I Built the Table I Needed: The Story Behind Legacy Woman

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For a long time, I was looking for a table.

Not a physical table, but a place where I could sit with women who understood what it meant to build something while still becoming the woman God was calling you to be.

I wanted mentorship.

I wanted women I could ask real questions about business, leadership, faith, motherhood, purpose, and life.

I wanted collaboration instead of competition.

I wanted to be able to say, “I don’t know how to do this. Can you help me?” And I wanted another woman to be able to come to me and say the same thing.

The problem was, I couldn’t always find those spaces.

And when I did find certain communities, conferences, masterminds, or mentorship opportunities, sometimes I simply couldn’t afford to be in the room.

I remember thinking: There have to be other women who feel the same way.

Women with ideas.

Women with businesses.

Women with gifts.

Women who love God.

Women who are trying to grow but don’t necessarily have thousands of dollars to spend just to have access to community, information, or the right connections.

Eventually, I stopped waiting to find the perfect table.

I decided to build one.

That’s Why I Started Legacy Woman

Legacy Woman didn’t start because I had everything figured out.

It started because I had a need.

I wanted a community where women could give, receive, collaborate, and grow.

If you know something that could help me, teach me.

If I know something that could help you, I’ll teach you.

If another woman has a resource you need, let’s make the introduction.

If you’ve been through something another woman is currently walking through, share your story.

Nobody has to become smaller for another woman to become greater.

That was the kind of table I wanted.

And that’s what I started building.

Then Something Beautiful Happened

What started from something I personally needed began helping other women too.

Over the years, Legacy Woman has grown beyond an idea.

We’ve gathered in person. We’ve had conversations. We’ve created events. We’ve connected women with resources and with one another.

I’ve watched women come into the community needing direction and leave with a connection, an idea, encouragement, or someone who could help them take their next step.

And as leaders, we’ve had opportunities to mentor and pour into women within our community.

That’s when I realized:

Sometimes the solution you build for yourself becomes the answer someone else was praying for.

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But I’m Learning Something New About Leadership

This part of the story is still happening.

As Legacy Woman has grown, I’ve found myself becoming one of the people doing the pouring.

Answering questions.

Making connections.

Creating opportunities.

Encouraging someone else to keep going.

And I love that responsibility.

But recently I’ve had to ask myself:

Who is pouring into me?

Because being the person who built the table doesn’t mean I suddenly know everything.

I’m still growing.

I’m still building businesses.

I’m still learning leadership.

I’m still becoming.

And I still need women who are further ahead than I am.

I need women who have lived through seasons I haven’t experienced yet. Women I can ask questions. Women who can challenge my thinking. Women who can tell me what they learned from their mistakes.

Recently, sitting with women who have years of experience ahead of me reminded me how much I need that.

I wasn’t there just to teach or give.

I was there to receive.

And that felt good.

Leaders Need Tables Too

I’m beginning to understand that healthy community shouldn’t only flow in one direction.

There will be seasons when you’re pouring.

There will be seasons when you’re receiving.

Sometimes you’re the mentor.

Sometimes you’re the student.

Sometimes you’re making the introduction.

Sometimes you’re the one who desperately needs someone to make an introduction for you.

There is room for all of it.

I don’t want Legacy Woman to become a place where leadership means pretending you’ve arrived.

I want women to see the process.

The becoming.

The mistakes.

The lessons.

The pivots.

The questions.

The growth.

Because that’s real life.

I Realized I’ve Done This Before

The funny thing is, Legacy Woman isn’t the first thing I built because I needed it.

Photography has a similar story.

Growing up, I didn’t have many pictures of myself.

Later in life, there were seasons when hiring a photographer wasn’t something I could afford.

Eventually, I picked up the camera.

What started from something missing in my own story became something I could provide for someone else’s.

And when I look at my life now, I see the pattern:

I have a habit of building what I once needed.

Maybe that’s part of my assignment.

What Problem Are You Waiting for Someone Else to Solve?

Maybe you’ve been waiting for someone to invite you.

Maybe you’ve been trying to get into a particular room.

Maybe you’re looking for a community that doesn’t exist yet.

Maybe there’s a service you desperately wish someone offered.

Maybe there’s a ministry you wish existed.

Maybe there’s a business idea sitting inside a frustration you’ve experienced personally.

What if the absence isn’t only something to complain about?

What if it’s showing you what you’re supposed to build?

That doesn’t mean we stop learning from people who came before us. I’m learning the exact opposite.

Build your table and sit at tables where you can learn.

Pour into others and find people who can pour into you.

Teach what you know and remain humble enough to admit what you don’t.

We’re Still Building

Legacy Woman today isn’t exactly what it was when we started.

And I don’t want it to be.

As I look back at our earlier gatherings and compare them to where we are now, I can see the growth—and I can also see how much more there is to build.

So I’m going to start sharing more of that journey.

Why we started.

What worked.

What didn’t.

The women we’ve met.

The lessons I’ve learned as a founder.

The behind-the-scenes moments nobody sees.

And what we’re building next.

Because I don’t want you to only see the finished event, the beautiful pictures, or the announcement flyer.

I want you to see the becoming.

Legacy Woman was born because one woman needed a table.

Now my prayer is that we continue building a table where many women can find what they need—and eventually turn around and make room for someone else.

Build what you needed.

Pour into who you can.

Receive when it’s your turn.

And always leave another chair at the table.

— Esther

Founder, Legacy Woman