A day in the life of a remote worker at Stoke, summer edition, as told by Lasamee Kettavong, former marketing and program manager at Stoke, remote worker, observer of humans.
Five Cheers for FlintConf Year Five
Denton’s conference for creatives, techies, and entrepreneurs had a great fifth year, its second time being hosted at Sunago Bell, the top floor of the Wells Fargo building on the square. Previously held at Stoke and virtually, the venue for the conference once again proved to be the perfect atmosphere for learning from expert speakers and panelists and engaging with one another during breaks, lunch, and Big Ideas.
What to expect at Flintconf, 2023!
Being an entrepreneur, small business owner, consultant, contractor or otherwise working independently can feel lonely at times. You’re driven and disciplined, and you have your routine and methods, but you might lack motivation, inspiration, or the tools you need to work better or improve your operations. It’s natural and familiar to experience this, even if you work with a team rather than just working solo.
This is one of the reasons why Stoke hosts FlintConf, Denton’s startup conference for hipsters (creatives), hackers (techies), and hustlers (entrepreneurs). Not only are the speakers and panelists familiar with that experience and are able to speak to how to improve it, but so are your fellow attendees sharing the table.
Coworking Spaces: For the Individual and For the Community
AccelerateHER Cohort Stories: Anna Montes, La Catrina Creations
La Catrina Creations truly came into being from an entrepreneur’s spirit: Anna Montes was looking for something that she couldn’t find out in the world so she decided to make it herself. Starting with having an artistan make sarape stoles, La Catrina Creations has grown so much so that Anna needed to build a warehouse! You can learn more about Anna, her inspiration, and her work in her AccelerateHER cohort story.
AccelerateHER Cohort Stories: Hannah McGinty, Hans Film and Photo, Modern Memoir
AccelerateHER Cohort Stories: Marcia Dunn, Math with Marcia
Marcia is the solution to your math problems! Or those that your family members in school or college might be facing. She helps simplify math and has developed a unique method of handling individual students’ ways of learning. Read more about the incredible and important work that she does in her AccelerateHER cohort story.
AccelerateHER Cohort Stories: Jordan Adams, Spoonie Creative Collective
AccelerateHER Cohort Stories: Tanya Smith, Get Noticed With Video
Tanya is a video marketing strategist and business coach, a self-described #girlmom, #doglover, and a Wonder Woman fangirl. Some refer to her as a ‘walking Google.’ She empowers women service providersd to “embrace their face” on video so that they can stand out online, serve more people, and sell more services.
AccelerateHER Cohort Stories: Kimberly Bien, Salted Sanctuary Soap
When you step foot into Salted Sanctuary, you’re delighted by the sights, smells, and on event nights, sounds of Kimberly Bien’s brick and mortar shop. Her carefully created products bring joy to so many people’s lives. Read about her background, work, and business in her AccelerateHER cohort story!
AccelerateHER Cohort Stories: Cindy Thurk, CM Promotions
Cindy Thurk is the founder and CEO of CM Promotions. She is a vibrant and supportive member of the third AccelerateHER incubator program, offered in partnership between Stoke and the Center for Women Entrepreneurs at Texas Woman’s University. The energy and expertise that she brings to the table is unmatched. Cindy spent some time answering questions about her work, process, and inspiration for our AccelerateHER Cohort Stories series. Read on!
Stoke Highlights From 2022
Reflecting on 2022, we’re so thankful for everyone who has made this an incredible year: our partners, Stoke members, mentors, guests who visited our space, event attendees, program participants, and more. Every community member is so supportive of and encouraging to one another, and it’s a pleasure to witness. It is an honor to work for and serve the Denton community! Here are some highlights from the Stoke team about 2022.
Dive Into Dentonite Aaron Powell's Shark Tank Experience
We couldn’t be more proud of Dentonite, Aaron Powell, founder of Bunch Bikes, for everything he’s accomplished with Bunch Bikes and sharing the joy of family biking with North America! In this article, Aaron talks about how we prepared to pitch on Shark Tank and give some tips to the nervous pitch-er!
5 Reasons to Apply For An Incubator Program (like AccelerateHER!)
Since 2020, each fall, Stoke and TWU team up to offer several women-owned businesses the opportunity to focus on developing their businesses through a five-month incubator program that provides hands-on workshops, resources, mentorship, and more. Weekly workshops are purposefully ordered so that each member of the cohort has a solid starting point in the program and can make specific goals for their personal and professional outcomes from the onset.
Small Business Case Studies: Good and Golden
I had a thought while typing the same email that I’d typed out to five other people for my food and culture business, Good and Golden. “I should turn this into a template. I need to choose a CRM (client relations management system).”
Had I not been part of the streamlining systems process at Stoke, I definitely would not have thought that (I’d had zero ideas of what a CRM was before then). Sometimes MailChimp will work for emails, and sometimes you need something more robust, like Nutshell, which is my preferred client relations management system.
5 Reasons You Should Continue Learning as a Small Business Owner
An appetite for learning and an understanding that the business world is always evolving is essential for success as an entrepreneur. With the way the last few years have gone, it’s more important than ever to seek out opportunities for growth and stay up to date with the latest small business news. Here are five reasons you should continue learning as a small business owner.
Stoke Member Spotlight: Rob Curran
Rob Curran is the kind of person who has never met a stranger. If you’re fortunate enough to be in the Stoke coworking space at the same time that he is, you’re going to have a good day. You might even walk over to La Estrella and get some amazing tacos and chat over lunch. That’s the kind of vibe we super appreciate here at Stoke, so when Rob is away for the summer, we all shed a collective tear and can’t wait for him to return in the fall to regale us with tales of his adventures, make us all laugh until we cry, and perhaps sing us a little ditty.
Learn more about what Rob does (he writes!) and about him in his own words.
Stoke Member Spotlight: Kim Cash, Bookkeeper Girl
Stoke's Mentor Program: What You'll Get From Attending Coffee + Convo
AccelerateHER Cohort Stories: Holly Michael
“During her career at Dell and HP, Holly Michael won many awards. She was recognized as a top performer and identified as key talent countless times. But, the award she values the most was being recognized as a Volunteer of Distinction at Dell. This is an international award that highlights the top 20 volunteers each year at Dell.”