Musician, activist and founder of nonprofit Taking Ownership PDX, Randal Wyatt discusses his journey to creating Taking Ownership and the work they do in the community. As well as why he thinks the model works so well in Portland and how creating the organization has made him a better leader.

Other topics discussed….

- Why he’s so optimistic

- How he got into the music scene in Portland

- The inspiration behind starting taking ownership PDX

- Challenges of organizing volunteers

- Leadership through team management

- Challenges in becoming a registered non profit

- Dealing with anxiety / what self care looks like to him

- Why other cities haven’t adopted the Taking Ownership model

- Types of work Taking Ownership does

- The unique story of Randal becoming a homeowner

- PDX Housing Solidarity Project & Back Home ADU

- What it’s like having his kids see him do this work

- What song has defined his year

- How you can get involved with Taking Ownership

Find Randal here.

Find Taking Ownership PDX here.

Little Big Burger, Boxer Ramen & Blue Star Doughnuts cofounder, Katie Poppe, joins Jenelle to chat about the journey of founding multiple business, why she decided to sell Little Big Burger, and how she uses her science background to help her run Blue Star Doughnuts.

Other topics of conversation....

- How Blue Star began and what’s behind the name

- Hardships of owning a business during covid

- Providing moments of joy for customers

- Pressure of being positive all the time, not letting your team see you struggle

- How she refuels herself

- Why she decided to sell Little Big Burger after five years

- How having a BS in science has helped her Blue Star

- Building out a new Blue Star at PDX airpot

- Dealing with hiring pandemic “kids” & employee turn over rates

- The importence of inviting HR to the table

- The people she choses to surround herself with as an introvert

- What she would go back and tell herself that was just starting out

- Advice for other female entrepreneurs


Find Blue Star here!

James Beard Award winning Author, Mark Bitterman chats about his love of food and place, and the connection between the two. He shares his journey to becaming known as the “salt” guy and the what he’s learned from taking something he’s passionate about and turning it into a business.

Other topics of conversation...

- Welcoming people In & hospitality - what he look for in employees

- History of salt is such a unique story, there’s such a wealth inside this simple ingredient

- How he feels about the story of food today

- How starting a brick & mortar store became a path of personal growth & helped him learn about himself & money

- Learning what you’re not good at to help your business

- The irony of table salt being the standard since it’s so bad

- Having a storefront during covid

- What is the taste of Portland and how do his shops differ from one another

- What he sees as the future for Portland & his involvement

Find the Medeow here.

Marks book can be found here.

Charcuterie queen & cofounder of Olympia Provisions, Michelle Cairo joins Jenelle and shares the story OP’s humble beginnings, her very prevalent greek roots, and how she’s had such success hiring second chance employees. As well she explains how she consciously leads her team by always trying to be “above the line”.

Topics of conversations.....

- Growing up in Utah & her Greek roots

- How the loss of her father changed her

- Where her “don’t care about rules” attitude comes from

- The best way to make her do something is to tell her that she can’t do it

- Her brother asking her to help start Olympia Provisions

- Practical applications for leading her team & the teams relationship

- How she use “Clearing” in her business

- Being below or above the line

- The how & why of being a Second Chance employer

- Continuing to adhere to the company’s values

- How she built Olympia Provisions farmer network & why OP wants to work with local farmers

- How they make their products & what makes them different

- What the future for Olympia Provisions holds

Books talked about in this episode:

15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership by Jim Dethmer

Traction, Get a Grip On Your Business by Gino Wickman

Find Michelle here!

Javier Alomoía joins Jenelle sharing his journey from Ecuduor to Portland and the keys to his success in building his business from nothing to the robust success that it is today. As well Javier tells us the why of his immense involvement in the local PDX community and why he generally always says “Yes”.

Other topics of conversation….

- How he came to USA

- How he got into real estate

- What influences how he manages his finances.

- Mindset helping budge for the future

- Community service… this feels good.

- Why immigrants come to America and 50% of millionaires in America being immigrants

- Habit’s of success and being intentional every morning

- Selling is more about listening and asking questions

- How he thinks about his sphere - keeping in touch with his community

- Your reality is only what you think it's going to be

Find Javier here!

Jenelle is joined my Mimi’s Fresh Tees founder and owner, Kamelah Adams as they discuss her road to being an entrepreneur in Portland, the how & why of her business & the unique challenges being women of color present in entrepenuirship

Other topics of conversion…

-Growing up in Portland and how that shaped her 

-How Mimi’s Fresh T’s Started

-At what point did she realize that she had started a business

-Being a mom & business owner

-How she initially financed her business

-Intersectionality between women owned business and women in sports

-Being downtown and dealing with the city 

Check out Mimi's Fresh Tees online here! 

Stephen Green, one of the most active & involved people in the Portland business community,  joins Jenelle to discuss the how & why of how he shows up for the city, why he’s so passionate about the PDX community and the many inspirational organizations he’s help found  & work with.

Topics of conversation…

- Working in the business vs on the business

- What led him to his work

- Community over competition helps more people be Portland be entrepreneurs

- Starting the Oregon Public House, the world first non profit pub

- Founding Pitch Black PDX

- Some of his favorite success stories from Pitch Black

- Where you bank matters & why

- Serving on the Governor task force

- A Business For Better Portland vs. Portland Business Association

- How / where  your spend you money is important to local businesses

Find Stephen Here! 

Jenelle is joined by NW Legend Carol Ferris as they discuss Carol’s journey from Corporate life to becoming one of the most successful and sought out astrologers on the West Coast. They chat about Mythology, what Astrology is and isn’t, and Carol has been able to build a referral based business.

Topics of conversation…

- How Carol came to Astrology

- Spirit Can Move Through Time In A Way You Can Know

- Mythology & Religion told for and by Kings

- Pulling In the Feminine / unravel stories to bring in the feminine

- Astrology being pimarily a symbolic language

- Carol’s philosophy on Astrology

- Martin Shaw & his courses 

- How she’s gone about building a referral only business

- The “List” & taking responsibility for the relationship

-Is there an astrological explanation for what is happening in the world right now?


Find Carol here!