On-site insight from real, local small businesses

#SMALLBIZREALTALK

Join us for this monthly series—SMALLBIZREALKTALK—where we visit local small businesses and learn about the ins-and-outs of what it takes to be a local entrepreneur! Hear the good, the bad, and the ugly—the “real talk”—directly from local small business owners at their business location. 

The goal of this series is to strengthen our local entrepreneurial ecosystem by networking, championing small businesses, listening to their stories, and most importantly, learning from each other!

Not ready to meet in person? No worries! This series is hybrid, which means we will also be streaming each of these events LIVE on our Facebook page.

You can register for upcoming events below and as well as stream past events.

Thanks to a sponsorship from ABC Bank, each event in this series is free!

Upcoming

September

Air City

Friday, September 9 • 9 – 10 am

AirCity 360
225 Spectrum Loop
Colorado Springs, CO 80921

Catch some air on The 360 – The only air coaster in the USA of it’s kind! Learn more about this awesome business!

When you come, you can defy gravity by soaring through 500′ of airspace. Or try your climbing skills on the SkyTower – aone of a kind vertical climbing obstacle course. The adventure doesn’t stop there! The ultimate challenge is on The City—the first and only in Colorado —our MEGA inflatable filled with obstacles and challenges.

Race with a friend on the zipWAY- A 60′ dual zipline. For our little adventures’ – Slide, Climb, and Jump at the 180 PARK. Finally, the adventure wouldn’t be complete without Extreme Dodgeball, Air-Active Trampoline Zones’, Jump Bags, Arcades, and more! After hours of fun, quench your thirst and appetite at the City Cafe’.

Need a unique venue? Throw your parties and events with our: roof deck tables and SkyView & CityView Party Rooms.

October

Exponential Impact

Friday, October 14 • 9 – 10 am

Exponential Impact
3650 N. Nevada
Colorado Springs, CO 80907

Exponential Impact’s mission is simple: Give early-stage entrepreneurs focused on emerging technologies the best start humanly possible. 

Join us for a panel with KleerCard and Spark Mindset!

KleerCard is the future of expense management providing tech-enabled corporate Visa cards and virtual cards to control your business spending, automate accounting, track receipts, and pay bills, all with our free app.

Spark Mindset’s mission is to break the cycle of poverty in a disadvantage through their virtual registered pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship program, giving families in disadvantaged communities access to quality cyber-security professional training to create livable wage careers and provide an innovative workforce solution to the STEM industry.

November

Hillside Gardens

Friday, November 18 • 9 – 10 am

Hillside Gardens
1006 S Institute St
Colorado Springs, CO 80903

As of February, Hillside Gardens, a wedding and event venue, is under the ownership of Donovan and Ashlee Kennedy.

Its location is the picturesque location for your event, with plenty of unique spaces to accommodate from the most intimate of gatherings to those boasting parties of 150 guests. At the event, you will be treated to panoramic views of the Front Range and Pikes Peak alongside the aromatic smells of the garden.

Whether you are planning a large corporate event, tying the knot, hosting a party or celebrating the life of a loved one, Hillside Gardens will work tirelessly to ensure that your unique event will create the memories of a lifetime.

December

Judd's Glass & Mirror

Friday, December 9 • 9 – 10 am

Judd’s Glass & Mirror
401 Rampart Range Rd
Woodland Park, CO 80863

Since 1978, Judd’s Glass & Mirror has been the proud provider of glass products and services to the greater Teller, El Paso and Park counties, including Colorado Springs and the surrounding area (Woodland Park, Manitou Springs, Security- Widefield, Fountain, Falcon, Black Forest, Peyton and Fairplay).

Judd’s is ready to tackle your glass problems and meet your glass needs wherever they can. They have the glass experts and flexibility to provide top-notch service at rock-bottom prices.

Judd’s Glass & Mirror services include auto, residential and commercial glass as well as scratch removal and window tinting. Friendly service, quality work and affordable glass prices is how they do business. Whatever the glass problem and need—big or small—Judd’s Glass can handle it.

Stream Past Events

January

Axe and the Oak Distillery

Axe and the Oak Distillery started off as five friends with a true passion for good whiskey, live music and the great outdoors. While sipping a glass of bourbon around a campfire, the question of whether they could create a great whiskey worth sharing became a challenge worth accepting—and the rest is history.

At Oax and the Oak Distillery, they believe whiskey is meant to be shared with friends, family and community. That’s been their goal since day one. They love seeing people having a great time, sharing stories laughing and enjoying each other—and what better way to do that than over a pour of whiskey. 

fEBRUARY

Luchal's Catering

The founders of Luchal’s Catering, Chantal and TJ, knew they had something special from the start. Their whirlwind romance started in 2012 and just four years later they opened the doors to their first restaurant concept. Along the way, Chantal received a culinary degree from the prestigious Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts. A burgeoning celebrity chef, Chantal has been recognized for her warm and magnetic personality in addition to her groundbreaking approach to soulful cajun seafood. Quickly, food critics and restaurant goers responded; lines wrapped around the building and customers kept coming back for more.

Luchal’s is committed to evolving responsibly and sustainably with harmony and integrity. The veteran business owners are passionate about giving back and have dreams of one day opening a second chance non-profit and providing cooking classes and opportunities for veterans.

March

Kinship Landing

After an extended time traveling the world to dozens of countries, sinking their teeth deep into their local community, making lifelong friends, and recognizing a global need for intentional, authentic hospitality, a team of three friends landed back home in Colorado Springs with a clear vision—to create an awesome place to sleep and the easiest way to find friendship and adventure in Colorado Springs.

This team is creating a community-powered accommodation concept with courage, trust, adventure, generosity and community at the helm. Its first endeavor in Colorado Springs is a friendly boutique hotel in the heart of downtown called Kinship Landing, the very first of its kind. Here, locals and travelers connect to the best of the region’s outdoor and cultural resources.

This team has found that having a place to launch from and land at makes all the difference. Their future vision? A worldwide network of different hospitality concepts, each cherished by the local community and contributing to the global family.

April

Sweetwater: A Flower Market

Experience Sweetwater’s exceptional design, unique style and a touch of southern charm.

Here in Colorado Springs, Sweetwater is proud to offer the gift of beauty in the form of fresh flowers for everybody to enjoy. After all, who doesn’t love fresh flowers?

Sweetwater Flower Market is just the place to get those beauties from peonies to zinnias and everything in between. The City of Colorado Springs has a fascinating history and charm where beauty abounds everywhere.

That’s why they knew that their flower shop would fit right in and bring even more beauty to the region. Its artistically-designed flower arrangements are made to order and filled with unique reflections of a special occasion or particular season.

Sweetwater is your destination shopping of mercantile that you can’t find anywhere in Colorado.

May

Integrity Communication Solutions

Integrity is Integrity Communication Solutions’ way of life, which folds into the way they think and conduct their business operations. It is a privately-held, veteran-owned small business headquartered in Colorado Springs that is committed to excellence in communications engineering.

Its success comes from putting its customers first, and it seizes its success by hiring the best professionals who provide day-to-day excellence—its foundational value.

Integrity is focused on providing support and products in all areas related to communications. It is founded on the cornerstones of understanding, identifying and solving problems in the area of Military Satellite Communications (MilSatCom) engineering, operations, training and testing.

June

Mountain Standard Goods

Sisters, business partners, mischief makers.

Mountain Standard Goods (MSG) curates a mix of vintage and new products in order to provide the best quality products at a good price. By purchasing a well-made vintage item, you are not only getting lasting quality, but you are helping to reduce the carbon footprint of fast furniture and fast fashion waste. In addition, the quality and materials are thoughtfully-sourced and made by a craftsperson who is paid fairly and treated respectfully.

MSG loves the “thrill of the thrift” and sees the value in giving a used product a second life. In addition to curating vintage collections, they want to share with the community how buying new items from “slow-fashion” brands can impact communities around the world, starting with yours. Stop by for a gander at their fun, curated selection of gifts, apparel and vintage goods!

Mountain Standard Goods was a part of Downtown Partnership’s Holiday Pop-Up Program—come to learn more!

July

Go West Camps

Go West Camps allows us to discover the wonders and adventure of exploring our own backyard and take it to the neighborhood. The Camp takes advantage of the summer sunshine to nourish our bodies through physical activity and fresh food, and challenges our minds through activities that encourage exploration and innovation.

Go West Camps creates a community that supports skill development and helps kids to be successful as they grow.

August

Flying Horse Medical Center

This is the new face of medicine!

Flying Horse Medical Center is a concierge medical practice and aesthetics treatment center that believes in personalized, quality healthcare.

Their upscale concierge medicine and aesthetics services are designed to enable you and your family to build a close relationship with their dedicated medical staff.

The center’s fees are lower than industry standards and about the same as that of a gym membership. The typical family practice physician has between 2,000 and 3,000 patients to sustain a profitable medical practice. A concierge medicine model enables Flying Horse Medical Center to reduce patient numbers to 500-750 patients per provider, resulting in extended physician exams, more comprehensive diagnosis and same-day or even in-office appointments.

THANK YOU TO OUR SERIES SPONSOR:

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