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This Is Entrepreneurship: Chelsie Walter on Putting Empathy to Work

We cap off our series with our very own, Chelsie Walter, executive director and co-founder of Women of Cincy. Chelsie talks about how this idea to capture a few inspiring stories grew into a volunteer-driven media outlet that has published nearly 400 stories in just three years. She shares how she’s dealt with this rapid growth, a global pandemic that sent the organization into a tailspin, and how she stays committed to the Women of Cincy mission by keeping empathy at the heart of everything she does.

This is Entrepreneurship: Dr. Grace Kerr on Perseverance and Making Cincinnati Smile

It was a bit surreal walking into an empty waiting room at Grace Kerr Orthodontics. Usually full of teenagers trying not to make eye contact, COVID had rendered it – like so many places – quiet and bare. But it was the perfect backdrop to talk with Dr. Grace Kerr about her thriving orthodontics practice.

This Is Entrepreneurship: Melis Aydoğan on Turning Passion into a Business

We connected virtually with Melis Aydoğan, founder of the Turkish coffee brand, Rüya – “bold coffee for the immigrant dream.” In fact, Rüya means “dream” in Turkish. It’s aptly named as Melis does more than make a tasty source of caffeine. She creates community connections, pushes herself and others to dream big, and is a strong voice for immigrant families, such as her own.

September 2020, This is Entrepreneurship, EntrepreneurshipMichaela RawsthornSeptember 4, 2020Community Mix

This is Entrepreneurship: Christina Davis on Time Management and Family Roots

Sitting in her car between errands, Cristina Davis, C.E.O. of Davis Cookie Collection, shared her journey to entrepreneurship. Although our interview was virtual, I could feel her energy and excitement about her business and the forthcoming opening of her first brick-and-mortar store through the screen. I knew instantly that this is a woman who can successfully juggle many roles: business owner, baker, mother, wife, mentor, community leader. Whether describing how to make it work as a wife/husband team or how she thinks up her next cookie recipe, Christina shows how her creativity and perseverance make it possible to live her dreams.

This Is Entrepreneurship: Barb Smith on Sticking to Values and Pivoting During COVID

Meet Barb Smith, co-founder and president of Journey Steel. She is the living embodiment of Journey Steel’s motto: “We build and support dreams.” Barb spoke with us via videoconference about the values upon which she built her company and how she kept it afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic by sticking to those values. She also talked about what it’s like leading in a male-dominated sector as a Black woman.

This Is Entrepreneurship: Christine Fisher on Managing a Start-Up Through COVID-19

We talked with Christine in late April about what it’s like to manage a company through a crisis (or two) with two young boys, a husband, and a dog in her immediate space. With characteristic candor and compassion, we learned not only about the struggles she and her colleagues are facing, but she talks first-hand about the struggles of the families, teachers, and school systems who are Possip users.

This Is Entrepreneurship: Tia Rochelle on Preparing for the Loss of Benefits

We sat down with Tia back in February at First Financial Bank to talk about the toll that planning, organizing, and prioritizing for others took on her mental, emotional, and physical health. And, more specifically, she talked to us about how she prepared for the loss of the corporate benefits she and her family relied on – healthcare, life insurance, employee assistance – as she prepared to leave a secure corporate job for the journey of entrepreneurship.

This Is Entrepreneurship: Rachel DesRochers on Guilt

You have everything inside of you to do whatever you feel like you're put on this earth to do, but you have to start. You have to take that first step; you have to try. You have to break away from the fear, which is terribly hard because you're going to fail. You're going to be laden with guilt because you've messed something up, or you've mixed up days and you've missed something. Or, you could not.

This Is Entrepreneurship: Lisa Sloane on Establishing Credibility

On a chilly winter afternoon, we grabbed a latte at blaCk Coffee Lounge with Lisa Sloane, founder and C.E.O. of More Inclusive Healthcare. Lisa talked with us about her work improving the health of our country, and about how to establish your credibility at tables where you may not be invited to sit. She also gave some sage advice about staying true to yourself and your values, even with a quarter-million dollars on the line.

This Is Entrepreneurship: Jackie Roberto on Family

Sitting down to interview a female business owner on how she balances work and family is a little daunting. There’s the obvious question: Would we even be having this discussion if she were a man? And, how do we not make it sound like a version of the book I Don’t Know How She Does It – part awe and part comedy? Talking with Jackie Roberto, founder and partner of Madison Design, the importance of having these authentic conversations becomes clear. Over a glass of wine (but, of course) at Hotel Covington, Jackie candidly shares how she creates space for herself, her family, and her business. Sometimes it’s rocky; sometimes it’s smooth. But it’s all worth it.

Entrepreneurship, February 2020, This is EntrepreneurshipJudy ZitnikJanuary 31, 2020Community Mix

This Is Entrepreneurship: Katie Taylor on Building the Right Team

Katie Taylor knew right away that she needed to surround herself with the right people if her business, Untold Content, was going to survive the early stages of growth – as her family grew, too. We sat down with Katie at Iris Book Cafe in O.T.R. not long after the start of the school year to talk about how she built her team, how she finds the right fit, and how they’ve grown together over the past three years.

This is Entrepreneurship: Sew Valley’s Rosie Kovacs

The name “Rosie” just insists on optimism, and Rosie Kovacs was aptly named, for sure. She embodies entrepreneurial determination and a pure force of will to create opportunities and get things done. The C.E.O. of Sew Valley co-founded the nonprofit company in 2017, alongside C.O.O. Shailah Maynard, with the goal of bringing resources to apparel designers and entrepreneurs. The journey, of course, was anything but predictable. She shared with us the ups and downs of stepping away from her and life partner, Hayes’, venture, Brush Factory; the good, the bad, and the ugly that is the fashion industry; and more.

This Is Entrepreneurship: Sherry Sims on Mentorship

Sherry Sims went looking for a mentor early in her career. She was ready to grow and make moves, but she struggled to find someone who could help guide her.

This Is Entrepreneurship: Postwell’s Jess Kerr

Some entrepreneurs have everything planned out, and when the time comes, they’re ready. As we sit in a tiny Oakley duplex surrounded by stacks of pads, perineal sprays, sitz, and more, Jess Kerr tells us she was not one of those entrepreneurs.

The postwell journey started with a moment of frustration on behalf of a friend struggling through postpartum recovery. What came next can only be explained through the perfect storm of a viral internet story, a stack of plain white boxes, and a woman determined to solve a problem.

This Is Entrepreneurship: Cloverleaf’s Kirsten Moorefield

Kirsten Moorefield never intended to start a tech company. Yet here she is, the co-founder and C.O.O. of Cloverleaf, an H.R. tech platform that allows individuals and employees to be their best selves both at work and at home. She sat down with us at Rhinegeist Brewery – back where it all began in 2015 – to chat about her journey as a tech entrepreneur; the many, many challenges along the way; finding her support network; and what it means to be a female leader in this space.

This Is Entrepreneurship: Originalitees’ Khisha Asubuhi

My favorite people are those who tell it like it is, and Khisha Asubuhi is no exception. At 5’11’’, she’s fierce inside and out, but she’s as real as it gets, and you find yourself instantly at home chatting with her. We sat down with the owner of Originalitees just a few weeks after the company celebrated 10 years in business to chat about Khisha’s journey of entrepreneurship, dreams for the future, and being more than “just a T-shirt shop.”

This is Entrepreneurship: Catherine Manabat and Julia Petiprin of Homemaker’s Bar

Neon lights. Bright stripes. Smashed fine china. Every detail of Homemaker’s Bar draws you in and tells a story. We sat down with co-owners Catherine Manabat and Julia Petiprin approximately one month after the bar’s opening to chat about what it’s like to be a woman in the hospitality industry, the highs and lows of entrepreneurship, and how two L.A. ladies ended up falling in love with Cincinnati.