Chicago looked as busy as it has always been on a Thursday evening of our Hustle Panel event. It was a bit chilly but it was also lovely to watch the rain covering the city as we were setting up for the event. Our first Chicago Panel features amazing creative women entrepreneurs in Chicago to share their stories on how they develop their side project and give you the insights on their journeys, experiences along with tips and tricks for your side project.
Among our panelist speakers, we were delighted to have:
- SAMANTHA JOHNSON Co-founder Covelle
- SABRINA WOTTRENG Publicist + Owner Sabrina Wottreng Public Relations
- SILVANA FAVARETTO Founder + Graphic Designer The Tulle Project
- JACQUELINE MARIE Founder Tweaked Style
We kicked-off the event with an intro from our MC, Jen Lemerand who is a Creative Director and Designer. She leads SheSays Chicago, a group dedicated to networking and mentorship for women, and is on the board at AIGA Chicago as the Mentor Chair.
The intro followed by the opening speaker of our Creative Women’s Co. founder Ari Krzyzek. She shared her story on how she got started on multiple side-hustle ideas and how she ended up bringing her latest side hustle the Creative Women’s Co. to live to bring creative women entrepreneurs to connect, learn together and spark collaborations at CWC events.
The evening went on with our panel discussion. Led by our moderator Bolaji Sosan, a new media entrepreneur, is the founder of SociaLife Chicago—a Chicago based digital lifestyle publication as well as WinEsther Inc, a digital media consulting company.
It was inspiring to hear every speaker’s story on how they get started with their side hustle idea. From Samantha Johnson who co-founded a tech platform for creative entrepreneurs while working 9-5 in real estate to Silvana Favaretto who created The Tulle Project as her side hustle project for a creative outlet while working as a freelance designer.⠀
Bolaji and our panelist speakers shared a lot of insights from their mistakes and successes that helped them build and grow their businesses today. Even on how they believe having a mentor can help them in personal and professional development for them as entrepreneurs.
The discussion we had at the event flow consistently with everyone asking questions and giving ideas to one another. At the end of the event, we all got a chance to network with other creative women who came and continuing our conversations online on our Facebook group.
It was a fantastic and inspiring evening. We wouldn’t be able to make this event happen without the support of our MC, moderator, speakers and event partners. Thank you to:
GRIND SPACES for having our panel event at their space.
LYFT for giving us a free ride*.
CHYKALOPHIA for organizing, design and video.
PARTY HOST HELPERS for helping our CWC team set up and break down.
TUAN B & CO for the amazing photography of the event.
Did you miss our event? Make sure to sign up for our newsletter for our upcoming events and bunch of other fun stuff. Or checkout the next events that we’re planning. We hope to meet and hear your story 🙂
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