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October 15, 2026 SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Meet Your Girls, a monthly mixer for women business owners, will celebrate its second anniversary with a bash – Pop the Bubbly: Meet Your Girls Turns 2! – a FREE event on Wednesday, October 28, from 4 to 7pm at CrossHatch Winery, 111 E. Haley St. in Santa Barbara. Founder Nicole Michelle Wald will use the evening to honor the women who have made it possible and make a major announcement about the community’s next chapter.
Wald began Meet Your Girls in October 2024, just after launching her coaching business full time as her second child started day care. She wanted a space that felt less rushed and buttoned-up than the networking events she’d been attending, where women business owners could truly get to know and support each other.
More than 300 women have since attended, and every month brings a blend of newcomers who arrive knowing no one and regulars who bring friends. The events are held at Wald’s home, or at businesses owned by other women in the group. There’s often surprise touches, like mini massages, sound baths, nutritional supplements, or other wellness-focused experiences. What remains the same each month is a Connection Circle, where women get to know everyone in the room and go far beyond surface level conversation.
Recently, Meet Your Girls extended to include an additional monthly meeting in Ventura, helping weave together even more local female business owners. The community connections continue between all attendees on a private WhatsApp and a Facebook group dedicated to lifting up Central Coast women entrepreneurs.
“Two years ago, I honestly wasn’t sure anyone would show up,” said Wald. “What makes me get teary eyed is what has come out of this room. Every month I learn of new friendships, new business partnerships, new dreams being pursued that previously felt out of reach. Whether a woman joins once or a dozen times, she’s part of what makes it more fun and fulfilling to be a woman business owner in our region.”
Wald shared that attendees have attributed all sorts of success in part or entirely to being in the group: launching new businesses, revitalizing long-standing businesses, building new collaborations, and getting steady referrals. Several have received the nudge and internal permission they needed to step full time into a side hustle, leaving jobs they tolerated to instead pursue their passion. “Perhaps most importantly,” Wald noted, “women have gone from feeling alone in their business to developing supportive new relationships that help them push past self doubt and discover deeper levels of confidence.”
In honor of the two-year anniversary, guests are invited to wear their most fun and sparkly attire, and as always, to bring a friend or two along. This celebration runs longer than the normal mixer to make way for extra celebration + activities:
- 4–5pm: Mingling, vendor pop-ups, surprises, noshes, and a no-host wine bar
- 5–6:15pm: Connection Circle (the group conversation at the heart of every Meet Your Girls) + a big announcement
- 6:15–7pm: Cake, a toast, dancing, and more time with vendors
“This work is part of my mission to increase the wealth, confidence, and influence of women entrepreneurs,” said Wald, who’s also on the board of the Santa Barbara chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners. “When a woman builds a more powerful business, the impact doesn’t stop with her––it ripples out into the communities she’s a part of.”
Wald’s passion for creating a ripple effect is evidenced in her coaching work, which centers on supporting women who are in a space of transition – looking to move from one business to the next, get more visible and scale an existing business, or reimagine a brand they’ve outgrown. Meet Your Girls is the heart-forward space where these women convene, start to imagine what’s next for their lives and businesses, and find the support they need to move ahead. Wald offers additional support through group and private coaching as well as elevated retreats.
Meet Your Girls is always free of charge. Women can RSVP for the October 28 bash and sign up to receive future reminders at https://iamnicolemichelle.com/meetyourgirls
Vendors interested in joining the October 28 event or sponsoring with food or activities can contact Wald directly at nicole@iamnicolemichelle.com.
About Nicole Michelle Wald
Nicole Michelle Wald coaches successful women entrepreneurs whose businesses no longer fit their identity or ambition. She helps realign strategy, brand, message, and systems, while supporting the woman they’re becoming inside a community of extraordinary women. She brings 30+ years spanning sales, education, communications, and non-profit leadership, including co-directing a teacher-development program at UCSB and leading communications & marketing for the Community Environmental Council. She is an international bestselling author and speaker, and serves on the board of the Santa Barbara chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners. She founded Meet Your Girls in 2024. Learn more at iamnicolemichelle.com or instagram.com/iamnicolemichelle.
