CO.STARTERS really helped me to clarify my thinking about my business during its incubation phase. I worried that the others in my cohort would be much "further along" than me, or possess know-how that would make me, a non-business, non-spreadsheet person by nature, feel out of my league. The power of the program is the way that it levies the strengths of each member of each group, so that we're able to teach each other as we're being guided by the expertise of our cohort leaders. Jacqui and Jessica provided excellent wisdom on the macro and micro levels, from soul-searching to location-hunting and number-crunching. I left my 6-week session feeling much more confident not only in my vision, but in the steps needed to achieve and sustain it. We opened Thank You Books in December of 2019, and nearly three years and an ongoing pandemic later, we are still solvent and thrilled to be serving our community.

I moved to Birmingham as an Executive Chef for a restaurant concept here. I wanted to start my own restaurant concept but needed direction. I have a business degree and over 20 years of restaurant experience. But it wasn’t until I took a class called CO.STARTERS, offered through Create Birmingham, that I found that direction. That class helped me flush out the model. I went to that class ready to open a restaurant. I left that class thinking differently. Create Birmingham helped me do my first pop-up. It was a restaurant takeover.  I had never heard of it before and didn’t think it was possible. They even helped me find a restaurant that was willing to let me pop-up. I was able to present my product to the public, and it was a huge success! Think small is the most important thing I got out of that class. Instead of opening a restaurant, I opened a food truck. Now I have two food trucks and one restaurant. I would not be where I am today without Create Birmingham, a tremendous asset to the City of Birmingham.

Prior to enrolling in the CO.STARTERS program, I was attempting to run a business and failing miserably. I would not be where I am today without the support and guidance of everyone at Create Birmingham. Their ongoing support for myself and countless other small businesses in Birmingham over the last few years has been essential to Birmingham's growth.