Avenue Presents Recap: A Values-Driven Conversation with Women and BIPOC Leaders (Round Two!)

In September, Avenue hosted its third and final panel for 2022, as part of our series: Avenue Presents: A Values-Driven Conversation with Women and BIPOC Leaders. Our quarterly series elevates the voices of women and BIPOC entrepreneurs and leaders who have transformed their passions into a business, made a name for themselves and who have continued to set goals to carry their careers and companies forward.

We started this panel series to invite members of our community, including friends, colleagues, clients and partners to join us for a discussion that we hope will inform, foster connection and inspire on a variety of important topics — all from the perspective of women and BIPOC leaders. As a BIPOC-led community initiative, Avenue is also bringing together and collaborating with values-aligned people we respect and admire to share knowledge, innovative ideas and to give back to the community in which we live and work.

Read on for a recap of our third Avenue Presents panel.

Making the Leap: Personal Journeys in Entrepreneurship

The topic of our third Avenue Presents conversation is a reprise of our Q1 panel topic, “Making the Leap: Personal Journeys in Entrepreneurship.” I always have so much respect for the business leaders who participate in our panels — this panel was no different. All four panelists continue to trailblaze for women and BIPOC community members, turning their passions into successful business endeavors and continuing to give back along the way.

Our esteemed Q3 panelists included:

1. Ashlan Glazier Anderson, CEO and Founder of AshBeanPDX Marketing
2. Katelyn Williams, ice cream maker and founder of Kate’s Ice Cream
3. Paige Hendrix Buckner, Chief of Staff at All Raise
4. Su Embree, Cofounder of SINE and Emerging Leaders PDX

Each of our panelists continue to have a positive impact on Portland’s business community and continue to set the standard for how to do business and with values at the forefront. They each vulnerably shared that facing challenges and making mistakes (or stepping in puddles — watch the recording to see what we’re talking about!) has been a part of their journey and how it will continue to be. We loved the realness and vulnerability behind each thoughtful answer.

Inspiration and Takeaways from our Panelists

We asked our panelists a handful of questions, to learn from their entrepreneurial journeys, their missteps and takeaways, moments of pride or inspiration. During this hour, we were able to hear how their values and personal growth have guided them in the hard moments and validated them in the good ones. Here are some of our favorite moments from the conversation:

• Paige: “Three things come to mind for me when I think about values, and [they’re] connection, community and curiosity…When I lead with curiosity, I find that I uncover opportunities and experiences that I would never otherwise have if I hadn’t led with curiosity.”

• Ashlan: “A failure isn’t necessarily something negative, you’ve just now learned that we don’t step in that puddle again… because we know that’s not the correct route.”
• Su: “As entrepreneurs, and especially as women, we have to give ourselves permission because oftentimes the world doesn’t, for us to go jump in that freaking puddle, and get a little dirty.”
• Ashlan: “If anybody’s out there watching and thinking that they want to start a business, just do it. Start small…Also, follow people who are a little bit ahead…of you… you don’t have to go it alone, you can see what’s been successful with others and make it your own…”

• Paige: “…build a business that is aligned with your highest purpose…I can build a business that is aligned with my higher purpose and the only person who needs to give me permission is me… “
• Katelyn: “Part of that mentorship that I will share, whenever somebody tells me they want to start a business, one of the things that I would share is that the ebbs and the flows are gonna happens dn they never go away…just keep believe and just always look up, and I mean that even metaphorically, don’t look down, just keep looking up and trusting that you’re on the right path if you really feel like your heart’s leading you to do exactly what you’re supposed to be doing, like, 100 percent know that you’re gonna do it.”
• Su: “I grew up at a time, plus I’m an immigrant child and the child of an immigrant, where we’re often told to stay in our lane…as young girls and I don’t know, I just kind of say, ‘F that’ and give ourselves permission to create our own lane and just go for it…often times we look for validation and permission from others and I think for female entrepreneurs, specifically, we just have to give ourselves that permission”

• Katelyn: “For me, one of my most powerful lessons…is to stay focused. Do one thing and do it well… saying ‘no’ is my favorite thing…Saying no, and staying focused, and doing the one thing that you’re really good at, and doing it so well is gonna, I think, accelerate your progress and also just make you feel a lot more balanced.”

If you weren’t able to tune in or if you’d like to re-watch, we’ve posted a full recording of the panel online (linked below) and we invite you to watch, reflect, and hopefully walk away feeling as energized and fulfilled as we did.

What’s next!

We continue to evaluate how to best collaborate with our community to provide moments of inspiration, learning and uplift. Although we’re taking a break for the holidays in Q4, we’re using the time to set our sights on 2023 with plans to continue engaging with our community and business leaders. Stay tuned and feel free to follow us on social or subscribe to our newsletter to stay in the loop!

❤️ The Avenue Team

Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.