In this 2-hour webinar, Sharon Harvey with the US Small Business Administration and Pam Racer with the SBTDC will teach you how you can grow your women owned business through procurement.

The US Small Business Administration and the Western Women’s Business Center will deliver a second chance workshop. The workshop is for those who have been incarcerated and want that second chance at being an entrepreneur and giving back to their community. We start by saying it’s not an easy path, but one must know their options to make changes. We will share why fixing your credit score is key and then how to hone in on what it takes to run a business, what goes into the business plan, and how to access capital. Our goal is to show you how you can turn the skills you had or the ones that you learned while incarcerated into making a better future for yourself. Find out how to turn those acquired skills gained from beauty/barber courses, culinary classes, computer classes, writing, business courses and more into a future.

🍂Registration is now open for October’s Cozy Up for Fall Retreat!🍂

RELAX, RECHARGE & BE INSPIRED with our 2-hour live spiritual retreat.
Wednesday, October 19th 7 pm to 9 pm ET

https://soulkyst.com/virtual-spiritual-retreats/

Opening Meditation and Closing Visualization
Facilitated by Randi Botnick

EFT Pro Tapping Workshop
Facilitated by Karen Berzanski

During this retreat, you’ll learn how to use the mind-body tool, Pro EFT™ Tapping to:

Look at the past year and identify what you want to release and let go of
Get super clear on what you want and don’t want moving into the final months of the year
Leave with inspired ideas on how to create the most luxurious and pleasurable holiday season you’ve ever experienced.
Take these 2 hours of well-deserved relaxation time to slow down and reset, and experience personal breakthroughs.

For more details and to register: https://soulkyst.com/virtual-spiritual-retreats/

Honor Breast Cancer Awareness Month with The MakeHER Market at Reynolds Village

The MakeHER Market returns to Reynolds Village in North Asheville on Saturday, October 22nd in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, an annual campaign to raise awareness about the impacts of breast cancer.

The October 2022 MakeHER Market will feature more than 20 female, independent creatives, makers, and designers and their unique, hand-crafted goods, as well as raise money for a local breast cancer support organization. The Hope Chest for Women is an organization that provides support to women living in all 22 counties of WNC and relieves some of the financial burdens created by breast or gynecological cancer treatment costs. Locally handmade art, accessories, and botanicals, as well as Fair Trade coffee, jewelry, and home décor, will be available to purchase at The MakeHER Market. The event is organized by Pride & Archive, Maadili Collective, and Hello, Gorgeous! Professional Bra Fitting & More, all women-led, local Asheville companies. In addition to shopping for local vendor goods, guests can donate gently used bras to Hello Gorgeous! Bra Drive for HelpMate. This year-round program aims to provide courageous survivors of domestic violence with bra fittings and gently loved, cleaned, and curated bras at no cost to the survivors. The MakeHER Market event aims to honor the empowerment and enterprising ventures of diverse women locally and abroad as well as honor the October observance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and promote the mission for every woman to have access to the screenings she needs and the support she deserves.

Started in March 2019, the MakeHER Market began as a way to highlight and create connections between the talented community of Asheville female entrepreneurs, as well as establish a local event to celebrate International Women’s Day. Since its inception, the MakeHER Market has evolved to include a focus on women’s social and health-related issues and partner with local organizations in efforts to fundraise and raise awareness of various causes.

Event hours are 11 am to 5 pm, admission is free and families are welcome.

We will begin with a 1-hour small engine diagnostic, repair, and maintenance demonstration led by Community Farm Manager Chris Link. The workshop will be followed at 6 pm by a “Repair Cafe“, which helps folks repair household goods. This Repair Cafe session will be especially well-equipped for small engines and other farm/garden related jobs like blade sharpening, handle replacements, and power tool repair. FREE and open to the public

Come out in a family friendly costume with your well behaved dog (costumes highly encouraged) and help raise funds for Eblen Charities work! All dogs will receive a treat, and all humans will be entered into raffles for prizes. All funds raised go to our work to keep people housed, with working utilities and other essential needs. Register by October 7th to be guaranteed a tshirt.

Halloween can be just as much fun for adults as it is for children—especially if you find creepy things fun to play with! Indulge your dark side this Halloween weekend by creating a creepy curiosity cabinet!

Curiosity cabinets were pieces of furniture or entire rooms where 19th century people displayed items they had collected in their travels or scientific investigations. These Victorians also had a fascination with the morbid and peculiar juxtapositions of people, animals, and things.

In this frighteningly fun workshop, mixed media artist Kate Corcoran will show you how to create a miniature curiosity cabinet that you can pull out each October or display all year round. In the process, you’ll learn how to compose, layer, and adhere mixed media materials: skills that you can apply to all mixed media projects!

With climate change, automobile dependency, and rising costs for housing and transportation, America needs to reverse suburban sprawl and focus again on our cities and small towns now more than ever. This won’t happen to any meaningful extent without small scale development, and lots of it. Zoning reform and incremental development education will be key to making it happen.

In this session, you’ll learn about how Buffalo’s 2017 zoning overhaul made a walkable, transit friendly development legal again. We will talk about how it is helping enable small scale projects, create wealth for working people, and rebuild a legacy Great Lakes city that despite losing half of its population from 1950 to 2010, is now America’s fastest growing Rust Belt city.

Doors open at 5:30pm and the session begins at 6pm.

Building Our City is presented by The Grove Arcade Public Market Foundation with support from Kimpton Hotel Arras. The series is produced by the Asheville Downtown Association Foundaiton and Urban3

The WomanUP celebration on Nov. 3rd is the event of the year for women in business.

Connect with hundreds of Asheville/Buncombe women in business.

Celebrate outstanding women in our business community. Over 50 women have been nominated for this year’s WomanUP awards. Together, we’ll honor these amazing WomanUP award nominees and celebrate this year’s winners.

Be inspired by Caroline Wanga’s keynote. You’ll see why her witty “real-talk” style and insights make her a highly sought-after keynote speaker, equity strategist, thought leader, and community influencer.

Wanga is the Chief Executive Officer of ESSENCE, the number one media, technology and commerce company dedicated to Black women and communities. She joined ESSENCE after serving as former Chief Culture, Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Target.

Her keynote promises to inspire us to live into our authentic selves and create work environments that embrace the authenticity of all.

Join America’s top leading real estate producers to learn about what it takes to get your business and listings to the next level!

Held in Downtown Asheville’s Renaissance Hotel, this jam-packed real estate seminar features a distinguished panel of national top producers. Join Rowena Patton (#1 Team in Western, NC), Marti Hampton (#1 Raleigh Resale Team for 8 Years) & Amy Wienands (#1 Team in Iowa) as they detail the concrete steps to launch your real estate career to new heights.

Learn how to:
• Master strategies and outperform your competitors during a shifting market
• Overcome objectives and gain more listings
• Turn a fixed mindset into a growth mindset
• Apply habits to increase your production

Exclusive offer TODAY!
Use our promo code to get 85% off your ticket price!
Check out with Promo Code: ELEVATE

Be one of Santa’s Important People with the fun new way to participate in the 42nd annual SMOKY MOUNTAIN TOY RUN!

SIP participants will have reserved parking at Kearfott, a specially designed commemorative Toy Run hoodie sweatshirt, rocker and patch. Additionally the SIP participants will lead the way to Downtown Asheville!

$75.00 per single rider or $100.00 per couple on a bike also includes event entrance fee.

Gates opens at 10:00 am and the SIP’s will lead the ride to downtown Asheville at 1:00 pm.

The Smoky Mountain Toy Run is the oldest running Toy Run in North Carolina!

Celebrating 42 years of insuring a Merry Christmas to children in need!

In an effort to guarantee shirts are available for all SIP participants we ask that you please pre-register before October 30!

Additional 2022 tee shirts and hoodies available at the event, as well as, a limited selection of vintage designs.

Come be a part of this wonderful community event that helps children of our community have a brighter holiday!

ALL PROCEEDS BENEFIT

EBLEN CHARITIES

SAINT NICHOLAS PROJECT

You can be one of Santa’s Important People!

is almost here, and you can still be one of Santa’s Important People. Visit this link to learn more and sign up.

All funds and toys collected will go to support our St. Nicholas Project store, now in its 12th year. Last year we helped more than 1,350 families with holiday gifts for their children. We’re grateful to the Smoky Mountain Toy Run folks and all who help us make this a magical holiday season for kids, regardless of their family’s financial situation.

Interactive workshop for adult beginners wishing for a stage to shine on (or behind), with a scriptwriting lesson and mock auditions using scenes from the feature script ‘BILLIE’S SONG, AN URBAN FAIRY TALE’.

This fun lesson and opportunity to get up perform is an introduction to the ‘BILLIE’S SONG’ Theatrical Readings Project being planned for Spring 2023. The script has half Black characters and half White (with a few roles that can be other). For the theatrical readings we will be recruiting community members from diverse neighborhoods to be both cast and creative team, with wardrobe, props, and set pieces all obtained in a community scavenger hunt or created by community members. The goal will be to rotate performance locations, from an art gallery to a church to a public housing community center to a storefront business, to draw-in people who wouldn’t normally turn out together.

Script Synopsis: Billie, a struggling working-class Black actress estranged from her family, becomes involved with Benjamin, an emotionally conflicted wealthy white man angling to secure a leadership position he has on a probationary basis. Initially, Billie and Ben amuse, then need and support each other. But the differences in their communities—and the personal demons they don’t reveal to each other—eventually put them up against each other in a potentially violent fight for survival (for Billie physical survival, for Ben spiritual vs face-saving survival).

“I think the script is wonderfully written, well-paced, fun, and serious without taking itself seriously. I especially love the ending!” – Erin Clare, Story Parlor founder, formerly Creative Director of the Austin Film Festival and its Writer Conference

Led by Trayce Gardner (Writer/Teacher/Guerilla Filmmaker/Community Organizer) and recent refugee from Brooklyn, NY, where she taught beginning scriptwriting and short filmmaking classes for seven years at New York City College of Technology’s Continuing Ed.

Speaker(s): Candy Williams

Chris Larsen
Christopher Larsen is the founder and Managing Partner of Next-Level Income. Since “retiring” after 18 years in the medical device industry, he dedicates his time to helping others become financially independent through education and investment opportunities. Chris has been investing in and managing real estate for over 20 years. While completing his degree in Biomechanical Engineering and M.B.A. in Finance at Virginia Tech, he bought his first single-family rental at age 21. Chris expanded into development, private lending, buying distressed debt and commercial office, and ultimately syndicating commercial properties. He began syndicating deals in 2016 and has been actively involved in over $500M of real estate acquisitions. In addition to real estate, Chris has invested in equities, oil & gas, and small business lending, as well as being active in Venture South, one of the nation’s Top 10 Angel Investing groups. Chris lives with his wife and two boys (and Viszla, Lucy!) in Asheville, NC, where he loves spending time with them outdoors and enjoying the food and culture the region offers.

Bryce Robertson
A native of Australia, Bryce dropped out of high school with no knowledge of business or entrepreneurship at the time. After a few years in the underground gold mines and 6 years of world travel, Bryce met the love of his life, and planted his feet firmly in the USA.

From there, Bryce turned a negative net worth, $2,000 and unseasoned credit into financial freedom in 2.5 years. During the process he created order, peace and prosperity in his life and in the lives of those around him.

Through his respect for the power of money, Bryce leads the Cultiv8 Collective Inner Circle by investing in creating FREEDOM!
With a strong desire to enhance physical and mental toughness, Bryce enjoys challenging himself in outdoor adventure sports and athletic endurance competitions. Bryce loves traveling and adventuring with his wife and their dogs, and expresses his creativity through drumming.
Bryce along with industry leading experts, inspire and empower “Freedom Hackers” to live in true fulfillment, living their soul’s purpose, and expressing their FREEDOM through the videocast and podcast Freedom Hack Radio.
Bryce is host to the life-altering 2-day live and virtual Financial Freedom Mastery, where participants create their own fully-customized Financial Freedom action-plan in order to create Financial Freedom in their lives as soon as possible.