The creator of a high-performance women’s innerwear collection will join local women entrepreneurs Thursday for a special event honoring the winners of the 2016 innovateHER Business Challenge.
The ‘Sip, Tip, and Talk’ innovateHER reception will take place from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, March 10, at the Westin Tampa Bay’s BluVu Rooftop Venue.
BODYOLOGY founder Kelly Burton will address the crowd with tips and advice for building a successful business. Burton, a former research professional, developed the line to create sweat-wicking and quick-drying undershirts, shorts, leggings and more.
“I love women entrepreneurs,” Burton says. “They inspire me and cause me to be excited about the future of our country and our world. There are few places I'd rather be than in a room filled with women who are chasing their dreams.”
Aspiring entrepreneurs shouldn’t be afraid of the potential for failure, Burton says.
“If you're bold enough to step out on faith and start your own business, one thing is for sure: you're going to make mistakes. It's a part of the process,” Burton says. “However, if you're going to be successful, you've got to learn quickly and efficiently. Download the lesson and keep it moving. Don't beat yourself up or throw your own personal pity party. You made the best decision you could with the information at hand. Just dust yourself off, recalibrate and get back at it.”
The
innovateHER Business Challenge, which took place in fall 2015, was sponsored locally by a partnership between the Helen Gordon Davis Centre for Women and the Small Business Administration.
“We are funded for five years by SBA to provide business counseling and training for women,”
Women's Business Centre Director Stacey Banks-Houston told
83 Degrees in September.
The competition challenged local female entrepreneurs to develop and present a business plan for the chance to win prizes and move forward to compete in a national round of the competition.
Burton advises women entrepreneurs to take the time to pursue opportunities like those presented by the Centre.
“Be good to yourself. Consider what that means for you and do it,” she says. “You've only got one life to live and you don't want to look up one day and realize you're all spent up because you did everything for everyone else, but never gave yourself what you needed to truly thrive.”
The Sip...Tip...and Talk Reception will have hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar. The event cost is $30 for Centre for Women members and for $35 for the general public with advance registration; $40 at the door.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.