SALISBURY — A group of women wearing varying shades of green, offsetting a gray and cold afternoon, gathered in a room on South Main Street Saturday afternoon for networking, for sharing a meal and for building each other up.

The Next Level Connections Brunch is the second such event organized by Monifa Angle, a branding expert who, at 28, said she wants to give back to her community by helping them connect resources, building confidence and helping people “level up.”

Though Angle is quiet and considers herself a behind-the-scenes person, she does believe women need to speak up and speak out, and she believes that women entrepreneurs especially can benefit from connecting. She has been connecting women through events for several years, but wants the Connections Brunch to be an annual event.

The event is free but registration is required and all the slots for this year were filled, Angle said. Several vendors were invited to share their wares and a late afternoon brunch was offered, but the biggest part of the 1-4 p.m. event was the guest speakers.

Four independent, strong and encouraging women were invited to share their stories with the group, and as the time passed, the energy in the room kept going up.

Two therapists, Tara White and Lanesha Ramos, both encouraged everyone to not only understand the benefits of therapy but to take ownership of it.

Asked how people can choose the best therapist for their needs, Ramos reminded everyone that “you can fire a therapist, you are not bound to them.” Do some research, read their biographies and ask questions. Get to know them and if the relationship is not working for you, move on.

“I want to help bring awareness and acceptance of mental health,” she added. “For some, they are trying to protect the family name and they think therapy is somehow a negative mark against them.”

But there should be no shame in seeking help for one’s mental health and well being, any more than seeking help for one’s physical well being.

Ramos specializes in working with adults and with those who have experienced trauma and she did say that she lets her clients know that as they begin to work through trauma, they can have times of depression or worsening sadness.

“But that is the working through so you can get to the other side and reclaim your health and well being,” she said. There are also often physical symptoms that accompany mental health issues — insomnia and a desire to sleep all the time can both be side effects, as can either no appetite or overeating. Isolation is another issue that can arise.

“But if you put in the work, you get back to the person you truly are meant to be,” she said. Asked about how to know when children need a therapist’s help, she said that “teenagers will usually tell you.”

Several audience members commented that they have had difficulty finding therapists to work with young children, and Ramos and White said to seek out therapists trained in “play therapy.”

White is trained in just that, she noted, and said it is a different approach for younger children who express their feelings often through action more than words.

For adults, White agreed that self work and self love are essential to success, as is preparation. As a professional, she said “getting equipped for your work” is just as important as the work, because it lays the groundwork for a good job.

“Preparation time is never lost time,” she said. “If you have ever baked a cake and had it sink the middle, you know what I’m talking about. That place where it sinks in is called a sad streak and it happens because the butter and sugar are not creamed together enough at the start to distribute the air bubbles fully, and so the cake falls. It’s important to complete each step in the process fully.”

She also said that for those who want to start or who have already started their own business, it is important to remember that “it costs to be the boss.” The weight of the assignment means saying yes to it, but it also means accepting that there are going to be challenges and negativities, and you must be prepared to work through them.

“When I seek advice, I want to talk to the leader who has been through hell and back and survived and who can then teach me how to do it,” she added.

Having a coach to help you as you are creating a business or building a business is a tremendous benefit, she said, and it is important to make sure that person is someone you can trust and rely on.

“Not one of those people who swear they’ll never leave you, then three months down the road they’re gone,” she said. “You need someone who can maintain confidentiality and who can also love and accept you as you are.”

Laretta Angle followed as the prime example of the business woman who put all the suggestions Ramos and White made.

“I want to tell you how I went from making $7.25 an hour to making millions,” she said, “but I’m going to try to keep it short.”

She runs Angels at Heart Homecare and several assisted living facilities in Rowan County, including one that she purchased in China Grove that opened Jan. 1.

Just out of high school, she said her mother laid down the law. She needed to find something to do. Her mother worked in a doctor’s office and had friends in the assisted living work world, and Laretta got an interview at an assisted living facility. Not only did she get the job, but within 90 days she was a lead caregiver supervisor in charge of every other caregiver. Seven months later, she took the job of the woman who initially hired her, and a year later, she was the assistant administrator in charge of the entire facility.

She met her husband and got married but stayed on her career track, meeting with the Veteran’s Administration and getting hired as the first medical foster home in Rowan County.

“When I opened my first group home, I was still working at my job because I like to live well,” she laughed. And in the midst of opening the group home, she was saved. She had always had a relationship with God, but it reached a point where she became convinced it was time to make the final leap and devote herself to God.

“And God told me he wanted to me to open a home care agency,” she said. “I told him I don’t know anything about running that kind of business, but I researched it. And people shot me down, which made me determined to do it.” She brought her mom in with her and Jan. 1 marked 12 years in the home care business.

She spotted an assisted living facility in China Grove that was for sale, and initially her husband said he was not interested. But, one day they drove by and he decided to stop and take a look and she knew “God was working again.” The facility reopened under their ownership this month.

Wrapping up presentations was Shavonne Potts, a local magistrate and a former reporter for the Salisbury Post who is also a personal finance coach who explained how to make sure one has the financial means to start and maintain both personal financial health and a profitable business.

She operates on what she calls the LIFT framework, which is a way to “elevate your life, your finances and your dreams.”

So many, she said, think that they can’t move forward with their dreams because they are locked in to their 9-5 jobs, “but you need to leverage that job to make connections and open doors,” she said. “Use that job as a launch pad.”

She pointed out that investing in education is also a critical point, and that much of the training and education is free.

“A lot of libraries, including Rowan Public Library, offer online courses for free, all you need is a library card,” she said. She  listed numerous programs available that not only provide training but in many cases certifications.

The LIFT program is a step by step process, including learning where you stand, investing in yourself and your goals, finding the breakthrough and taking action.

“Look hard at your finances. You can’t change what you’re not willing to face. And your finances should reflect what you value most.” If necessary, track every single penny you spend for one week, then review what you’ve spent and decide what can go, and what should stay.

“To begin, set one small, achievable goal this month,” she said. “And when you achieve it, celebrate it, because you want to create that pattern, and that encourages you.”

Taking action elevates you to the next level, she said, and it has a ripple effect on everyone around you, creating a positive environment.

Host Daquondra Cuthbertson, digital creator and confidence coach, said she was thrilled when Angle invited her to host the event from the start, but by the end of the day, she was “excited about the lessons I’ve learned here. I’ve been running my business wrong, I think, but now I know how to get it really going.”

“I just had a vision of connections,” said Angle. “One connection can change the course of your life. If that happens for even one person here today, that’s success.”