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

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. For field trips. 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, you might think the next step is always another certification, another deliverable, another marketing strategy.

But sometimes, what you really need... is a room full of people who believe in you.

A space where your identity can evolve beyond “researcher,” “pharmacist,” or “scientific writer.” Where you can show up as a leader.

You don’t have to wait five years to step into that identity.

Just decide WHAT your business will be. HOW you are going to lead it. WHERE you want it to go. Then get out of your own way.

You’re allowed to want more—more money, more support, more visibility.