See MySaline’s list of Saline County events at www.mysaline.com/events
See author Claire Brown talk about her book, about success and dating. The event is Monday, November 15th at 7 p.m. Register at this link.
If you’re looking for a powerful woman, look no further than Claire Brown. She wrote the book on being a power woman – literally. The Little Rock real estate professional penned the book Ring or Fling: The Power Woman’s Guide to Self-Discovery, Setting Standards and Dating with Self-Confidence. The book came about after divorcing and becoming single in 2015 for the first time since 1999. Plunged back into the dating pool, Brown found it was a world apart from what she remembered.
“Now, there are smartphones, the internet and online dating! After having my heart broken, I realized the need to surround myself with strong women relationships,” she says.
That’s how the Power Women community was born. Starting out as Little Rock Power Moms, Brown reached out to friends with children in the same schools and church her children attended. In less than three weeks, the group exploded from six members to 1,500. Growth has continued with the group having communities now in Little Rock and Northwest Arkansas. Brown also published Ring or Fling and launched a podcast, the PowerWomen Podcast to share the message of empowerment with others.
Ring or Fling, according to Brown, centers on five pillars that are all about discovering yourself in order to choose a partner. One of those pillars is defining your authentic self. In addition to being an author, Brown is also a successful real estate professional, serving as a broker and leading a small team. After graduating college, she saw real estate as her “fit” and the place “where I was making the biggest difference for others.”
Register for this event at https://salinecounty.librarycalendar.com/events/ring-or-fling-author-event-claire-brown.
It has not always been easy, with Brown noting that while the majority of the real estate agents are women, most real estate companies are male-owned. As a result, Brown says she never had a maternity leave and returned to work when both of her children were less than a week old. “The working hours of a realtor are not 8:00-5:00 or a regular 40-hour work week, and many times it looks more like a 60-hour work week. This is a challenge when the work-home life balance falls on women and the expectation is to carry it all and still rise. Personal safety for women in real estate is still a challenge, although great awareness and regulations have improved this a great deal,” Brown says.
Despite the challenges, Brown has risen through them to success. Brown continues to promote the value of being a power woman, saying that “being a woman means being equipped with femininity that allows one to excel in ways and areas others cannot.”
For those women who are coming up in the real estate or in other fields, Brown offers a sage word of advice. Brown insists that women never limit themselves or try to put themselves in boxes that others have designed. “Do not limit yourself! Even if an industry indicates one standard, that does not mean it is your standard. You create your life by designing it with your own vision.”
See MySaline’s list of Saline County events at www.mysaline.com/events