Empowering women entrepreneurs with insightful keynotes and dynamic speakers.

Ind. (Feb 10, 2025) — The Central Indiana Women’s Business Center (CIWBC), a program of the Indy Chamber, is thrilled to announce the keynote speaker and an exceptional lineup of speakers for the 2025 Women in Business Retreat presented by Hirons. This premier event will bring together women entrepreneurs, business leaders, and professionals for a day of inspiration, networking, and actionable insights.

Tammy Butler Robinson, CEO of Engaging Solutions, will be the keynote speaker, sharing her powerful journey of leadership, entrepreneurship, and advocacy. With a background spanning state government, urban planning, and business development, Robinson has built a legacy of breaking barriers and opening doors for women and underrepresented communities.

“The retreat is about empowering women with the resources, connections, and inspiration to build and grow their businesses,” said Melanie Raney, CIWBC board chair and Senior Manager of M&A and Business Development at AES Indiana. “Tammy Butler Robinson’s story embodies the perseverance and excellence that define women in business today.”

The event will also feature engaging sessions with an impressive slate of speakers, including:

“The CIWBC is committed to providing entrepreneurs and professionals with the tools and support they need to succeed,” said Stephanie James, Director of the CIWBC. “This retreat is an opportunity to learn from and connect with some of our community’s most accomplished leaders.”

The 2025 Women in Business Retreat will take place on April 24 at the Alexander Hotel in Indianapolis. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage in thought-provoking discussions, gain valuable business insights, and expand their professional networks.

Tickets are available now here or at IndyChamber.com.

Ind. (Nov. 19, 2024) — The Indy Chamber is pleased to announce that nominations are now open for the Jacqueline Troy Inspired Fund, a program dedicated to supporting women entrepreneurs in Central Indiana. Named in memory of Jacqueline Troy, former director of the Central Indiana Women’s Business Center (CIWBC), the fund champions female entrepreneurs by providing essential resources, financial support, and networking opportunities to help grow their businesses.

“The Jacqueline Troy Inspired Fund embodies Jackie’s legacy of empowering women entrepreneurs to pursue their goals and make a positive impact on the community,” said Stephanie James, Director of CIWBC. “By honoring her memory, we continue her work of connecting women with the resources they need to succeed.”

Since its founding, the fund has provided critical support to female entrepreneurs, including 2024 awardee Sarah Kendrick, founder of RHEA Services. Recognized for her dedication to community impact, Sarah established her business to help families honor the legacies of their loved ones.

“The Jacqueline Troy Inspired Fund has been invaluable in allowing me to reach more families and grow my business. The support from CIWBC has been a game-changer,” Kendrick shared.

Winners of this prestigious award will be celebrated at the annual Women in Business Retreat in April 2025, where they’ll join a community of accomplished women leaders and innovators. In addition to complimentary attendance to the retreat and financial support, the Jacqueline Troy Inspired Fund provides winners with promotional marketing services to help amplify their mission and attract further community engagement. Each awardee is selected for their commitment to community and entrepreneurial spirit, embodying the values Jackie Troy championed.

“Through the Inspired Fund, we are not only honoring Jackie’s work but also creating a supportive network of women entrepreneurs who are transforming our community,” said Melanie Raney, CIWBC Council Chair and Senior Manager, M&A and Business Development at AES Indiana. “We invite all eligible women entrepreneurs to apply and join us in building a stronger, more inclusive business community.”

To learn more about the Jacqueline Troy Inspired Fund and submit a nomination, please visit Indy Chamber’s website.

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About the Indy Chamber

The Indy Chamber is honored to be named the 2021 ACCE Chamber of the Year for its hard work and dedication to the Indy Region. We serve as a voice of progress and improvement in the region, uniting business and community to maintain a strong economy and quality of life. Our advocacy efforts, networking events, economic development initiatives, and other member benefits position members, business leaders, and the community for success. Indy has what it takes to be a world-class region where innovation meets performance. The Indy Chamber is here to realize that potential to its fullest.

One of the most common issues a business owner will face is deciding when to expand and how to finance the expansion. Local entrepreneur Kelsey Rardon faced this very issue when she was evaluating the success of her business, Breathing Space Yoga + Meditation, which offers group and private yoga classes and well as meditation sessions.

As the owner of Breathing Space, Rardon manages the careful balance of steady financial growth and respect for the mission of the business: making yoga accessible and affordable to everyone who walks through her door. She accomplishes this through a pay-as-you-can pricing strategy. While it took some time to fine-tune, she’s found the best structure is to offer traditional membership packages while also providing an affordable drop-in rate. Pay-what-you-can is cash only and card charges are a flat $17. With this process, yoga classes become more like yoga communities because there’s no judgement on who’s a member or a first timer.

Kelsey has always listened to the needs of her customers. As more classes began filling up, she saw the need for a bigger space. Due to the lack of collateral that yoga studios have, traditional banks loans were difficult to attain. After submitting her business plan and application for a Business Ownership Initiative (BOI) small business loan, her dreams of expanding became a reality. Kelsey stated it was a “really incredible testament to this being exactly what I should be doing. Not just teaching yoga – but running a business.” The BOI loan supported her studio expansion and also allowed her to further her mission of accessibility within yoga through including plus sizes in her new retail space.

To other entrepreneurs, Kelsey says “you’ll find a way to make it happen if you’re passionate about it and if it’s meant to be. If it’s meant to happen and you’re doing what your purpose is, there’s no way you can fail or doubt yourself.” Kelsey is happy she took the jump to become a business owner, and she’s even happier that it was within the Indy area. To her, Indy is just big enough and just small enough that it has created an incredible community. She loves supporting local vendors and promoting them within her studio. To her, Indy is all about helping each other grow.

To learn more about Breathing Space Yoga + Medition, visit their website.

To learn more about BOI’s small business loan program, visit www.indychamber.com/lending.

Urban Contessa flower and gift boutique isn’t your typical roses and daisies. They arrange the highest quality flowers in original, organic styles.  What makes Urban Contessa even more unique? It is owned and operated by a mother and daughter, Asia and Olivia. In our interview, Asia explained how their arrangements are different every single day. “It’s kind of like a recipe – you think ‘What am I in the mood for today?’” Whatever their secret ingredient is, it’s definitely working.

Urban Contessa is a full-service florist, offering bouquets and arrangements for weddings, events, corporate workshops, and their retail space. But that is not what the business looked like at its inception in August 2017. Asia and Olivia have always let their customers dictate the direction of their business. Originally, Urban Contessa began out of their living room on Mass Ave. The mother and daughter chose unique flowers and varieties that stuck out from your typical grocery store bouquet. Then, they dropped off their creations to different clients around the city. As buzz grew about their business, so did bigger requests, such as weddings and events. Asia and Olivia knew they needed to find a new workshop (and gain back some living room space), so they found a space to work out (though it wasn’t open to the public).

Luckily, they weren’t in it alone. Asia and Olivia sought help from the Indy Chamber’s Business Ownership Initiative (BOI) for both one-on-one business coaching and small business lending in order to take Urban Contessa to new heights. Neil Metzger was able to ideate growth strategies, assist in the search for a retail location, and ensure Urban Contessa had the necessary financing to be successful. Not only did he help build their business; he helped build their trust.

That is what made applying for a small business loan from BOI services so easy. Asia and Olivia had already formed a tight relationship with Neil, and he made the application process a breeze. He knew what the business needed, looked into all the numbers, and did his own outside research. He not only became an expert on the Urban Contessa business, but an expert on the industry.

Urban Contessa utilized the business loan for start-up costs, inventory, and build out. When asked about the results they’ve seen, Asia and Olivia felt it was the best thing they could have done for their business. Being downtown had always been important to them. It’s where their family lives, works, and goes to school. Getting a retail location in Salesforce Tower was able to further open them up to the downtown community. A storefront also provided a place for them to take meetings and entertain while also adding legitimacy and credibility to their floral business.

To other entrepreneurs, Asia and Olivia recommend you know what your strengths and weaknesses are. If you have strengths, use them to your full advantage. For your weaknesses, hire that area of your business out to someone else that can do it better. Above all, Indy is a great place to live and do work because of its size and affordability. In the past two years it has become even accessible, walkable, and busier – which is a great thing for retail.

Looking for holiday arrangements and gifts? Stop by Urban Contessa or visit their website www.urbancontessaindy.com. 

Learn more about BOI’s free one-on-one business coaching and small business loans up to $50,000 at Indychamber.com/entrepreneurship. 

Owner Gus Mariscal was inspired to start Solar Earth, Indiana’s first eco-friendly lawn care company, when he found out about the harmful effects that small engines have on the environment. After more research and planning, Solar Earth Lawn care was created with the mission to keep lawns beautiful while reducing the community’s air and water pollution.

According to Gus, not many people truly understand the impact that small engines have on the environment:

Because not many lawn care companies have adapted to greener trends, what makes Solar Earth Lawn Care unique is their use of electric equipment and organic fertilizer. Not only does it benefit the environment, it benefits their clients too. They can have peace of mind that there are no emissions and low noise when Solar Earth provides their services.

Born and raised in Indy, Gus Mariscal knew Indianapolis was a special place to start and grow his business. The size of the city really brings everyone together into one tight-knit community. He also believes that people in Indy have a willingness to change for the better. Solar Earth’s goal is to help people change in order to better benefit the environment.

As a successful business owner, Gus knows you have to ask for help when you need it. In his second year of Solar Earth, Gus began searching for monetary resources to grow his business. A traditional lender wasn’t a good option due to his relatively short operations history, so his banker recommended BOI as an alternative lender. The loan stood out to Gus among other options because of how personalized the process was. His business coach, Sarah, walked him through the process of exactly how much money he would need so that he didn’t over fund. (And the interest rates were great!)

Since then, Solar Earth Lawn Care has doubled every year. Gus attributes his success to two things: his customers and his coaching. BOI has helped Solar Earth connect them to the community better and help get the word out about their business on a local level.

Gus’ advice to entrepreneurs is that if you have a decent plan, go get started. There is no better time than now, and no better place than Indy.

Learn more about Solar Earth Lawn Care at solarearthlawncare.com.

Learn more about BOI’s free one-on-one business coaching and small business loans up to $50,000 at indychamber.com/entrepreneurship. 

Ten years ago, self-proclaimed child advocate and foster parent Antoinette Williams founded a daycare in her own home: Precious Moments Early Childhood Education Academy. The center serves working parents on Indy’s southeast side in it’s new location at House of God Ministries.

Today, Antoinette Williams serves as the facility Director as well as the Education and Curriculum Coordinator, using her new role to enhance the educational quality of the growing facility which provides day care, preschool and after school care to children 6 weeks old to 12 years of age. Since the facility serves as an important resource for working parents, Antoinette reached out to United Way to receive an expansion grant that would allow her to expand the facility from holding 21 children to 88 children.

Through United Way’s childcare business coaching partnership with Business Ownership Initiative (BOI), Antoinette was connected to the many resources that BOI offers entrepreneurs and childcare center administrators. Specifically, Antoinette received one-on-one coaching to help with financial forecasting and budgeting that would prepare her for the facility’s expansion.

According to Antoinette, “Indy really does need BOI because this is a great place for small businesses. There’s a lot of opportunity, but in that opportunity there’s a lot to learn. As a business owner, you may not know all the ins and outs of business operation, but you may know childcare. BOI helps you set that firm platform that will allow you to achieve in the long term.”

The Indy Chamber knows that businesses like Precious Moments Early Childhood Education Academy are an important resource for families in Indy’s urban core. Quality and affordable childcare is a basic step towards a more inclusive economy – helping families of all socioeconomic backgrounds prepare for success in school and life. The Huntington Bank Foundation recently awarded BOI a $25,000 planning grant for a new project called “The Village”. The Village will create a plan to makes quality, home-based child care accessible and available in low-to-moderate income (LMI) neighborhoods in Marion County with emphasis on partnerships with anchor institutions.  Learn more about the The Village here.

To learn more about BOI’s on-one-on business coaching, visit Indychamber.com/coaching.

 

 

Indianapolis entrepreneur Marilyn Villagran understands that running a successful business takes a community of support. In her early years of entrepreneurship, Marilyn found herself looking for guidance to help build her graphic design business primarily serving the Latino community. However, after observing some of the difficulties her friends, family, and clients were experiencing in the Latino business community, Marilyn felt a desire to serve them in a new and different way. Through building her own app, La Guia Indy, Marilyn hopes to show English-speaking, Spanish-speaking and bilingual Latinos in Indy, how many Latino-owned businesses and services are out there, since some aren’t easily found online.

La Guía Indy is bilingual app for the Latino market in Indy, providing contacts to local businesses, help and resources, events, jobs and much more. La Guía Indy encourages the Latino community to be informed, learn and grow at the reach of their fingertips.

Marilyn took advantage of the Indy Chamber’s mentoring and business coaching services through Business Ownership Initiative to help grow her business with support and encouragement. To Marilyn, entrepreneurship is “a long journey and it’s a journey that feels like a roller coaster ride, but it’s like the best ride of your life… especially if you do it the right way and get the best advice.” From business luncheons and corporate events to community festivals and tech events, you’ll find Marilyn building La Guía Indy, one connection at a time.

Learn more about the Indy Chamber’s services for entrepreneurs at Indychamber.com/entrepreneurship.

 

 

Donald Mee Design, owned by Donald Mee and his wife Rebekah, specializes in creating custom commercial and residential furniture out of their Indianapolis studio. They focus on quality craftsmanship and heirloom one-of-a-kind pieces.

However, like many businesses in the “maker” industry, the studio started off as just one entrepreneur. Donald, an artist and furniture designer who graduated from the Herron School of Art and Design in 2001, has been passionately designing and building custom furniture for ten years. Over the years, Donald’s business gained momentum and was at a point where he needed to grow his staff. In 2013 Donald’s wife Rebekah quit her job as an IPS teacher to help Donald with the operations and management side of the business. The couple makes a great team: Donald loves the craft and working with clients, whereas Rebekah is great with numbers and business. Since Rebekah joined, the business has consistently doubled their sales every year. 

Struggling with how to keep up with the growing business, Donald and Rebekah came to Business Ownership Initiative for help determining their next growth strategy. The first step was to invest in machinery that would help shave thousands of hours off their work each year. Because traditional bank loans aren’t always favorable for small businesses, they were able to secure a BOI microloan to help purchase their new machinery. Now, equipped with more advanced machinery and several sub-contractors, the team is working on step two of their growth strategy with BOI.

“The process of working with BOI, I would say it’s kind of seamless and it’s familiar. They really pay attention to detail, pay attention to growth, and the direction that I want the business to grow in. They help us find the right path to get to that end goal” — Donald Mee

To learn more about BOI’s free one-on-one coaching, microlending, and other resources for entrepreneurs, visit Indychamber.com/entrepreneurship.

To learn more about Donald Mee Designs and to view their work, visit DonaldMeeDesign.com.

 

Donald and Rebekah Mee, owners of Donalds Mee Design, in their studio at 1413 Naomi Street.

 

Indy native and passionate homebrewer Ray Kamstra had a dream of taking his award-winning beers to the public. In the summer of 2012, he and his wife successfully ran a $30,000 Kickstarter campaign that allowed them to start Indiana City Brewing Co. out of a historic bottling house on Indy’s Near East Side. After renovating the building, opening a taproom, and perfecting their production methods, Indiana City become one of Indy’s hottest craft breweries.

Ray attributes much of their success to the support and advice he received early on from other local brewers. According to Business Ownership Initiative’s President, Carrie Henderson, “Ray did everything right. He started small, controlled his growth, and used cash for early expansions. Not a lot of entrepreneurs are able to stay focused and pull this off.”

However, at some point in every entrepreneur’s journey, there comes a time when taking on debt is required to properly scale a business. Due to Indiana City’s strong brand and limited production, the demand for their brews was rapidly exceeding the supply.

Ray felt the timing was right to look for financing options to purchase additional equipment that would continue supporting their growth. After being disappointed with other financing options, Ray learned about Business Ownership Initiative’s microloan program through the Indy Chamber and decided it was the best fit for his business. This program allowed Ray to qualify for the amount of money he needed and with favorable terms.

Through securing a BOI microloan, Indiana City will be able to brew their most popular limited-release beers on a much bigger scale. According to Ray, “We’re excited to provide Indy’s beer lovers with more of their favorite beers and even more experimentation. Our 2018 plan is to double our production, and without that loan, it wouldn’t even be an option.”

 

Learn more about Indiana City Brewing Co at IndianaCityBeer.com

Learn more about Business Ownership Initiative’s services for entrepreneurs at IndyChamber.com/Entrepreneurship

Though donuts and ramen don’t readily seem to have anything in common, the odd combination makes perfect sense for the creative growth plans of two local food-preneurs.

 

 

A couple originally from Seattle, Adam Perry and Kari Nickander have always shared a passion for cooking, keeping up with the latest food trends and developing creative dishes together. After moving to Indy 10 years ago, they decided to make a career out of it, and their relationship grew to include the title of “business partners”. At the beginning of their business adventure, Perry and Nickander started by operating two food trucks: an Indian taco truck named Taco Lassi, and a Vietnamese banh mi and pho truck named Pho Mi.

After a couple years, the pair eventually closed their food trucks to launch their popular brick-and-mortar donut shop in Fletcher Place. Indy’s first gourmet donut shop General American Donut Company opened in 2014.

Now, with almost four years running General American, the couple is ready to pursue their next culinary adventure: Black Eye Take Out.

 

Pictured: Black Eye Take Out’s zamen (zucchini noodle ramen) for vegetarians. The restaurant will serve various types of ramen in addition to banh mi sandwiches and rice bowls.

 

“We always thought we would do a take-out only banh mi and pho shop before we ever did the donut shop”, shared Perry, who also explained the recent plans to serve ramen. “Over the past couple years, we’ve been keeping an eye out for little spaces that are close by. About a year ago, we found a space on Virginia Avenue… it was tiny, but we loved it. We were trying to figure out if we could make it work, doing the prep and the cooking here [at General American], and use that space for takeout. ”

Perry and Nickander leased the space in the summer of 2017 and immediately devised a plan to renovate the Black Eye space and build-out the kitchen at General American. This strategy would allow the business to grow through both locations, and would only require a relatively small amount of capital. After researching their financing options, Perry and Nickander decided to pursue a microloan through the Business Ownership Initiative (BOI), part of the Entrepreneur Services division of the Indy Chamber.

Providing financial support and business education is central to the mission of Business Ownership Initiative. When businesses inquire about a microloan, BOI staff members help entrepreneurs navigate the application process and provide business coaching along the way, helping with their financials and growth strategy. For this reason, Perry said he knew BOI was the right lender for their business. “We got really excited about working with people that are invested in our success and that care about us as a local business and not just as a ledger sheet. The mentorship side of BOI serving as a resource for the business was just as great. It seemed like a perfect fit.”

Doing most of the work themselves, the couple has been busy preparing their 350-square foot space for an April 2018 launch using BOI funding. “Inside it’s going to be really a different experience than I have seen almost anywhere… We love that aspect of doing it, almost like an art project”, shared Perry. The small space features unique details such as a glowing plexiglass floor and walls plastered with Japanese punk rock poster art.

The couple is always developing creative ideas for growing businesses, whether it’s through serving fried chicken at General American, creating a line of packaged food, or transforming the windows of Black Eye Take Out into outdoor movie screens. And to them, Indianapolis is the right place to pursue culinary passion projects.

“In doing food here and getting to know Indianapolis over the past 10 years, I could see right away that Indianapolis was an area that was going to grow a lot, making it a great lab for new food things”, shared Perry. “You may start to see a lot of chefs coming here to Indy because you can actually do your dream restaurant here, whereas you can’t there [on the coasts] because it’s prohibitively expensive. This may be the time where you see a lot of the creativity moving to the Interior.”

It’s safe to assume that Black Eye Take Out isn’t the last adventure that Perry and Nickander will pursue together as business owners. We can’t wait to see what’s next for this inventive couple.

Stay updated about the opening of Black Eye Take Out by following their instagram account: @blackeyetakeout.

Learn more about the BOI Microloan program at indychamber.com/lending.