IWD406 | Montana Women’s Visibility Platform

We’re officially launching on Substack 🤍 Welcome to IWD406— a storytelling, promotional, and editorial platform created to amplify Montana women and document what’s happening here in real time. This Substack is your front-row seat. You will get sneak peaks into our upcoming Digital Magazine and pending launch. We’re building a new digital publication that will live on our website, and this space is where we’re inviting you in early—to see it take shape, evolve, and grow with intention. ✨ On Substack, you’ll find: • First looks at what we’re building • Early previews of stories and features • Behind-the-scenes insight into the IWD406 platform • Editorial reflections on women, work, community, and visibility in Montana This isn’t just content—it’s community. A place to witness, support, and celebrate Montana women as they create impact in real time. If you’ve ever wondered who is doing what here, and why it matters—this is for you. Welcome to IWD406. We’re so glad you’re here. 🤍 #IWD406 #MontanaWomen #WomenSupportingWomen #MontanaStories #SubstackLaunch

Community Spotlight | IWD406 IWD406 is a Montana-based storytelling and media platform amplifying the voices of women shaping business, culture, community, and leadership across the state through podcasts, editorial features, and digital publication. As part of our platform, we regularly feature Community Spotlights to highlight women, businesses, and community builders who are showing up and supporting others across Montana. If you tag @IWD406 in your posts or stories, we may reshare your content to help amplify your voice, strengthen brand authority, and extend the reach of your message. This is one way we build visibility, connection, and community—together.

What type of Montana Hat Girl are you?

Sometimes the lesson is… hire the professional. 😂 While attempting to create content for our very first Builder’s Table segment on the IWD406 Podcast @theiwd406podcast with Sarah Gould of Elevated Advisory & Accounting, we quickly realized something important: Just because you can do everything in business… doesn’t mean you should. And honestly? ✅That is exactly why conversations like this matter. Need support with financial management? Trying to understand your financial identity as a business owner? Feeling overwhelmed by pricing, risk, leadership, or how to sustainably grow? You are not alone. In our 3-part Builder’s Table series, Sarah Gould breaks down the real conversations many women are having behind closed doors when it comes to business finances, confidence, decision making, and leadership. We discuss: • Financial identity Pricing traps women often face • Risk and growth • Leadership pressure • Feeling supported in business • Why asking for help is a strength, not a weakness These conversations are designed to help women feel less isolated, more informed, and more understood while building businesses in Montana and beyond. Connect with Sarah Gould and the team at Elevated Advisory & Accounting @elevatedadvisory if you are looking for guidance and support for your business journey. And stay tuned… because this is only the beginning of what we are building through the IWD406 Podcast and upcoming online magazine. Real conversations. Real women. Real business building. #IWD406 #BuildersTable #WomenInBusiness MontanaBusiness WomenWhoBuild FinancialLeadership MontanaWomen WomenSupportingWomen BusinessGrowth StorytellingMatter

If I only had one week left to live… I would choose to show up fully. I would choose connection over distraction.Presence over perfection.Meaning over noise. I would honor women’s stories.Pay respect to sacred wisdom passed from one woman to another.Give thanks to the spaces that bring women together to laugh, heal, create, and belong. I would support small businesses not out of obligation, but because they are built from someone’s courage, sacrifice, heart, and dream. I would want my support to be a testament to their value. I would choose to be a soft place to land for my children.To laugh louder.To admire joy in others instead of competing with it.To tell people I appreciate them while they are still here to hear it. And if possible…I would try to make at least one less person feel lonely in this world. Because maybe a meaningful life is not measured by how much we gained…But by how deeply we loved, supported, connected, and showed up for others while we were here. So tell me…If you only had one week left to live… what would you choose? #IWD406 #MontanaWomen #WomenSupportingWomen #StorytellingMatters #MontanaLife CommunityOverCompetition WomenWhoBuild LiveWithIntention ConnectionMatters

Living in Montana is a strange mix of breathtaking views, survival skills, emotional support coffee, gravel roads, tourists stopping traffic for wildlife, and pretending 50° feels tropical after winter 😭 But honestly… we still wouldn’t trade it. Montana has its own culture, quirks, chaos, beauty, and unspoken understanding that somehow makes us all stay. From mud season to smoke season to glacier traffic and potholes that could end a relationship — this state builds character. So let’s hear it… What’s your biggest Montana “ick” that somehow still makes you laugh? 👀⬇️ #MontanaLife #OnlyInMontana #MontanaHumor #LivingInMontana #MontanaWomen MontanaReels SmallTownMontana MontanaCommunity IWD406

We are having real conversations on the IWD406 Podcast. Our Builder’s Table segment, featured both on the podcast and in the upcoming IWD406 Anthology publication, is centered around what it truly takes to strategically grow with the right people around you. Because building a brand with depth, integrity, and character does not happen alone. It requires community. It requires support. It requires wisdom. And it requires discernment about who you build beside. Having been part of a family-owned business that has grown for more than 60 years, I have seen firsthand the importance of protecting your people, valuing relationships, sharing experience, and helping others rise when there is alignment and mutual respect. The strongest brands are not built through transactions alone. They are built through trust, consistency, loyalty, and an exchange of energy where people genuinely want to see each other succeed. At Builder’s Table we are talking about: • protecting your brand • building with people who have been there and done that • mentorship and shared wisdom • navigating growth with integrity • community support systems • and what it looks like to stand tall in your vision while building something meaningful These are the conversations happening behind the scenes of successful businesses, organizations, and communities — and we believe more women deserve access to them. This is more than promotion. This is about building legacy, connection, and stronger foundations together. Time to have great conversations that matter to Montanans. 🩷

Raised by an Indigenous mother with deep family roots in Montana, Suzanne Sutton joins us at The Gathering Table for a powerful conversation on generational impact, family, identity, and healing. From discussing the lasting effects boarding schools had on Indigenous families and communities… to navigating motherhood, adult relationships, and becoming the kind of grandparent who supports and respects the families the next generation chooses to build — this is a conversation filled with wisdom, reflection, and heart. These are the conversations many women are already having quietly behind closed doors. At IWD406, we believe those conversations matter. Coming soon to The Gathering Table on the IWD406 Podcast and featured in the upcoming IWD406 Anthology — our evolving online magazine created to bring real Montana women, real perspectives, and meaningful storytelling to life. We are not stopping.We are building with women who are willing to have real conversations about real life in Montana. Topics like: • Navigating holistic care for children in Montana • Raising families in changing communities • Building connection in places that often feel divided • Relationships, identity, motherhood, healing and belonging We’d love to hear from you —What conversations do YOU think women in Montana are craving space to have?

Psyche. I’m not going anywhere 🎙️ Matter of fact… we’re building something bigger. A space where real conversations come to life. Where podcasts blend into editorial storytelling. Where women can speak honestly about the things often discussed quietly behind closed doors. Marriage. Friendships. Motherhood. Building businesses. Loneliness. Healing. Identity. Purpose. The beauty and tension of being a woman in today’s world. IWD406 is becoming a platform for women, by women. A place where storytelling matters in Montana. And we’re just getting started. Join me for upcoming episodes, magazine interviews, cover features, builders table, gathering table, breaking bread, legacy files and find your vibe. All things coming soon!

Sometimes all it takes is one person seeing something in you before you fully see it in yourself. In this clip from the IWD406 Podcast, Jo Smith shares the moment her path shifted — from leaving her band to finding new direction in the music industry with the support and encouragement of Luke Bryan. What followed wasn’t just opportunity… it was connection, mentorship, guidance, and people willing to open doors while she continued doing the work to grow into who she was becoming. That’s why storytelling matters here in Montana. Behind every founder, artist, builder, creator, and dreamer is often someone who said: “I believe in you.” Mentorship matters. Community matters. And building with people who want to see you rise matters. At IWD406 we believe these conversations create ripple effects — reminding women that their stories, pivots, risks, and resilience have purpose. Who is someone that helped you find your way or believed in you when you needed it most? ↓ #IWD406 #JoSmith #MontanaWomen #WomenWhoBuild #StorytellingMatters #MentorshipMatters #WomenSupportingWomen #MontanaMusic #CommunityOverCompetition #theiwd406podcast

Allow me to reintroduce myself… My name is Julie Walz. Over the years I have worn many hats — mom, dog mom, interviewer, mentor, sales and marketing professional, radio personality, event organizer, community builder, teammate, promoter, and storyteller. And honestly… I have loved learning through every season of it. But at the core of who I am, I believe I am someone called to connect people, hear their stories, and create spaces where women feel seen, heard, and valued. That is what IWD406 was built from. A platform designed to bring visibility to women wearing many hats in Montana — the founders, builders, leaders, mothers, creatives, visionaries, and the women behind the scenes quietly getting it done every single day. We are building more than a podcast. More than events. More than networking. We are building a storytelling and media platform rooted in connection, visibility, and meaningful conversations that amplify the impact women are making across Montana. From intentional events and community gatherings, to expert-level podcast interviews, to our upcoming online publication featuring real stories and perspectives from Montana women — this is only the beginning. If you have been here for a while, thank you. If you are new here, welcome. We are glad you found us. Learn more about our events, podcast, and what we are building at Thank you to @mokki_mt @iron_hawk_crossfit @theivelement.project @whitefishchamberofcommerce @mountainsidelodging_retreats All featured and given me a platform to do my thing😉

We are not just hosting events. We are building connection. We are creating opportunity. We are making space for women’s stories to be told, heard, and remembered. This next stretch of IWD406 reflects exactly that. We have built social share pods on Instagram to help women support one another online. This boost visibility and increases engagement. If you would like to join our Social Share Amp Pods- comment ➡️ JOIN below This week at The Gathering Table on the IWD406 Podcast @theiwd406podcast , we sit down with Suzanne Sutton @agentlemenfarmerswife for a conversation on Mothering in Montana—what it looks like to raise children, step into grandmotherhood, and navigate the evolution of family across generations. We are also launching our first Builder’s Table on the IWD406 Podcast @theiwd406podcast with Sarah Gould of Elevated Advisory & Accounting @elevatedadvisory —bringing real conversation around finances, strategy, and how women founders can lead with clarity. This conversation will extend into our upcoming IWD406 Anthology as part of something much bigger we are building. Coming soon on the IWD406 Podcast—Episode 63 with Aubrie Lorona, co-owner of Swan Mountain Outfitters. @swanmountainoutfitters This is a story of legacy. Of building experiences that millions of people from around the world have stepped into—from Glacier National Park @glaciernps trail rides to hunting, alpaca, snowmobiling, and more. And we continue to bring women together in real life with our Meet & Greet featuring Dale Marie Muller @dalemariemuller —an intentionally curated experience, limited to 25 women, designed for meaningful connection. We will be at @firebrandwhitefish If you’ve been looking for a way to get involved, this is your moment. We are actively building: • The IWD406 online magazine (ground-level contributors) • The Builder’s Table (women with expertise to share) on the IWD406 Podcast • The Gathering Table (real perspectives on building life in Montana) on the IWD406 Podcast If you have a voice, a story, or a niche in business—we want to hear from you. Join us or learn more at iwd406.com This is more than content. This is connection. This is IWD406. 🌲