Women’s History Month is recognized annually in March by celebrating women who have made significant contributions to the women’s rights movement. As a columnist for Montana Woman Magazine, I am grateful for the platform to highlight local women whose leadership and courage are inspiring the course of women’s destinies.
This year, I am thrilled to highlight Sara Wolfe, the founder of the Iconic Women’s Collective (IWC). Originating in Kalispell and actively expanding into Missoula, the IWC brings women entrepreneurs together in a collaborative spirit. The IWC website describes themselves as a “high vibe and empowering community for “womenprenuers,” offering mentorship, community, education, and curated events for creative and ambitious women.”
I have personally been to several of IWC’s events, and they are an incredibly fun way to network and meet other women within the community. My favorite event was a social hour in the summer of 2023—a game of bingo was revamped as an icebreaker, and you got to mark off a square on your bingo board for the women you met at the event.
The very existence of this uplifting and supportive network for female entrepreneurs here in Montana is a sign of how far we’ve come. It is my honor to introduce Sara and the IWC.
Mindy: Can you tell me about yourself and how the IWC got its start?
Sara: My background is in functional medicine health coaching. But I am a mother of four children, including one adopted from Guatemala; and I would really love to leave a financial legacy for my kids. So, I have started getting into the industry of M&A, which is mergers and acquisitions. Specifically, I've gotten into emergency acquisitions and consulting for equity. So, I help owners and founders scale their businesses and develop an exit strategy so they can get a profit for their business.
Mindy: It’s through that door that you started the Iconic Women's Collective (IWC)?
Sara: I started IWC about a year and a half ago to support other women in finding successes in their businesses through the resources in the community. My vision to start something actually came from a conversation I had when I was getting my eyelashes done—my lash gal was talking to me about being an entrepreneur, being a mom, being a partner.
When she was talking to me, I felt like I needed to do something to bring the women in our community together who, like me, are wearing so many different hats. I wanted to create something for the mothers striving to be a good mom, a good partner; and something for entrepreneurs that really need that extra support to take their business to the next level. I know that so many other women feel like they're on their own island and it can be really hard.
So, at first my inspiration was to create a workshop and have different experts talking about different topics. My hope was to help give women tools and resources to overcome and navigate challenges they are facing. In two short weeks, I pulled a whole event together and it sold out.
I saw the desire of these women, and I thought, “there is a need for this.” This was right at the beginning of summer of 2022, so I started a monthly social hour event for ladies to be able to connect, and it just kind of evolved from there.
I started building an advisory team, and we started doing more events like monthly lunch and learns as well as larger, quarterly events. My desire is not only to connect women locally but also globally because there's such a great community of women out there that we can tap into. But there’s something to be said about having a coffee together, or where you can give somebody a big hug, or say eye to eye, “Congratulations”, or “I'm here with you, girl.”
So, it’s been really amazing to create this locally in Kalispell and in Missoula as well. We have had other communities reach out to see if we can establish an IWC there as well, but Missoula is our beta group to figure out how we duplicate what we have created in Kalispell without losing our integrity and the heart of who we are.
Mindy: Can you tell me more about your work as a functional medicine certified health coach? How do you think the dimensions of wellness are connected with what you're doing with IWC?
Sara: I have a very big heart and passion for wellness to health, so I incorporate that into everything that I do. I feel that it's really important for women to prioritize well-being so that we can do the things that we want to do well. I feel like when we're well, our businesses are well, our families are well, and our communities are well. When we focus on our well-being, our mental health, our spiritual health, our physical health, our physical health, it enables us to be a version of ourselves that can create in a greater capacity and build a resilience for when we have obstacles or challenges come up.
Mindy: What would you recommend for women who are trying to find their wellness?
Sara: This is an interesting question because a lot of the clients and the coaches that I teach, many of us come with all the things that we want to do. We want to lose our weight, we want to get better sleep, we want to have better time management, and we want to reduce our stress.
So, I always ask my clients the question, “what's most in alignment with your highest priority and value in your whole life?” And then I ask, “what’s the one step you can take towards that?”
It's going to look different for everyone, so it is so important to identify what that is for you and then pack it up into an actionable roadmap and plan that's attainable. We have to be in alignment with our vision and values; who we are and where we're going.
Mindy: What advice would you offer to someone who is trying to start out in business?
Sara: I would say that you really need to identify your “why;” know what your north star is. There's always a big reason, a bigger picture, of why we want to do the things we do. So, it’s important to identify and hold on to that, because when things get fussy or challenging, knowing your “why” helps keep you calibrated to what it is that you are truly trying to accomplish and achieve in your life.
Mindy: What do you think your biggest strength is?
Sara: My biggest strength is creating the container for everybody else to do their magic. I create spaces and opportunities for other women to get connected and shine.
Mindy: How can women become involved with IWC?
Sara: Following us on social media is a good launching point. Everyone is welcome to come to the social hours. You can find out about those events and others by subscribing to the newsletter via our website.
Mindy: Is there anything else?
Sara: I am just really grateful to all of the women who have been a part of creating IWC. There are a lot of women who have given their time and heart to building this community. Every woman who has shared a post or come to an event has had an influence on helping our community grow.
Connect with IWC:
Article by Mindy Cochran. Mindy is a practitioner, teacher, and performer of aerial arts; as well as a columnist for Montana Woman Magazine. Her column shares expertise for elevating health & wellness which she has acquired through her certifications as a personal trainer, nutrition coach, and life coach. To connect with Mindy, please visit: www.instagram.com/aerial.mindy or https://elevatedaerial.wixsite.com.
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