Adam Torres and Dena Patton discuss the Power Up Conference.
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Show Notes:
Listen to coverage of the 2024 Power Up Conference: Together We Lead in Washington, DC. In this episode, Adam Torres interviews Dena Patton, Co Founder of Girls Rule Foundation. Explore the Power Up Conference.
Watch Full Interview:
About Dena Patton
Dena is an elite business and mindset coach who has worked with thousands of purpose-driven business owners and leaders around the globe. Her 3-Pillar coaching approach helps her clients to build: the systems to be well-oiled, the sales strategy to be well-funded, and the greatness mindset to be well-led. Dena’s influence extends beyond coaching with over 100 media stories and podcasts that feature her work, along with her keynote speaking and her best-selling book, The Greatness Game. She navigates her clients to success guided by six core values—courage, accountability, authenticity, faith, fun, and integrity. Outside her business ventures, Dena devotes herself to philanthropy as the cofounder of The Girls Rule Foundation.
About Girls Rule Foundation
Girls Rule Foundation’s mission is to educate and empower girls ages 12-18 with confidence skills, financial literacy skills and leadership skills.
Full Unedited Transcript
Hey, I’d like to welcome you to another episode of Mission Matters. My name is Adam Torres, and if you’d like to apply to be a guest in the show, just head on over to missionmatters. com and click on Be Our Guest to Apply. All right, so today I am in Washington, D.C. and I’m at the Power Up Conference 2024.
It’s the 10th year anniversary as well, like we’re celebrating a whole lot. Also, Women’s Equality Day, we got a Book launch going, a lot of things happening in DC. And today my guest is Dena. So Dena, first off, welcome to the show. Thank you. Thanks for having me. All right. So a lot going on this year in the conference.
What’s your history with the conference, the organization in general? What brings you here this year? My history with the conference is Gloria. I was in her first cohort in 2017 with her leadership work, which was really impactful for the nonprofit that I started. And I was one of those crazy entrepreneurs that started my own nonprofit.
And, you know, you meet these incredible people and mentors and leaders along your journey. And she was one of them in 17 that really, you know, Impacted me and how I ran my organization and my passion and my clarity in my stand. And that is actually ironically the award that I’m winning tonight has to do with that.
So we’ve had a long history together and I’m just so honored to a come to the conference. Cause I love attending, but this year being a, an award winner. Mm. What do you think? First off, congratulations. That’s amazing on the award. Of course. What do you think what was so meaningful that just kept you coming back and that keeps you here?
Because it’s very special. I’ve talked, I’ve interviewed multiple people and multiple people have told me they came back from, Oh, way back when this year, this year or whatever. And they’re going for the back. And I’m like, I do a lot of conferences. Just, you know, it’s a big part of my coverage. And you don’t hear that at many.
Like, it’s not like, Oh, I’ve been coming for this, this, this many years. What keeps you coming? Well, I think the power of a great conference is community. Because conference, you know, it, it can inspire us, educate us, which is, you know, reasons we go to conferences. I love it. But I think this sense of community, which Gloria does so well, she does such a powerful job at creating community.
Where there’s great collaborations and especially with women. I mean, that is powerful. And you want to go back and back every year for those collaborations and the sharing and the introductions. And really, women are back. better together. And she just does a great job in the community. Of course, the education and inspiration is there, and it’s amazing.
But I think that layer of community is the sticky point. Can you talk just a little bit about, in general terms or otherwise, just some of the things you’ve learned as being a participant that have helped you along the way in your journey? Because you’ve evolved through this. As you said, this was kind of some of the beginnings of that, of starting your foundation.
Yeah. Especially, you know, when you’re running a nonprofit there’s definitely some of the same rules of entrepreneurship and running a for profit, but there’s definitely some distinction of, of things that you have to do in a nonprofit that are unique. And I think, you know, for me that there was just a couple of the power tools that she teaches that were really powerful, especially at the moment that I, that I learned them in 17.
It was a pivotal. point for the Girls Rule Foundation, because we were established for about four years at the time, but we needed that. We needed that oomph, right? That, that movement. And what I got from her was don’t promote the brand, promote the stand. And for me, the stand is girls change the world.
We do work with teen girls and helping them become the next generation of leaders. And to me, it just, it was the thing that I needed to hear at that moment of like, What is your stand? Get crystal clear in it. Know how to verbalize it, know how to pitch it, love it, you know share it and put it everywhere.
And it was just that clarity. I always say clarity moves the train. Confusion derails the train. Whether you’re a for profit or you’re a nonprofit, you’ve got to get clarity in your leadership and where you’re going. And to me, that was the thing of just that. What is your truth, which is just, you know, one of one of the nine power tools that, you know, what is your truth and how do you stand for it?
And it just helped me get that clarity and that strength. And it just, it did exactly what I wanted it to do. It just took us to a whole new level. And the next three years of our organization, I mean, we just grew 10 times. Wow. So it was very impactful. Yeah. Let’s go further into it. Girls Rule Foundation.
Tell me more. We do empowerment and leadership programs for high school age girls. And our three pillars are self esteem, confidence skills, financial literacy skills, and 12 leadership skills. So, we have after school programs that do that. And then we have a leadership summer camp that is extraordinary and application only because we want girls who are like, they really have their hand up saying, I want leadership skills on my tool belt.
And I just feel like this is kind of my, my fire under it is we train females 20 years too late. We’re getting to them late twenties. If you interview. Everybody at this conference, I would put money on it. That 80 percent of those women said I didn’t get my true empowerment work, financial literacy, really empowered around money and money management and earning money.
And my leadership until my late twenties or early thirties. It’s a lucky. If they’re lucky, if they’re lucky, I would say the other 20 percent are going to say, I got it in my forties or fifties. Yeah, that’s what I think. We certainly don’t start at 12 or 13 or 15. And if we truly want this next generation to outlead us, we got to start earlier.
So I’m, I’m just really powerful. I’m sorry, I’m really passionate about helping girls. become powerful. And that takes putting tools and skills on their tool belt. So really great programs and, and advocacy of course. Where’d you, where’d you get the idea originally? Where’d that start? It started with my own story.
I think we all have a relation to our cause work. Yeah. My own, I kind of felt Pranked in my thirties of like, what, where have all these tools been? Why am I learning this at 30 or 32? Right. So it was that good word too. Pranked. I like that because it feels like it, like, wait, this is all this knowledge or this has been, I didn’t know, like, where’s the camera.
Yeah, I get it. It, it really did feel, I felt pranked and I thought where the heck have Has this tool been or this skill set, Ben? And the more I worked with women leaders and women CEOs in my, in my day job, I’m a coach and consultant to female CEOs. One after another, after another added up. And I looked around and I said, I have about 500 women.
If That have said the same thing. And then it became a thousand and then it became 5, 000. I thought, I think we have a trend here where we are not training females to really succeed at a young age. And here’s the thing. So that, that, that happened, but it was what really that knowledge is. Fueled me, but what really lit me on fire was I then looked at the girls statistics because all girls statistics are, are recorded.
And when I looked at that, that was the data. Yeah. Data fuels my fire. Okay. And that’s where I went. This story is not made up. This is not right. Our opinion. Yeah. There is a disconnect here. Yeah. So so that’s when I said, I’ve got to do something about it, you know, and I certainly can’t change the life of every girl on the planet, but that’s why it takes all of us to do the, the missions that matter, our own work that we’re being.
Called to do. And so for me, you know, I, I’ve reached about 20, 000 girls and that’s, I feel like that’s enormous, the, the, the beginning, I feel like I’m only congrats though, that’s a huge amount of people to fit, to influence their lives. And there’s a ripple effect in that. It is like now those girls and their children and their children’s children’s like you’re changing generations.
Yes. Yeah. I see it. I see it. So looking back, now you have this idea, you decide, you see the data, and you’re like, okay, that lit you on fire. Now it’s time to take action. What was it like after you, I say this, I’m putting these words in your mouth jumped off the ledge and you went out and you didn’t, you put this idea into the world.
What was it like? What was that? And the reason I ask this question is because there’s entrepreneurs, there’s business owners or would be watching this right now that are maybe being held back by something. And so what was it like when you got to that other side? Well, I believe in betting on yourself. I just feel like we all have gifts and greatness and purpose, and they are waiting for you to say yes.
And what gets in our way is fear. I mean, it is our number one barrier, right? So when we can put that fear aside and say, you do not serve me for where I am going and you say yes, and you jump off that cliff, what you’re saying yes to is the first step. You know, I know a hundred times more today than I did 14 years ago when I said yes, right?
So we have to trust. I think one of the biggest things I would say, and I always say to new entrepreneurs whether they’re starting for profit or nonprofit is, You’re going to take this one step at a time, one day at a time, and you’re going to surround yourself with mentors and leaders and friends and champions, and you’re going to learn as you go.
And if you don’t trust that, you’ll never say yes. Because I didn’t, I mean, I knew a few, I knew enough, you know, a couple steps that I could say yes. And then you figure out the next step. And I think the, I think you have to do it with trust and realize there’s so many people that went before you, right.
And there’s so many people that are willing to mentor. And that’s another reason why these conferences are good. You go to conferences because everybody’s in the same boat. We’re all trying now we’re at different levels of figuring it out. Right. So don’t compare. You know, my middle to your beginning, right?
Those are two different worlds. Right. And like I, you know, I look at very established, very well funded nonprofits and I can easily go, Oh my gosh, you know, there’s so much better. You can’t do that to yourself. Shame will steal that joy. So I think it’s really important to have grace with yourself. Take it one day at a time.
And have trust that you’re going to figure out the next step, right? I’m even, you know, I’m at this conference. Abe, by the grace of God, because we had to close all of our programs are live and with COVID we, and with children. So we closed for three years and so we just reopened about eight months ago.
Congratulations. Yeah. Yeah. It’s amazing. So you impacted over 20, 000. I jumped off the cliff again. So you impacted over 20, 000 people minus three years. Right. Like, so now it’s, wow, that’s a, that’s an amazing story and the fact, and a story of resilience. Right. Yes. Many people would have walked away after that and said, okay, well we did, we did enough.
We did enough. Yeah. And trust me, my, I went there. I know it wasn’t easy. No, of course not. Many times. No, I get that. Through those three years. I, you know what, we did enough. We did enough. And it, I just. But for that next, those next girls that are being affected, they’re going to be, their lives, like did, like that keeps it going.
Yes. And really girls need us more. today than they did then. Girl statistics, the statistics that just came out are more devastating than pre covid. So it’s, it’s a little daunting, you know, whatever your cause is, whatever problems you’re solving in the world, you know, whether it’s, you know, It’s the economy, it’s environment, it’s girls, whatever it is these problems are big, right?
And you can’t get so overwhelmed with the bigness of your problem that it makes you quit. And I think that’s where the, You know, there’s many moments during COVID where I just said, I just a this problem is so big. I can’t even come close to solving it. And we’ve done enough, right? But it just when you have a calling, you just say, you know what, I’m going to figure it out.
And so it’s been eight months. We’ve been back and put on our summer camp this summer. We’re relaunching our afterschool club nationwide. We’re winning an award, right? So it’s one step at a time and it’s a lot of grace and asking for help. You know, it’s restarting an organization. It feels really weird because.
It’s established. I mean, I’ve had this for 14 years, but it’s 2. 0. It’s We’re starting from zero again. Yeah, so it’s old and new so it’s exciting. It’s sometimes fun to start from zero Oh, it’s not reinventing reinventing this original company. We were we start out so I would my backgrounds finance for my long term listeners know this but backgrounds finance So our original company was actually called money matters top tips and it was money matters and it was all money And then we look back and you know, like we’ve been doing Two, three years after into the business, we’re like, wait a minute.
Like it just wasn’t what we were doing. Only maybe 20 percent of the content was actually about money. So that’s where it all shifted to mission. And then that’s where we literally restarted the entire company. New shows, new everything from scratch. We already had books published, by the way, under that brand.
But we, myself and the other co founders, Chirag Sagar, we were like, We’re just not hitting where we’re supposed to be at yet. And then once we went towards mission, which was more aligned with both of our values, not, not that we don’t like money or we don’t think about money, it takes money and we’re not ashamed to make money.
Nothing with that, but it wasn’t like the big calling. It wasn’t like the, the fit. So I only share that story with you personally, just because as you’re doing your restart and it’s just, there’s a reason. Like to me, it’s like, there’s a reason for it and it’s a blessing and I don’t know what it is.
I’m not, not saying I know God’s ways or all that, but I’m just saying that for us it was a blessing. When I hear these stories, I’ve interviewed over 6, 000 people. When I hear these type of stories and I hear about those restarts that, and especially with a mission as big as yours, it’s like, Oh my gosh, I know what’s coming next.
And that’s exciting. It’s very exciting. It is exciting. And I feel like 2. 0 Girls World Foundation is better and clearer and stronger. And just, I just feel like like, like you did, you know, it, it just, it, it was there the whole time, but then when you get refined. and cut out any fat that wasn’t working.
Oh, it just, it just takes it off. So it’s exciting. Yes. Yeah. Well, Dena, thank you for coming on the show. This has been so much fun. Last thing I want you to do, look into the camera, tell people how they can follow you, follow your organization, please. Yeah. So if you want to follow me, I’m at dinapatent.
com. GirlsRuleFoundation. org is the, is the organization. And then our t shirts are at fabulous t shirts. com. And that’s where you can get a Girls Change the World t shirt and 100 percent goes to support our mission. Dang, where’s my t shirt at? Hold on, we’ll talk, we’ll talk. I should have brought some!
You’re doing promo and I didn’t, where’s my t shirt at? for the audience. I’ll get my t shirt later, but if you haven’t hit the subscriber, the follow button yet we’re do that, but we’re also going to put all the links to, to to Dena, to the, to the website, to Dena site, all those different sites in the show notes.
So you can click on them and head right on over and definitely hit that subscriber follow button to this show. Cause it’s a daily show each and every day. We’re putting out new content, new ideas, and hopefully new stories and inspiration that will help you along the way in your journey as well. So again, hit.
That’s it. Subscribe and follow. And again, Dena, so much fun. Thank you so much. I appreciate you coming on. Thank you.
