COLORADO SPRINGS — As we continue to work to rebound from the effects of the pandemic, one women’s networking group in Colorado Springs was already working to help female entrepreneurs navigate tough times, and give back to the community at the same time.
Ashley’s Attic on Weber Street is a women’s resale boutique started eight years ago by Ashley Gillit, who had to make some big changes to survive the pandemic.
“We did Attic Boxes where I would send you a style questionnaire and then I’d shop on your behalf and deliver it to you,” Gillit said, “We did Facebook live shopping events. We did more social media than ever before.”
Now things are back to normal at her shop and she’s so thankful she had the support of the downtown chapter of The Success Collective along the way.
“You want to talk about a group of women with ideas,” Gillit said, “I mean, we, collectively, there’s probably thousands of ideas that we give other business owners.”
The group of female entrepreneurs with all different job titles and backgrounds meets every Thursday. One of the things they do is a Pitch and Pour, where a business owner, from inside or outside the group, comes in and the women just pour ideas into them.
The women’s group was co-founded by CEO Jessica Daniels who said they love seeing other women build their empires.
“Women are feeling more empowered and more capable now than ever of taking on some of those challenges we face,” Daniels said, “and say you know what? If someone’s gonna solve this problem... why not me?”
The networking group loves to collaborate and give back to the community and has been around for about three and a half years.
They just held a “Panty Party” and raised 60,000 toiletry items for women in need in our community.
“You put a lot of women together and you’ve got strong personalities and that can be a hard dynamic to navigate,” Daniels said, “But when you have a group that’s all coming together with the same core motivation of- I'm here to give not to receive- it makes having all these strong-willed super-dynamic women a force to be reckoned with.”
And they say it’s all about encouraging others to succeed while getting that same encouragement in return..
“When one is feeling down or unsure or whatever the case may be, we are there to lift them up or drag them forward,” Gillit said, “Whether you want to or not because we’re not gonna let you fail!”
The group believes these days women can have it all. Their dream job, family, kids, and when other like-minded individuals are right there alongside them, understanding them, supporting and lifting each other up, they’re unstoppable.
The Success Collective is going national. They’re starting up chapters in other cities and already have one in south Denver and in Pueblo. They’re working to start some in the Tri-Lakes area and Falcon.
There are some spots open if you’d like to try and get involved. There is a men’s chapter too.
Click here to find out more.
If you have an idea for a future Rebound Colorado story email rebound@koaa.com.
_____
KOAA News5 on your time, streaming on your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and AndroidTV.
News5 App | First Alert 5 Weather App | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
