Money Talks: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Business Ownership

We have brought together three incredible business owners in different stages, with different offers, and different experience.

Are you currently a women-owned business, ready to grow your business beyond you, or curious about business ownership? Bring your questions, hear experiences, share your experience, and let's connect with women-owned businesses.

Our awesome panelists:

Jessi Burg started her journey as an entrepreneur after a series of toxic work environments. She thought "surely, there has to be a way to value employees, pay a living wage, and still be able to work outside." As she built her landscaping company, Pears to Perennials, she discovered being a business owner amplified her voice and began advocating for the trades, and seasonal and gig economy works. Now launching her second business, Outgrow Your Garage, she is building that advocacy work and teaching other trades companies how to grow sustainably and equitably.

https://pearstoperennials.com/ https://outgrowyourgarage.com/

Olivia Omega. As a TEDx speaker, diversity and inclusion advocate, and branding strategist, Olivia Omega is the co-founder at Wallace Marketing Group, and the author of Beautifully Branded: The Girl’s Guide to Understanding the Anatomy of Brand You. Olivia is also the Founder Track Chair for Denver Startup Week, helping the world’s largest free entrepreneurial event strengthen its diversity, equity, and inclusion muscle.

With 20 years of corporate branding, advertising, and digital marketing experience, Olivia has studied the importance of authenticity for both brands and individuals, and what it means to show up in a genuine way.

Half of her career was spent in corporate at an advertising agency and the other 10 years as an entrepreneur and small business owner. Personal brand identity and authentic expression of ones’ unique individuality played a large role in both career paths.

Olivia has influenced the global brands of Frito Lay, Pepsi, and Starbucks among others. She is a mom, wife, disco ball enthusiast, and has been featured in USA Today, Entrepreneur, Business Week, People, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Olivia graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder Leeds School of Business and currently lives outside of Denver, CO.

http://oliviaomega.com/ http://wallacemarketinggroup.com/

Erika Righter is a social worker-turned small business owner. She has worked in foster care, rural social work, and with older adults. In 2012, Erika founded Hope Tank, a community space and gift store that gives back. She uses retail to connect the over 40,000 customers who come into Hope Tank every year, to justice-focused organizations and groups doing important work in our community. She consults with for-profits and nonprofits to identify their values and to put those into actions and how to message that to their clients, customers, donors, and investors.

In response to the constant calls she receives for small business referrals from her network, Erika started an inclusive business directory in 2017 called The Hope Slinger’s Guide, which is searchable by the identities of the business owner(s), and this allows people to spend their dollars with intention both for products and services. Erika is also a solo Mom to two young children, and is often referred to as "The Hope Lady," a moniker she embraces and leverages to connect with people of all ages and stages!

https://hopetank.org/ https://www.hopeslingersguide.com/

This is a free event for members and not-yet-members!