Month: April 2024

Some people are gifted with the ability to turn everything they touch into gold.
Lisa Song Sutton is one of those people.
Her list of accomplishments are so long (and growing), that we couldn’t even list any one business venture in the title for this article. We simply settled on “thriving entrepreneur”.
And for good reason. She has been succeeding in every venture she has undertaken, starting as an attorney, later becoming a pageant. Lisa has the title of both Miss Las Vegas and Miss Nevada, impressive feats of accomplishments. It’s part of the reason she had the confidence to go from a 9 to 5 job and into entrepreneurship.
“There’s a million different ways to do it [entrepreneurship], but the key is to actually just do it because if you don’t, you’re always left wondering,” Lisa said.
And she definitely “did it.”
Lisa The Entrepreneur and Her Path to Success
Her first business venture included two of Las Vegas’ most symbolic items, food and alcohol, in Sin City Cupcakes.
“I started my first venture with a partner and co-founder Danielle called Sin City Cupcakes. We started that truly on a whim. I didn’t know how to bake when we started the company. I just thought alcohol cupcakes sounded like a great idea,” Lisa said.

Sin City Cupcakes is a tourists’ delight, but she wasn’t satisfied yet. She then went on to acquire a real estate license. Lisa learned from the cupcake business that as long as she has the right partner and team, it will succeed. She then partnered up with a broker, and that business took off as well – but she wasn’t done yet – she moved onto the mailbox business.
“I have several locations of a mailbox rental pack and ship store called Ship Las Vegas. We’re an independent mailbox rental pack and ship store,” Lisa said.
An Entrepreneur Helping the Veteran Community
An already proven entrepreneur, she wanted to give back to other entrepreneurs and help them out, particularly entrepreneurs from the veteran community.
“I’m the general partner in a venture capital fund called The Veteran Fund. We invest in entrepreneurs who are veterans and military spouses,” Lisa said. “All of us truly share the same vision around wanting to help empower the veteran community in a very meaningful way.”
Lisa fully credits America with having the opportunity to accomplish so much. America gives every citizen the opportunity to start a business, build an empire and achieve great success. Lisa wants you to know that, too.
Lisa said, “You shouldn’t ever feel like, ‘oh because I’m scared to do something’ as a reason not to do it. It’s actually totally the reason that you should give it a try and do it.”
Follow Lisa on Instagram and check out ALL her businesses ventures on www.lisasongsutton.com and Facebook page.

Who is Trudy Jacobson?
Trudy is an entrepreneur and leader. Her path to success and entrepreneurialism started in the trucking industry decades ago. She encountered numerous obstacles in the male-dominated industry- like discrimination. She was even conned out of a lot of money in a fraudulent scheme. Despite all that, Trudy always fought hard and pushed forward. Once she realized she was capable of anything, she went on to start her own company and excelled. Now she empowers other women to do the same and to learn from her experience. Trudy now highlights their stories for the world to see in the Great American Women Series. Trudy wants women everywhere to know they can achieve their goals.

One afternoon several years ago, Toni overheard a crowd marching outside her building chanting “What do you want? Dead cops! When do you want them? Right now!”
That’s when she picked up the phone and called some friends. She heard the same message several times – what are you going to do about it?
After going through that troubling experience, Toni knew our country was heading in the wrong direction. She pondered over how she could help reunite America, if at all. She eventually figured it out; start a nonprofit organization to help communities come together with One Community USA. But it wasn’t your run-of-the-mill organization. She knew she had to hit the road and get her message out.
“I met with every governor who would see me, every police chief who would see me, every victim of police violence that would see me. And every officer’s family that may have been killed by a community member – if they would sit down with me, I met with them as well,” Toni said.
Toni recognized that America was being torn apart by social issues. She knew something had to change or it would simply continue to get worse. So Toni started One Community USA with the vision that every neighborhood across the country is safe, secure and the local businesses are thriving. She won’t stop until every community is like that. Part of the strategy is to connect people within a community and help them work together for the sake of everyone there.
“We design programs around minority-owned business owners who have taken a leap of faith to go and get a loan to open up a business in an area of concentrated poverty,” Toni said. She continued, “When you can talk about things you can build a bridge of trust. When you build a bridge of trust, you create unity. When that happens, that one little shopping center now becomes safer.”
Local Law Enforcement is Vital to One Community USA
Toni understands that in order for a community to improve, they not only have to communicate as residents and business owners, they must incorporate government organizations as well, particularly the local law enforcement. It is law enforcement who responds to many emergencies and knowing members in the community can prove to be a vital part of being successful in law enforcement objectives.
“Over a three to five year period, I can show empirically, the value of law enforcement. I can show empirically the value of positive conversations,” Toni said. “I can also show you how the neighborhood goes from being slightly unsafe to safer. What we’re doing is stabilizing, revitalizing and then having economic development. That’s a win-win for everyone.”

Toni’s conviction to help America is moving full steam ahead. The growing organization has since expanded to include ten leaders who accomplish a variety of tasks for the nonprofit, and dozens of individuals on various advisory boards.
But she also knows nothing is possible without first responders.
“Those two groups, community and our frontline first responders… if we come together, we have a safer, stronger and better America,” Toni said.
You can read more about Toni Brinker and One Community USA by visiting their website at www.onecommunityusa.org

Who is Trudy Jacobson?
Trudy is an entrepreneur and leader. Her path to success and entrepreneurialism started in the trucking industry decades ago. She encountered numerous obstacles in the male-dominated industry- like discrimination. She was even conned out of a lot of money in a fraudulent scheme. Despite all that, Trudy always fought hard and pushed forward. Once she realized she was capable of anything, she went on to start her own company and excelled. Now she empowers other women to do the same and to learn from her experience. Trudy now highlights their stories for the world to see in the Great American Women Series. Trudy wants women everywhere to know they can achieve their goals.

Dana and her husband Sal decided to enter the business world and open a coffee shop. But for Dana, it was more than just the coffee; it was also about service.
Dana grew up surrounded by family members who committed themselves to the service of others. Even her husband served in the United States military as a Navy SEAL.
It was important for her to enter a business that recreates the feeling of service to others, a coffee shop. She aptly named it Battle Grounds Coffee Company.
“[We] decided we needed a space where we could invite everybody to have an open conversation, a place where people can come out and hang out. So, when the idea of Battle Grounds Coffee came to life, it was built on that foundation of service to our community, to our customers, to the coffee we serve and to our country to continue that service, that mission- focus on what we could bring to that community,” Dana said.

Battle Grounds and the Pandemic
As many women who entered the small business world know, it wasn’t always a smooth ride. Their dedication and business savvy were tested with the onset of the covid pandemic.
They were forced to close the shop temporarily while restrictions were in place. Dana took a fulltime position at a local hospital in yet another extension of service to community.
Once she was able to reopen the coffee shop, she faced new challenges related to re-opening the business. What started out as a difficult challenge turned into a blessing in disguise.
“When we were ready to reopen, there were a lot of challenges. A lot of unknowns, a lot of changes and getting used to these changes. The silver lining to covid was it gave business owners the ability to change their direction, their style,” she said.

Dana’s experience with business ownership has been challenging and rewarding. Now she wants to encourage all women out there who are considering starting a business to go for it.
She made no false promises that it will be easy but assures women it’s worth it and that they can do it successfully.
“You have the confidence to do it, you know you do, or you wouldn’t be asking yourself ‘should I open this business.’ Just take that leap,” Dana said.
Very inspiring words.
Check out Dana’s coffee company website www.battlecoffee.com, and check out their Facebook and Twitter pages.

Who is Trudy Jacobson?
Trudy is an entrepreneur and leader. Her path to success and entrepreneurialism started in the trucking industry decades ago. She encountered numerous obstacles in the male-dominated industry- like discrimination. She was even conned out of a lot of money in a fraudulent scheme. Despite all that, Trudy always fought hard and pushed forward. Once she realized she was capable of anything, she went on to start her own company and excelled. Now she empowers other women to do the same and to learn from her experience. Trudy now highlights their stories for the world to see in the Great American Women Series. Trudy wants women everywhere to know they can achieve their goals.