Last year I, Jordan Smith, jumped into the Utah business ecosphere with both feet starting with the series of events posted by Utah Tech Week 2023. I got hooked. I wanted to connect and learn from the movers and shakers gleaming the freshly powdered silicon slopes. I started hitting the events:
- 1MC – Salt Lake,
- 1 Million Cups Provo,
- Third Thursday @ Three,
- After the Summit LinkedIn Meetup,
- TribeHouse,
- Utah Business Owner’s Breakfast – hosted by Utah Independent Business Coalition ,
- Breakfast Connections Group,
- Millcreek Business Council’s Meet’n’Eat,
- Utah Burger Club – hosted by Luke Gunderson,
- Michael Scott’s Happy Hour – held at JobNimbus,
- Utah Tech Leads Happy Hours events,
- Silicon Slopes: Summit, Friday Conversations, AI Summit, Mental Health Town Halls, Various Chapter gatherings,
- Chamber of Commerce events,
- A few BNI events, including a Saturday BBQ.
I found something missing from all of these events. More specifically, someone. The creative small business owners that I had an opportunity to meet and learn to love through my wife’s artistic career efforts at gallery showings, art markets, craft fairs, and others. These solopreneurs were not well represented in the ranks of these events that I found so profoundly enlightening and beneficial.
When I saw that the organizers of Utah Tech Week were going another round in 2024, I was determined to make a space for these artists, makers, creatives, and small business people to participate in a very real way. So in November of 2023, I reserved a large meeting room at a local library (halfway between SLC and Utah County in Draper) with the idea of running a free workshop specifically for creative entrepreneurs. I wanted an event where these small business owners could get a taste of what these big tech/VC events had to offer but in an approach that spoke their language and met their needs.
The workshop was Tuesday night of Utah Tech Week, January 23.
How did it go?
Results
- Two Speakers and Myself. I recruited two friends, both women, small business owners, and in the target attendee demographic to speak with me as part of the workshop to inspire and tell their entrepreneurial journeys.
- Two Paid Sponsors. I was able to line up two paid sponsors to support the event so we could provide a more premium experience. We also had other sponsors who provided goods and services for the attendees.
- 81 EventBrite Users Signed up. We had 65 people register (Full) and 16 people on the waitlist leading up the event generated using social media, Utah Tech Week’s platform, Utah Tech Leads email blasts, fellow speakers, and my sponsors helping promote the event.
- 50 Total people in Attendance. Including speakers, supporters and attendees.
Event Layout
Attendees were checked in and handed a swag bag filled with a notebook, pen, and other items from some of our sponsors. We had a generous spread of food for attendees to enjoy. We had a photo op spot for attendees to take pictures of themselves using the same setup that models use (setup by one of the speakers who does a special retreat for professional photographers). For our creative entrepreneurs we had a space for makers and artists to bring in the products and goods to display for fellow workshop people.
How the night went
After check-in, we organized into groups and started a structured networking activity that encouraged all of the attendees to start breaking down the walls of unfamiliarity with sample ice breaker questions and everyone taking turns to answer them. This also allowed latecomers to trickle in and eventually join in the action without feeling like they missed any part of the main event. This activity brought together artists, hair stylists, gallery owners, videographers, nail artists, e-commerce retails, scented candle-makers, and children’s book authors together. By the time the networking activity concluded, everyone felt very cozy with their new workshop-mates releasing a lot of the initial tension.
Next, as MC I introduced all of the speakers, the subjects of the night and the sponsors, two of which were in attendance at the workshop! We then started on the presentation by Ashley Isenhour who talked about her career journey that has led her to her current new business, Superbloom Nails. Ashley’s unique journey demonstrates that even when entering a market where you may not have the first mover advantage, creative people can use their various life experiences to differentiate their offering and create a unique product while collaborating with their particular network.
The second speaker was the artist Carly White. She told about her journey into selling art prints (website), and further developing her artistic style through setting constraints on how she runs her business that most traditional artists or small businesses might not think to take. Both of these out-of-the-box solopreneurs provided great inspiration for the audience as we moved onto the final portion of the evening, the workshop.
During the workshop, I led the discussion as I covered the concepts of SMART goals and OKRs (objectives and key results). I demonstrated for participants how I guided Ashley, the earlier presenter, on her Superbloom journey to create a strategic map using milestones, dependencies, and benchmarks. After showing this example it was time for the audience to give it a try and set their own goals and to start mapping out their own milestones for accomplishing their goals. I walked around the room providing assistance and answering questions. Capitalizing on the relationships forged during the networking activity, attendees then shared their maps with their neighbors and gathered feedback and advice.
We ended the evening thanking the sponsors and all of the many people who made it possible to hold the event. I also shared with the room my desire to help all of them with their journey towards building their businesses. The concept for my services is Creative Biz Therapy, where I meet with business owners and help guide them towards the solutions that they need specific to their situation.
Creative Biz Therapy
Strengthening the business savvy of creative entrepreneurs.
Small business owners and solopreneurs often are left to figure out how to run each piece of their operation on their own with little to no support. Work with me on a weekly basis to develop a strong strategic plan and create the pathway forward for your business. This pay-as-you-go service builds up your business knowledge and skills by developing sustainable work processes. Work with someone who believes in what you do, who wants to develop your business using sound strategies customized to your unique situation.
Group Therapy Sessions are available weekly. Click here to sign up!
Need more personalized help? Email and let us know that you want to start Individual Therapy hello@tryronin.com
Ready to make a big change? Email and let us know that you want to discuss options for Transformational Therapy via hello@tryronin.com
