Today, members and guests of WorkIT were treated to a wonderful presentation from Lena Greenfield about branding yourself. She touched on how to effectively use social media and marketing based on being your genuine self, as well as how to keep it consistent and compelling.
Entrepreneurship Professor Kyle Eastham also stopped by to talk to us about the internship programs at OSU, and how they pair interns with people and businesses to cultivate success for both.
Drop by to find out when our next Lunch & Learn is, and how to attend!
Kristen Hadley loves empowering others. She loves to learn and then loves to share what she learns. Kristen started out as an entrepreneur, opening a business with her husband in 1991. Then started her own in 1995 when her students asked her if they could hire her to do the things for their businesses she was teaching them. When she saw a need for a coworking space, she created it. Many businesses, small and large, have benefited from her vision. Check out her accolades!
What is your business name? WorkIt Coworking Center (est. 2017) Payne Country Tree Service ( est. 1991 with her husband) Masters Technology Services (est. 1995)
How long have you been in business for yourself? 27 years total
What was your biggest fear when you started your business? Failure. Having to shut down because you can't pay the bills. Disappointing people.
What has surprised you the most about being in business for yourself? How super sweet the people are that I've met. That has surprised me. As a work-from-home home-school mom, from the outside looking in, business people looked fake to me. Working with them has changed my mind. They are creative and sweet.
What are some obstacles you have had to overcome as a woman in business? What do other people say to this question? I don't feel like we had any major hurdles.
What is your biggest success in business so far? The ability to work more remotely and visit family that live in really cool places. Soon, I am going on a 15-day cruise through the Panama Canal with family!
What is your current goal with your business? My goal is to get more support from big businesses so entrepreneurs can take advantage of what we have to offer here. We want to provide flawless service to our customers.
What advice would you give other women that want to enter business for themselves? Do it! Don't think twice. Get a support system.
Abby is the owner and Speech-Language Pathologist of Advanced Therapy Solutions, LLC, a private practice serving Stillwater, OK and surrounding communities. Abby graduated with her Master of Science degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Oklahoma State University. She holds her national certification from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, as well as her license to practice Speech-Language Pathology in Oklahoma. She has experience working with both adult and pediatric populations in a variety of settings. Abby has a passion for providing quality evidence-based speech, language, voice, swallowing, feeding, and cognitive therapy services. She has served diverse populations and disorders including individuals with developmental disabilities, strokes, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson’s disease, head and neck cancer, autism, and dementia. Abby thoroughly enjoys working with both the pediatric and adult populations and collaborating with caregivers and other professionals to ensure successful outcomes in therapy. In her free time she volunteers with her therapy dog, Annee, to provide comfort, companionship, and joy to individuals in a variety of settings and enjoys spending time with her husband and family outdoors.
Rebecca is a customer success, marketing, and social media engagement specialist. After graduating from OSU and landing her first management job in Stillwater in the mid-90s, she has traveled extensively lending her expertise to financial (American Express, TradeKing) and media + entertainment (Oxygen Network, ESPN, A&E Networks, Disruptor Beam) companies large and small in New York, Boston, Charlotte, Tulsa, and San Diego. Freshly relocated back to Stillwater this year to work remotely on projects from the comfort of her home office alongside her software engineer partner, she is currently the director of operations for GoShare, a transportation sharing startup based in San Diego. She continues to moonlight for large US consumer clients on an ad hoc basis as a social media engagement expert for The Social Element, a social media consulting agency in the UK.
Perusing the coworking news this month, the editor discovered people inside bright yellow shipping containers. Were they happy fugitives? They were coworking in an old warehouse, naturally. Check out this article in Treehugger by Lloyd Alter.
