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Follow Your Entrepreneurial Dream With Advice From Kim Malek
Have you ever sat through a dull corporate meeting and dreamed of opening your own business? Have you fantasized about being the person in charge so things run the way they should?
Studies show that 60 percent of working women leaders want to be their own boss. Today we’re going to talk to a women leader who finally stopped dreaming and did something about it.
How One Woman’s Dream Began
Kim Malek was working with Starbucks back in 1996 when it was a small Seattle coffee company with only 30 stores. She was there as it started to grow into today’s international behemoth and she learned a lot about how to grow a business. As exciting as it was to be part of this legendary company, she wanted to move back to Portland, Oregon and open an ice cream shop with a difference. Over the next decade, she worked for other major corporations, always afraid to follow her dream and possibly fail.
Kim Did It And You Can Do It, Too!
In 2010, Kim finally quit the corporate world and moved back to Portland. One person offered her free room and board for a year. Her cousin, who was in culinary school and fascinated with ice cream production, saw her vision and wanted to be part of her dream. By 2011, they had opened the first Salt & Straw Ice Cream Parlor. Today, they distribute their ice creams nationally through the Internet and have two local outlets—so far. The company has been written up locally, featured in major magazines and profiled on network television programs. Kim has learned what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur and women leader. She’s eager to share that knowledge with you.
In this podcast, executive business coach Sabrina Braham and Kim Malek will discuss:
—  How building solid community relationships can produce more effective advertising than having a large marketing budget;
—  Ways you can use recycled materials and local elements to design your business space inexpensively and have it feel both comfortable and upscale;
—  The ways in which international business experience translates to running a small local company;
—  How financiers can give you invaluable assistance, even if they don’t give you the loan;
—  The importance of both working with women leader mentors and asking more experienced people for help when starting any new venture;
—  Why your business plan should also outline the future, including a possible exit strategy;
—  What you should constantly re-examine as your business grows and develops.
