Three and a half years ago, Laura launched Sisterhood with one intention: bring women together. Twenty women showed up on day one. Today the community has 7,500 women across Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
We sat down with Laura to hear how it grew, what she's learned about leading a community, and her advice for anyone thinking about starting one or showing up to one.
Who are you, and what group do you run?
I'm Laura, the founder of Sisterhood, which started three and a half years ago.
When I started it, I had no idea what it was going to become. I had an intention to bring women together. From 20 women showing up on our launch day, it's now 7,500 women across a variety of cities, from all walks of life.
I love that it doesn't matter your age, your background, or what you do for a living. The different personalities that come together create such a beautiful space.
What does a Sisterhood event look like?
This year I took the community on as my full-time commitment. With all that time and space, I started building out all these fun events: dinner dates, co-working spaces for women in business, hiking trips, coffee and connects every Friday, and Pilates on the beach.
I realised these are all the ways I like to spend my time. I get to meet other women who love what I love and experience life the way I like to experience it. Selfishly, I get to enjoy that, but it spreads through the community too, as I watch other women connect over a shared experience.
How did Sisterhood start, and what inspired it?
I was honestly craving community. I wanted to be connected with a group of women who didn't just want friendship, but also wanted to empower, support, and uplift each other. In a world where we're so connected to our laptops and phones, sometimes we lose the power of proximity, and of actually building something with the people around us.
One of my best friends said to me: "Laura, if you're ever going to do anything in life, build the thing that you would want to experience. Don't build something because you think it's what everybody else wants. Make sure it's something you actually care about and are passionate about, because then you get to love every day of your life."
Can you share a moment where Sisterhood really impacted someone?
What excites me most is the power of connection that happens here. Over the last couple of years, two women who had never met before an event have connected and gone off to build businesses together, or start podcasts together. Women find their lifelong friends in spaces like this.
You can't plan that stuff. We hold the space and plan the events, but the magic actually happens in the room, because the unexpected takes place.
Has running Sisterhood changed anything for you personally?
The biggest lesson this community has taught me is the power of letting go of control. For years I built businesses on my own. As soon as we started Sisterhood, so many women came in wanting to support, help, and grow it with me. Letting go of feeling like I had to do it all myself was the saving grace of Sisterhood.
It humbled me. Sometimes in life you feel like you know so much, then you meet someone with so much more wisdom in different areas. Bringing that wisdom in has been a godsend for the business and the community, and it's helped us grow into other cities.
How have you made Sisterhood feel so welcoming?
It's felt quite effortless, because we set the intention from day one. Our mantra on day one was that this space is for women to feel seen, loved, heard, and understood in all that they are. That means not bringing judgment into the space, and accepting people for their unique, beautiful selves, just as we need to accept that about ourselves.
As women keep showing up, they become the foundation and share that energy with the next women who arrive. That energy has carried through from the start, and it's what holds this whole community together.
What would you share with other organisers or locals?
Build leadership into your community. For the first year, it was just me and one other woman building it together. In the second year, I set the intention of building leadership within the community. I didn't know what that would look like, but I trusted that women would come in wanting to step up. And they did. One woman started a run club because she was passionate about getting women moving and active in nature. Because we have a leadership team, women now run their own events within Sisterhood, and we've been able to grow so much more.
If you feel a nudge to build something, act on it. Building something from scratch, or having the courage to put it out there, can be daunting. But if it genuinely lights you up, trust that feeling. Don't let the "can I, can't I?" stories get in the way.
If you're thinking of showing up, what's the worst that can happen? We worry about who we'll meet, whether we'll make friends, whether we'll fit in. But as long as you show up as you, you'll naturally attract the people meant to be in your world, and maybe your lifelong friends. You honestly have nothing to lose.