It can be a lonely road setting up a small business. Tracy Smith is aiming to change that.
Smith, who runs Kitchen Table CEOs in Aurora and set up the Oh Yes We Can event for female business owners, said she never planned to run her own business. But Smith noticed that entrepreneurs who are running small businesses often struggle to market themselves.
“A light bulb sort of went off and I thought, ‘I like writing, I love marketing. Maybe I could help these small business owners,’” she said.
While the pandemic saw many businesses pivot and establish larger digital presences, Smith’s speciality, she also noticed it led to feelings of loneliness. Entrepreneurs or people running small companies can be especially prone to this, she said.
Smith saw her event, Oh Yes We Can, as a solution. Hosted on Nov. 4 at the Aurora Armoury on Mosley Street, the annual event brought together more than 150 business woman and 20 local vendors. She described the event as “the mullet of business events, business in the front and party in the back," with the aim to balance education with fun and an opportunity to connect with and support fellow business owners.
“Having my own business and working from home, I felt a little bit self-conscious that maybe I wasn't as legitimate, or that my business didn't mean as much because I didn't have a brick and mortar, or because I didn't have a fancy corner office or an IT department,” she said.
“So part of the title, Kitchen Table CEOs, and my mission and my event is to try to show other people it doesn't matter where you sit to run your business, you can be an awesome CEO and be very successful.”
Sandra Ferri, president and CEO of the Aurora Chamber of Commerce, said the event is "inspirational" and can be a big help for "sol-preneurs" to connect with potential mentors.
"Especially for entrepreneurs, like 'sol-preneurs', who often work out of their homes and work alone all day. It's hard to keep the motivation level high when you work on your own the whole time," she said.
"They all deal with the same types of struggles," she added. "So being able to connect with those people and see you're not the only person that has these struggles."
Five years on from the founding of Kitchen Table CEOs and just having marked the second annual Oh Yes We Can event on Nov. 4, Smith is still working from her kitchen table.
The event has proven to be a hit, and Smith is planning on expanding it into a series, with a women’s health summit planned for Feb. 10, and plans for a financial event later in 2025. She also runs monthly networking events, called Monthly Momentum, for local female entrepreneurs.
Smith said standing out from the crowd, especially amid challenging economic times, can be a challenge, but that building connections with people can prove key.
“I think the more you can be genuine and be yourself, and connect with people on a real level - people sense that and they get that,” she said.
“In a world of filters and followers and social media — there's a place for that,” she said, “but I think the biggest traction you can get is still connecting with people, on a real genuine level.”
More information about the women's health summit on Feb. 10 can be found online.
