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My son’s much loved night-time story is Julia Donaldson’s tale about a snail and her adventures on a ‘great big, grey-blue humpback whale’. And as I sat on Anthropologie’s gorgeous sofa slap-bang in the middle of their Kings Road store last Wednesday night, I was reminded of a few lines:

And she gazed at the sky, the sea, the land,

The waves and the caves and the golden sand,

She gazed and gazed, amazed by it all,

And she said to the whale, “I feel so small.”

This was 10 minutes before Hub Dot’s third anniversary celebrations began. I had been helping the team put some last minute preparations together and was jotting down some ideas when I became overwhelmed by the enormity of the evening ahead. Our third anniversary. And then. How utterly small and insignificant I felt in comparison to it all.

The snail felt helpless and terribly small.

Over three years, 17,000 women have shared stories with us, stories as vast as the sea and sky around. If each of those one-minute stories were to be heard in succession that night, we’d be in Anthropologie for 24 days. We’d be there now, only on day six. I’d have maxed my credit cards on tableware and living accessories by day two.

And having ‘felt helpless and terribly small’, as the marvelous night progressed there I was in the thick of it, chatting, laughing, crying and meeting some marvelous new friends and creative companions. No longer was I the bleached blonde marketing notepad woman. I felt involved and inspired. I was, as was everyone around me, enjoying every moment. And Hub Dot events are like that. It’s the Dot Alchemy. It gets you every time.

From our blog over the last week you’ll have read some of the amazing stories shared that night. No one will forget Denise’s heartfelt wisdom ‘Be proud of the person you are’. Or Nicole’s and Josephine’s energy that had us all dancing. Brigitte’s phenomenal work on depression ‘Looking for the sunshine. Coz I ain’t seen that bitch in a long time’. How Sajda turned her experience of 7/7 into hope for future generations. And I’ll never forget our reaction to Lee’s inspirational cake moment ‘Cake…We are programmed to believe “We can’t have the cake and eat it” WELL THATS ABSURD, WHY BOTHER BAKING IN THE FIRST PLACE?’.

Each story was unique and yet only one small part of each storyteller’s life. Over the coming weeks, we’ve a heap more to share - some videos, photos, drawings, a whole world of quotes and if you read them and think you’re ‘terribly small’. You’d be wrong.

As Simona, Hub Dot’s CEO (Chief Energy Officer), said on the night, ‘What is your ordinary is someone else’s extraordinary.’ A sticking point in your life maybe someone else’s catalyst. Or vice versa.

Working on Hub Dot’s marketing I often get asked by journalists, ‘In 10 seconds, just 10 seconds tell me what Hub Dot is – are you a women’s’ networking forum, an inspirational blog, a digital platform for female entrepreneurs? Tell me is it something to do with mums? What is it? You’ve got 10 seconds… tell me!’. When in fact it’s all these things. And more. Hub Dot is what each of us wants it to be at any point in time. For me, sometimes its about my story, or a part of it, sometimes it’s about being a part of another woman’s journey and even though I still have those ‘I’m so small’ moments, they’re not a bad thing. They are my ‘get ready for some Dot Alchemy’ moments. Hub Dot has made me realise that I, like every other woman is truly capable of many great things. Together.

Next anniversary maybe we should invite Julia Donaldson to read ‘The snail and the whale’. The well-known children’s book on women’s networking…or is it a literary platform for female entrepreneurs or something to do with mums in creativity…or snails.

Then the humpback whale

Held out his tail

And on crawled snail after snail after snail

And they sang to the sea as they all set sail

On the tail of the grey-blue humpback whale.