

Especially because I know how easy it is to feel like you're the only one figuring it out.

You're not.

The Internet Has Made Us More Connected and Somehow More Disconnected

We spend so much time talking to people online now. We follow each other, like each other's posts, comment on Stories, send DMs and watch someone's life unfold through a tiny rectangle on our phone. We can know what someone had for breakfast without ever having actually met them.

At this year's Build Your Brand event, I heard women say they were finally meeting people in person who they had been following online for years.

Years.

Which made me laugh because, girl, you know you can just talk to people, right? 😂

But underneath the joke, I think there's something really important there.

There is something different about sitting across a table from another woman and actually hearing her talk about her business. There's something different about watching someone's face light up when she talks about an idea she's excited about. There's something different about realizing that the woman you've been quietly following and admiring online is actually sitting three feet away from you.

That's why I still believe so strongly in creating in-person experiences for women entrepreneurs.

The internet is amazing. It allows us to connect with people we never would have met otherwise, and so much of my own business has been built online. But there are certain things that happen when you put people in the same physical room that just can't be replicated through a screen.

And this year, I got to watch that happen over and over again.

The Moment During the Workshop That I Won't Forget

There was one particular moment during the event that I don't think I'll forget.

I was sitting on stage with my panel next to me during the workshop portion. Everyone was quiet, and all of the women were writing and thinking through the questions in their workbooks.

For a few minutes, the room was almost completely silent.

And then, almost all at once, the women at the tables started talking to each other.

At first it was quiet. Then it got louder.

There was laughing. There were questions. There were women leaning toward each other and having genuine conversations. They were processing what we had just talked about, sharing their own experiences and getting to know the people sitting around them.

I remember looking out at the room and thinking, This is so fucking cool.

Not because everyone was sitting silently listening to me. Actually, quite the opposite.

It was cool because they were talking to each other.

That was the whole point.

I didn't create Build Your Brand so women could come listen to me talk for four hours. I created it because I wanted to create a room where women could meet each other. A place where they could learn something, but also laugh, ask questions, share ideas, make connections and maybe leave having met someone they wouldn't have crossed paths with otherwise.

Watching that happen in real time was one of those moments where I could actually see the reason behind all the planning.

Your Personal Brand Is More Than Your Business

A big part of this year's workshop focused on personal branding, and this is something I believe more strongly about every year.

Your personal brand comes before your business brand because people don't just connect with what you sell. They connect with you.

They connect with your perspective, your personality, your values, the way you communicate, the things you care about, the stories you tell and the way you make them feel. They connect with the reason you started your business and the reason you keep going when things get hard.

And yes, sometimes they connect with the weird shit too.

Especially the weird shit.

Having a personal brand doesn't mean you have to share every private detail of your life online. You don't. You are allowed to have boundaries. You are allowed to keep parts of yourself just for yourself.

But you do get to decide what you want people to know about you.

What do you want to be known for? What do you want people to feel when they interact with your business? What conversations could you talk about over and over again because they actually matter to you? What makes you different? What parts of yourself have you been editing out because you think they're too much?

Those were the kinds of questions I wanted the women in that room to think about.

Because personal branding isn't about becoming louder just for the sake of being loud. It's about becoming more intentional about being seen as yourself.

Why This Matters for Women-Owned Businesses

This is also a huge part of why I love working with women-owned businesses as a brand photographer in Pennsylvania.

Brand photography isn't just about getting a bunch of pretty pictures.

It's about creating visual evidence of who you are and what you're building.

It's about having images that actually feel like your business instead of looking like everyone else's. It's about showing personality. It's about giving people a reason to stop scrolling. It's about letting potential clients see the human behind the business.

And sometimes, it's about seeing yourself differently.

I've worked with so many women who are incredible at what they do but aren't necessarily comfortable being the face of their business. They know their work. They know their industry. They know how to serve their clients. But being visible can feel like a completely different skill set.

That's why I think these conversations around personal branding and visibility are so important.

You don't have to wait until your business reaches some imaginary milestone before you start showing up like the business owner you are. You don't have to wait until your website is perfect or you have thousands of followers or you finally feel completely confident.

Your business is allowed to grow while you grow with it.

Your personal brand is allowed to evolve.

You are allowed to be visible before you feel ready.

Build Your Brand Isn't Really About Branding

Which is probably a funny thing to say about an event called Build Your Brand.

But after three years of creating this event, I think I'm finally understanding what it's actually about.

It's about permission.

Permission to be visible. Permission to take up space. Permission to be new at something. Permission to change your mind. Permission to build a business that works for your actual life instead of trying to fit yourself into someone else's definition of success.

It's permission to be ambitious without apologizing for it. Permission to be serious about your business without taking yourself so seriously that you forget to enjoy it. Permission to be weird. Permission to try something and fail. Permission to figure things out as you go.

And maybe most importantly, it's permission to realize that you don't have to build alone.

The Women in the Room Were the Point

There were conversations happening everywhere throughout the afternoon.

Women laughing together. Women asking questions. Women exchanging information. Women sharing their experiences. Women cheering each other on.

And there was this feeling that I can't manufacture with a marketing strategy.

It just happened.

That's one of the most beautiful things about getting women entrepreneurs together in a physical room. You can plan the panel. You can plan the workshop. You can plan the food, the schedule, the giveaways and the little details that make the event feel like an experience.

But you can't script what happens when two women realize they've been trying to solve the exact same problem.

You can't schedule the moment someone realizes she's found someone who gets it.

You can't guarantee a genuine connection by putting it on a checklist.

You can only create the conditions for it.

And then get out of the way.

That's what I watched happen at Build Your Brand this year.

What I Took Away From This Year's Event

I've hosted Build Your Brand three times now, and every year has taught me something different.

But this year, the biggest thing I walked away with wasn't a business strategy or a marketing tactic.

It was a feeling.

Calm.

And that surprised me because I'm usually the person who immediately starts thinking about what could have been better. What I could change. What I forgot. What I should do differently next time. What needs to be improved.

This time, I just felt really, really good.

I looked around that room and knew I had created something I genuinely believe women need.

A room where you don't have to perform. A room where you can be ambitious without apologizing for it. A room where you can talk about business without making everything transactional. A room where women can meet other women.

A room where you can learn something and then turn around and have a conversation with someone sitting beside you.

A room where you can show up as the person you are right now, rather than waiting until you've become some imaginary future version of yourself.

And that feeling of calm made me realize something.

This is the kind of room I was meant to create.

To Every Woman Who Was There

Thank you.

Thank you for buying a ticket, rearranging your schedule and showing up.

Thank you for talking to the woman sitting next to you. Thank you for asking questions, sharing your stories, laughing, participating and being willing to think a little deeper about your personal brand and how you want to show up in your business.

Thank you for bringing your whole personality into the room.

Because Build Your Brand isn't really mine once everyone walks through the door.

It becomes ours.

And I think that's what makes it special.

To the Women Building Businesses Across Pennsylvania

Keep going.

Keep showing up. Keep talking about your work. Keep making the thing. Keep letting people know what you do. Keep meeting other women. Keep finding your people. Keep experimenting. Keep changing your mind when something doesn't fit anymore.

And please stop waiting until you feel "ready" to let yourself be visible.

Your business is allowed to evolve. Your personal brand is allowed to evolve. You are allowed to evolve.

That's part of the whole thing.

After three years of Build Your Brand, I think that's what I want this event to continue to represent.

Not a room where women are told exactly who they should become.

A room where we can come as we are, figure some shit out together, connect with other women who understand, and leave feeling a little more certain that we're not doing this alone.

That is the room I want to keep creating.

For women entrepreneurs. For women-owned businesses. For female founders. For small business owners. For the women who have a big idea and no freaking clue what comes next. For the women who are already deep into building and want to be surrounded by other women who understand.

For the women in Berks County, Reading, Wyomissing, Lancaster, Allentown, Philadelphia and everywhere in between who are building businesses that look a little different from the traditional path.

And, apparently, for me too.

Because somewhere between the planning, the chaos, the panel, the workshop, the laughter and watching a room full of women start talking to each other, I realized I wasn't just hosting an event.

I was creating the kind of room I've always wanted to be in.

And I think that's why I felt so damn calm when it was over.

Because for three years, I've been building it.

And this year, I finally got to sit back for a second and actually see it.

And holy shit.

Look what we built.

About Jenna B. Photography

I'm Jenna, a brand photographer for women-owned businesses and female entrepreneurs in Pennsylvania. I create bold, personality-driven brand photography for women who are ready to stop blending in and start showing people the actual human behind their business.

I work with women entrepreneurs throughout Berks County, Reading, Wyomissing, Lancaster, Allentown, Philadelphia and the surrounding Pennsylvania areas, creating brand images that feel editorial, strategic, personal and unapologetically you.

Because your brand should look like a business people want to remember.

And you should actually look like you're having fun building it.

BUILD YOUR BRAND at Three Hive Studios 2026