What a $9,800+ Mastermind Weekend Taught Me About Being a STEM CEO

(Updated July 10, 2025)

In August 2024, I made the biggest investment I’ve ever made in myself: over $9,800 CAD to attend Jamie Sea's Rising Wealth Event in Miami. It was $5,000 USD for the ticket, plus flights, accommodations, and food. The price tag for the weekend was enough to make me nauseous after I hit “confirm payment.” And yet, that event cracked me wide open.

At the time, I was scaling my medical communications and coaching business. I had already built the Sure Strides Society and was working with STEM professionals and healthcare experts to grow their own freelance and consulting businesses. But I still struggled with visibility and receiving. That mastermind unearthed a deeper layer of truth than I ever expected.

I Thought It’d Be Strategy To Make $100K months... But It Was Soul Work

When I signed up, I assumed the weekend would be filled with marketing strategies, funnel mapping, and business diagnostics.

And while some of that happened, what actually transformed me were the conversations around self-worth, visibility, and motherhood.

On day two of the mastermind, I shared with the group that my four-year-old had looked at me before I left for the trip and said, "Mommy, you're always working."

I broke down.

So did everyone else in the room.

Tears streamed down the faces of powerhouse women, many of them also mothers, who had been wrestling with the same guilt. And in that moment, I remembered why I started this business in the first place—not just for money or recognition, but for time freedom. Freedom to go on daycare field trips and be around for bedtime stories.

The Real ROI

The real return on investment wasn’t an immediate client or revenue spike. It was clarity. Permission. Sisterhood.

I walked out of that Miami hotel not just with new business strategies, but with new standards for how I treat myself.

I came home and hired support. I reprioritized my calendar. I reconnected with my vision.

I also realized the power of in-person spaces and I’ve already started planning a retreat to offer the same magic for the STEM women in my world.

The Lesson for STEM Entrepreneurs

If you’re a STEM professional building your business, it’s easy to believe the next step is always another certification, another deliverable, or another marketing strategy. But sometimes, what you really need is a room full of people who see your potential. A space where your identity can evolve beyond researcher, pharmacist, or scientific writer and into leader.

That's exactly why I created the Techtonic Ascent Mastermind & Retreat. 

Too many brilliant women in STEM are doing everything right—taking the courses, signing the clients, delivering exceptional work—yet still feel alone, underpaid, or unsure how to grow. Naively, many of us focus solely on business tactics, without realizing the transformation we truly need is internal. Most of the work is on how we see ourselves.

You don’t have to wait five years to step into your next level. Decide what your business will become. Decide how you’re going to lead it. Decide where you want it to go. Then get out of your own way. You’re allowed to want more income, support, and visibility. And you don’t have to figure it out alone.

If you're craving that kind of space—where strategy meets self-belief and your goals are taken seriously—Techtonic Ascent might be your next move. Let’s talk.