ISSUE No. 03 | SEPTEMBER 15, 2026 | IN HER POWER
I've been thinking about rooms.
Not physical rooms necessarily.
The rooms where conversations happen.
Where information gets exchanged.
Where somebody says:
โYou need to meetโฆโ
Where an opportunity gets mentioned before it's advertised.
Where somebody hears what you're building and sees a possibility you hadn't considered.
Where you discover that the problem you've been trying to solve for six months is something another woman solved two years ago.
Because sometimes the next thing a woman needs isn't more information.
It's different proximity.
And I think that's an important distinction.
We're living in a time when we can learn almost anything.
Another podcast.
Another webinar.
Another book.
Another course.
Another Google search.
Another conversation with AI.
Information is everywhere.
Access isn't.
And neither are the relationships that can help us do something meaningful with everything we know.
I've learnt that different rooms create different possibilities
There have been times in my business when I thought I needed to learn more.
Then I had one conversation.
Met one person.
Was introduced to someone.
Heard how another woman had approached something.
And suddenly I realised:
I didn't have an information problem.
I had a proximity problem.
I wasn't close enough to the people, conversations or opportunities that could help me see the next move.
That's one of the reasons I'm so intentional about the rooms I enter now.
And the rooms I create.
Because a good room doesn't simply make you feel inspired while you're inside it.
Something becomes possible because you were there.
A decision gets made.
An introduction happens.
An idea gets challenged.
A collaboration begins.
Somebody remembers your name three weeks later when an opportunity appears.
Or perhaps you realise that you are holding the introduction somebody else needs.
That's the part of community we don't talk about enough.
It's not simply:
Who can help me?
It's also:
Who can I help because we're now in the same room?
๐ค
Natalia x
โAs iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.โโ
Proverbs 27:17
I love the reciprocity in that.
Not one person standing at the front with all the answers.
One sharpening another.
That's what the right relationships can do.
They stretch our thinking.
Challenge assumptions.
Show us another way.
Remind us what we know.
Introduce us to what we don't.
And sometimes help us see ourselves differently.
The right room isn't valuable because everybody inside it is the same.
It's valuable because of what becomes possible when different experiences, relationships and perspectives meet.
FOUR WOMEN. FOUR DIFFERENT ROOMS OF EXPERTISE.
This October, you'll meet women inside Top 100 whose work sits in completely different spaces.
Women like Lettie Ar-Rahmaan, Carolyn Hantz, Torriel Harris and Jessica Starks.
And that's intentional.
Because I don't want Top 100 to become a room where everybody has built the same thing, works in the same industry or is at the same stage.
I want the founder to meet the corporate leader.
The expert to meet the strategist.
The woman looking for her next move to meet the woman who has already navigated something similar.
And the woman who has access to recognise where she might be able to open a door for somebody else.
Sometimes your next opportunity doesn't come from somebody who does what you do
It comes from somebody whose world intersects with yours in a way neither of you had considered before.
That's why these women aren't simply names on a Summit programme.
They're part of the proximity we're creating.
YOUR ROOM AUDIT
I want you to think about the rooms you're currently in.
Not just events.
Your WhatsApp groups.
Professional networks.
Friendships.
Industry circles.
Online communities.
Masterminds.
Workplace.
Business network.
Now ask yourself:
Where am I surrounded by people who already know what I know?
And:
Where am I exposed to people, conversations and opportunities that stretch what I can see?
Then one more question:
Who is missing from my network?
Not a specific famous person.
Think in terms of perspective.
An investor?
Someone in media?
A woman operating internationally?
Someone who has scaled beyond where you are?
A corporate decision-maker?
A founder?
Someone younger than you who understands a market you don't?
Someone further ahead?
Someone from an entirely different industry?
Identify one kind of relationship you need more proximity to.
That's your action for this week.
Don't collect another 100 contacts.
Start one meaningful conversation.
THIS IS SOMETHING WE'RE BUILDING TOWARDS ๐ค
Over the last few weeks, I've been talking to you about visibility.
Permission.
Leadership.
Authority.
And now, proximity.
There is a reason these conversations connect.
Because at the end of this month, we're opening another part of the Top 100 ecosystem.
The Top 100 Community.
A place where these conversations don't have to end when the email does.
Where women can find their circles.
Continue conversations.
Share opportunities.
Ask questions.
Build relationships.
And begin discovering who's actually in the room with them.
I'll tell you much more about it soon.
For now, I just want you to remember this:
You don't need to know everybody.
You need to become easier to find by the right people...
and be intentional about finding yours.
NOW I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU ๐ค
If I could put one type of person into your network right now, who would it be?
An investor?
A mentor?
A collaborator?
A media connection?
A corporate buyer?
Another founder?
Someone who has already built what you're trying to build?
Hit reply and tell me.
I'm genuinely interested in the rooms our community needs access to.
COMING UP THIS WEEK
On Thursday, we're continuing inside the Top 100 Summit with another group of women and asking:
What happens when leadership requires you to break through a barrier rather than work around it?
Then on Saturday, I'm taking you Inside Top 100 again as we continue exploring expertise, authority and the women bringing their experience into October.
And if you missed our invitation to the Top 100 Legacy Dinner in New York, I'll be talking more about that too.
Until next Tuesday, stay in your power.
And this week, pay attention to the rooms you're in.
Natalia x
Founder, Top 100 Most Powerful Black Women
๐ค
Natalia x
Founder, Top 100 Most Powerful Black Women
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