Every year, Women's Entrepreneurship Day brings together women entrepreneurs from all corners of the world. Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization (WEDO) was founded in 2013 by Wendy Diamond, an entrepreneur and humanitarian, to celebrate, support, and empower women entrepreneurs worldwide.
The annual WEDO (Women’s Entrepreneurship Day) Summit Finland took place on Wednesday, November 19, a morning that brought together an exceptional group of women entrepreneurs, creators, and experts to discuss one theme: What does Finland need for real, sustainable growth?
Below is the expanded version of the main lessons I took from the day, including my own tips I shared in my speech.
The Finnish ambassador for WEDO, Anna Kuusela, led the conversation, and over two hours, we heard perspectives from leaders across industries, and despite our varied backgrounds, one thing became clear: the challenges are shared and so are the solutions. Follow WEDO Finland to stay in touch.
What I loved about the summit; it looked at women's entrepreneurship in a very holistic view. When we talked about growth, we were also talking about growing as a person, not just about fiscal growth. Vilma Haapala even guided us through facial yoga, and other speakers comped about the importance of physical movement, mental wellbeing and even brain sharpness. The topic of neuroplasticity was also mentioned multiple times, brain plasticity is a process that helps brain to adapt to structural and functional changes. On the other words, you can rewrite your brain how you are thinking.
The summit featured insights from:
Each speaker approached growth from a different angle thought leadership, wellbeing, creativity, branding, neuroscience, systems thinking, yet our conclusions converged strongly.
Finland’s economy is stalling. Growth is flat, investments aren’t generating returns, and company culture is stuck.
And before we go any further, I want to challenge one common assumption: Technology will not save Finland’s economic growth. AI will not save your business. It is a tool. What will drive growth are the creative and innovative ways we use technology.
People shape economies. That’s why courage and creativity matter more than any strategic framework.
When Anna asked me what I believe are the essential ingredients for growth, I answered with three:
But here, I am giving you the highlights of the entire summit.
One of the hardest parts of being a CEO is managing the pull between future vision and cash flow reality. Everyone knows: if you don’t bring in revenue today, there’s no future to plan for. That’s why long-term thinking often gets pushed aside, even though short-term targets don’t often build sustainable growth.
Long-term thinking means making decisions that show their full value years from now. You can call it strategic or visionary thinking.
Take marketing as an example. Posting on social media every day can feel productive, but content can die a fast death in the feeds in a matter of hours, days or weeks. With the same effort, you could create content that keeps delivering for years, like YouTube videos or writing books. I still get traffic from blog posts I wrote over a decade ago.
Long-term thinking isn’t slow. It’s choosing actions whose impact unfolds gradually but powerfully. It's more like an investment, than buying an instant gratification that will be soon forgotten.
Having a vision is not enough, branding expert Johanna Souru started with one of the most important aspects of growth : you have to have clarity of what the "growth" even means.
Growth is a byproduct of decisions, and good decisions are a byproduct of clarity.
This is why the most successful companies pause regularly to ask:
Clarity is a navigation system that guides everything: daily marketing choices, partnerships, product decisions, hiring, and ultimately the big leaps that create real growth. Without clarity, companies drift, and growth becomes less achievable.
Health coach Kaie Hakonen urges us to look inside first, and be in our feminine energy, and use it as our superpower. It's not about being more feminine or girly, but defining the energy level we want to take actions. When we work with our natural energy levels, it is easier to be in the flow stage and work becomes easier, and your vision clearer.
Instead of trying to prove your worth with external things, look inside and work on yourself, only then you can start feeling the growth.
I really like this one, because it's normal to have stages and seasons also in your business where you might not feel or seem that "successful", and you need to have inner strength to see beyond that month's sales or one bad sales pitch.
Dr Hanna Poikonen reminded us that curiosity is a neurological advantage.
She encouraged everyone to intentionally network with people who think differently, come from different backgrounds, or work in completely different fields.
According to her, the brain thrives on novelty. When you expose yourself to unfamiliar ideas or new social environments, your brain creates new neural connections. This strengthens cognitive flexibility, the very skill entrepreneurs rely on when making decisions, solving problems, or navigating uncertainty. Neurological research supports it: curiosity and diverse social interaction help maintain a more adaptive and creative brain.
Dr. Poikonen encouraged us to step out of our usual circles, not just for networking, but for the wellbeing of our brains. Curiosity is an act of growth. Opening your mind to new people is an act of leadership.
Future won't come from certainty, but from curiosity.
I fully agree with the need to be curious, because that leads you to have creative solutions.
I’ve done strategic consulting for many years, and most CEOs want the same thing: a clear formula for growth.
That’s why the world is full of “copy-paste consultants”, people who once helped one company grow and now teach the same method to everyone else. AI only accelerates that copying. If copying strategies worked, we’d have ten more Wolts and Supercells.
The only way to stand out is to have the courage to do things differently.
People often think you can’t be bold, creative, and deeply analytical at the same time. You can.
Courage is informed risk-taking.
My husband is a helicopter test pilot. People assume test pilots are thrill seekers. They’re not. They are the calmest, most prepared people you’ll ever meet. A test pilot can only take the flight because they have vast knowledge, clear procedures, and strong preparation. They also are very self-aware, knowing their own strengths and weaknesses.
Entrepreneurs can be the same.
It’s much easier to be bold when you have a clear vision, a strong value system, and contingency plans.
Personally, I set goals that are much bigger than what feels comfortable, because I’m not afraid to miss them. One of the biggest mistakes leaders make is setting their goals too low, just to feel successful, and pat themselves in the back.
Courage is trying something new even before you know how it will turn out.
Ask yourself: What would happen if you doubled your goals? What would change day-to-day?
And would you really be upset if your growth happened faster than expected, even if you didn’t hit the target perfectly?
Just keep going. This message isn't about overworking or hustling, but a reminder that the long-term visions become reality with daily action.
Both Kaie and Hanna also mentioned listening your body and keeping your body in movement.
You know that moment when you finally step away from your desk; you go for a walk, take a shower, or even wash the dishes, and suddenly the best idea of the week hits you?
It’s not a coincidence. It’s biology.
When your body is in motion, your brain shifts out of “forced focus” and into a more open, associative mode of thinking. Movement increases blood flow, stimulates neural activity, and gives your mind the spaciousness it needs to make new connections. That’s why the most creative breakthroughs often arrive when you’re not actively trying to force them.
As Dr. Hanna Poikonen highlighted, the brain does its best thinking in rhythm. Movement clears cognitive clutter, supports emotional regulation, and opens the door for insight. Creativity is quite literally easier when your body is involved.
In other words: if you want better ideas, sometimes the smartest strategy is simply to move.
Growth does not happen in the shadows, Johanna Souru reminds.
You need people around you who understand:
This becomes possible only when your brand is recognizable, consistent, and emotionally clear about the perception and experience you want to create.
And then comes the hard part: systematic repetition.
Repetition, repetition, repetition. It’s the most underestimated driver of visibility and the reason most brands stay forgettable. Without repetition, your message doesn’t stick, trust doesn’t form, and opportunities don’t find you.
Visibility is an engine of growth.
Turns limited resources into strength. One of an entrepreneur’s most valuable skills is the ability to turn weaknesses into strengths and threats into opportunities.
For many, the biggest threat is limited resources and the belief that you have to do everything yourself.
We even wear it as a badge of honor. “I’m an independent woman. I don’t need help.”
But global trends are very clear: platforms, communities, and networks create agility, visibility, and growth with fewer resources.
Women are naturally good at building networks and communities, and helping others comes intuitively to many of us. If we want actual business growth, we need to collaborate more boldly and more strategically.
Stop just swapping services or doing simple barter deals and start asking bigger questions:
Collaboration is one of the most underused and the most effective tools for growth.
I love that Johanna Souru also included this highlight: make buying from you easy. It's one of the topics we also cover in the Big Rich Money e-course.
Stop thinking that selling is pushing. Selling is helping. People want to buy from you! Of course they do. So make it easy for them.
When you detach the idea of “sales” from your ego and see it as a service that solves a real problem for someone, the entire dynamic shifts.
Growth becomes easier when:
When buying is effortless, growth becomes predictable, scalable, and far less stressful.
Try to accomplish these in the next 30 days and expect growth jump!
Move more: Get your body moving and see how it affects in your thinking.
Collaboration: Pitch one concrete joint project to another entrepreneur.
Bold Creativity: Publish the piece of content you’ve been thinking about for months but haven’t dared to post.
Long-term Vision: Ask yourself: What would I do if I wasn’t afraid of failing? Then take one step toward it.
Be Visible and Sell: Make it extremely clear what people can buy from you and how. No gimmicks.
You already have everything you need for growth.
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Founder of Crush Movement. An award-winning marketing strategist and digital pioneer who built her career as a global nomad, helping Fortune 100 brands and entrepreneurs grow and break sales records. A bestselling author and keynote speaker, her work has been featured in Forbes, The New York Times, and MTV3.
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