St. Petersburg is officially designating the week of October 19 – 23 as Small Business Week!
St. Pete Small Business Week is a locally recognized week-long event to celebrate local business growth and the diverse voices in entrepreneurship. The Greenhouse will offer several business growth resources to small business owners, including webinars, video conferences, free giveaways, a startup pitch competition, and more throughout the week. Learn more how to participate at stpetegreenhouse.com/smallbizweek.
Thursday, October 22, is dedicated to empowering women-owned small businesses. The Greenhouse is leading a community engagement event aimed at providing women entrepreneurs an open dialogue on topics that unite us. A selected panel of women small business leaders will be leading the discussion, telling their stories, and allowing for an opportunity for open questions.
Meet up, chat and network with like-minded women and find out what’s going on, share what’s happening for you and get some inspiration and encouragement for your business.
Panelist:
- Monica Leonard, Molly’s Suds
- Sarah Guest, Cyberlicious
- Ronsha Brown, Nurse Practitioners of Florida
- Melody Mendoza-Auslander, La Betri
Thursday, Oct 22
9 AM – 10:15 AM
About the Panelist
Monica Leonard is the founder and CEO of Molly’s Suds, a natural and eco-responsible laundry and cleaning supplies company that was launched for an unusual reason. Monica is a mother of five, but her and her husband lost their fourth baby, Molly to a stillbirth. Employed as a nurse at the time, Monica began to dive into what may have contributed to the loss of their daughter.
Molly’s Suds began in 2008 as a part-time hobby that rapidly grew into a thriving business that is debt-free and steadily growing. Starting with just her flagship product Laundry Powder, Molly’s Suds now offers more than two dozen natural, eco-friendly products.
Sarah Guest is the Sugar Mama at Cyberlicious®, a local digital marketing and advertising agency in St Petersburg, FL. Throughout her career, Sarah has used the principles of Applied Behavioral Analysis and her experience as a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist to provide a completely different perspective on how to approach, carefully target, and refine online business.
Sarah analyzes user trends and the social impact of strategic campaigns to determine the best move forward. She has worked with organizations across a wide range of industries – from legal and the auto industry, to health and wellness, e-commerce, and technology.
Ronsha Brown is the founder and owner of Nurse Practitioners of Florida, she is an adult Nurse Practitioner who specializes in Gastroenterology and Women’s Health. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Florida A & M University in Tallahassee, Florida then earned her Master of Science degree at South University in Tampa, Florida. She holds a national certification with the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.
Shay as she is lovingly called by family and friends, has devoted over seventeen years of outstanding patient care within her community. Her plans to cultivate her medical experience will expand her knowledge as a new business owner. Born and raised in south St. Petersburg Ms. Brown has always expressed her great love for the city and the new developments happening in the surrounding areas. As a young child her dream has always been to own a medical practice. She stepped out on faith and left corporate healthcare in 2018 to pursue her dream.
In 2020, Founder and CEO Melody Mendoza-Auslander, started La Betri from her home in St. Petersburg Florida. Growing up in the Philippines and dreaming of a better life, Melody immigrated to Los Angeles, CA in 1999 in pursuit of the Great American Dream.
Inspired by her love of fitness and active lifestyle, Melody launched a campaign to create a clothing line to make life’s journey better. La Betri, by Fili-Piña, was born out of this simple need. Melody knew it was time to create functional, stylish clothing that will start a cultural movement for consumers who live life on the go while being socially and environmentally conscious. With this renewed spirit and passion, Melody launched La Betri by Fili-Piña in pursuit of not only her love for fashion, but also her entrepreneurial spirit to demonstrate to all women, that anything is possible with endless opportunities. It’s never too early or late to pursue your dreams!