LH X Pearls of Wisdom
LH X Pearls Of Wisdom: Present the Resilience Event
LH has teamed up with POW to host the Resilience Event at IYCA (Antibes) on 22/23 September. We talked to POW’s founder, Cherise Reedman, about Pearl’s story and the upcoming event…
At LH, we love everything about the yachting industry – it is one of the core hospitality sectors we train, and we know that working onboard can be exciting and rewarding in so many ways, but it is also a challenging industry to leave. For some, it can be hard to fit back into the ‘real world.’
But fear not; for women in the yachting industry today, Pearls of Wisdom is helping. The organisation was founded by Cherise Reedman, and it came about from her asking ‘why?’ Why is it so hard for women, in particular, to leave the industry? “As an ex-stew myself, I know that it is so hard to leave, I had no idea what I wanted to do, and there isn’t any advice or help out there to help the transition, so I wanted to change this. I want to help people be equipped for land-based life and to create a community that continues thriving after yachting,” explains Reedman.
It isn’t a surprise that Reedman was best place to set up Pearls. Her LH Dynamics profile is a ‘deal-maker,’ and as a natural communicator and great listener, she is energised by bringing people together through her dominant energies of ‘blaze’ and ‘tempo.’ Bringing people together is just what she has done!
Ship to shore
The Pearls community and network are helping yacht crew transition out of the industry, bringing together women in yachting who are trying to reinstate their land legs.
Reedman says, “It is a community that is uniting women – women that have mainly been stews – who tend to have the same qualities, ex-stews are supercharged, switched on women that need to drive their creativity and skills into something equally exciting on land.”
“The biggest challenge and question to most is what they will do next. You are so involved in the job onboard you lose who you are, and you no longer understand your passions. It is the lack of inspiration out there for crew wanting to leave, they don’t see what other ex-crew have gone on to do, but Pearls is there to show and tell the stories of this inspiration,” explains Reedman.
Expert advice
The seed for Pearls was planted when Reedman and her husband, Tim Reedman (Reedman Wealth Management), were chatting about how to help crew with financial advice and realised how many crew needed guidance in this department, as there was no information out there to help.
Since sharing financial advice, the Pearls community spans almost every topic you can think of when it comes to helping with leaving. Today, the expert community is made up of a range of validated professionals contributing their certified knowledge and expertise, such as sleep therapists, business psychologists, nutritionists and other wellness and business experts.
Past events: Stories of success
LH has been involved with Reedman’s vision at the start having attended all previous successful events. These have seen women come together to share their stories and advice, engage in inspiring talks and network with the like-minded community.
The events have all had a different focussed theme, held in the UK, with the most recent event in Southampton sharing ‘stories of success and initiating the launch of the Pearls app – a platform which is a safe community they can use to interact and get advice from each other helping and guiding through the process of leaving.
Our founder, Peter Vogel, shared his story at this event. He has transitioned to shore and is, therefore, in a position of understanding; he worked onboard first as a steward and climbed the ladder to top leadership positions. He also started businesses (enter; LH!) At the event, he explained how starting a business isn’t linear; there are challenges and hurdles, and having a community supporting you is so important.
Making a difference
While Pearls grow their platform, they are also working on projects within the community that will drive positive change. One particular initiative is their ‘Keep Safe’ campaign, to bring together resources that will help women within the industry, from emergency contacts to various organisational advice pushing for a better industry.
The Resilience Event: 22/23 September
We are honoured to have partnered up for the next event, which will be a two-day forum held on the 22nd and 23rd of September. It will kick off the international launch of Pearls, with the help of LH securing the IYCA Antibes location.
“It isn’t about the headliners. This event is for all crew, those who have already left, and those still onboard that are thinking about their next steps and are concerned about the transition ashore,” explains Reedman.
For the first time, the Pearls event will not only run over two days but will be live-streamed so that no matter where you are in the world, you can join in. The focus of this forum will be ‘nurturing crew mental health,’ an extremely vital topic that will cover the well-being of both on and off the yacht with expert discussions and panels. Organisations in attendance that spotlight this topic will be The Crew Coach, Seas The Mind and ISWAN. Reedman says, “The event will bring all the tools together to handle life onboard and life when you leave.”
Our talent awareness tool is one of the tools needed when transitioning ashore that crew will be armed with when attending the event. We are so excited to be taking an LH Dynamics workshop on the second day, where we can help crew uncover their inherent talents. “Pearls of Wisdom is an invaluable community that we proudly support. I, myself, understand that without uncovering your inherent talents, how is one meant to know the correct path to follow? LH Dynamics plays a vital role in helping crew understand themselves better to be able to navigate this challenging transition,” says Peter Vogel, Founder of LH.
Reedman concludes, “Our events are community projects where we engage with and support local and ex-crew-led businesses.” If you are a business in the yachting community and are interested in being involved in this event, please email cherise.reedman@yachtpearlsofwisdom.com or mariska.biesheuvel@luxuryhospitalitymgm.com
We look forward to seeing you all there. If you are crew interested in attending the event, please email please email cherise.reedman@yachtpearlsofwisdom.com or mariska.biesheuvel@luxuryhospitalitymgm.com