Meno

Like many entrepreneurs, Jerri Hobdy does not have a business background. With a Bachelor of Fine Arts and years of experience in furniture design, she has taken a more creative journey to starting her business. Leveraging her passion and expertise, Jerri has created Meno, a sustainable furniture store, and will celebrate the grand opening of her showroom in Denver on May 16^th.

Designing for major furniture brands since 2013, Jerri has been afforded a unique perspective into the industry, recognizing outdated processes that could be altered for a more sustainable operation, and over the span of many years developed a business to address the issues she was witnessing. Meno is a Greek word describing a symbiotic relationship and is the ethos for Jerri’s business focused on a circular business model. Setting Meno apart from other furniture stores is the commitment to reducing waste, championing climate friendly materials, and lowering the carbon footprint of logistics.

Meno is positioned as a meeting place of meaningful sustainability and appealing design. Jerri describes her motivation saying, “My goal is to not only do things differently but to actually show the industry a fresh business model and approach that can be profitable, all while being transparent for the customers.”

The road getting here has been filled with challenges, namely barriers to accessing traditional lending capital, but through her resilience, patience, and creativity, Jerri has taken advantage of other resources available to build her business acumen and confidence. Prior to COVID-19, Jerri participated in SBDC workshops and the Leading Edge course to gain a stronger business framework. Through the SBDC’s support, Jerri was able to deepen her understanding of core business concepts and strengthen her positioning as a business owner. Jerri describes how helpful it was to have a safe space to learn and ask questions, setting her up with a strong foundation for her business.

Jerri’s advice to other entrepreneurs is to start building your network and talking about what you are creating. She encourages saying, “the more you talk about your product the more succinct your pitch becomes and the easier it is to communicate ideas to others.” She also describes the benefit small business owners have in their ability to act nimbly and to benefit from the problem solving that naturally comes with a more “patchwork” process.

Starting May 16^th customers can visit Meno’s showroom in downtown Denver on 18^th and Blake in the Free Market building. The showroom features handpicked vintage furniture as well as Meno’s hand-poured home fragrance line for a hyper-local shopping experience. Shop online and learn more at menohome.com or on Instagram at meno.home.c

https://www.instagram.com/meno.home/
1801 Blake St. Denver, CO 80202
Jerri Hobdy
https://www.menohome.com/

Do Gooder Games Cafe

Dan Willman and his wife, Jessica, are co-owners of Do Gooder Games Café, a hybrid games store with an inclusive community where patrons are invited to play games with others while enjoying their favorite beverages and snacks from the café. The store also features new and diverse offerings for customers to purchase games and supplies. To further build community and set themselves apart from similar enterprises, they champion a unique rewards program where customers not only earn points for dollars spent, but also for participating in events such as meetups, art shows, and more.

Timberleaf Trailers

Kevin Molick is a custom cabinet contractor and outdoorsman. The idea of building a teardrop trailer for his camping adventures intrigued him so he built one to suit his needs. It wasn’t long before he was getting inquires on social media about how one of these trailers could be purchased which moved him to start building more trailers. By the end of 2016 he had built and sold 12 of these custom made trailers. “We

Profound Fitness

Diana Rael is the owner of Profound Fitness, a small, personalized gym and training program for all fitness needs. That sounds like the description of many typical fitness establishments. However, Rael’s program is anything but typical. She serves people with special needs, those dealing with the challenges of aging, and those who are uncomfortable in a gym setting—as well as everyone else. Rael’s background includes early childhood education, science education, martial arts, and personal training.

Rocky Mountain Brownies

There is rarely a linear path to entrepreneurship. Often, it is a series of twists and turns, ups and downs, that wind us through the business journey. That has surely been the case for Lori Christensen, owner of Rocky Mountain Brownies. Lori was sailing through a highly successful law career, when a series of life altering circumstances forced her to reconsider what she valued most and what kind of life she wanted to lead.

Ruby Jean Patisserie

Jen Essex, owner and baker at Ruby Jean Patisserie came to the Small Business Development Center with a passion for baking and a dream of opening up her own bakery shop. Having completed her French technique training in Chicago Jen was driven to make her dream a reality. Jen decided the best strategy was to enroll in our 11 week Leading Edge Business Planning course which prepares students for starting their own business and writing

Dale’s Meats

Paul Beier has family business roots in the meat industry dating back to 1950 and has continued the tradition by carrying on his father’s business, Dale’s Meats, in Brighton, Colorado. Weathering the impacts of a pandemic has not been an easy feat for small businesses, especially ones with such longstanding history attached. However, through the support of the CARES Act funding, Paul as been able to shepherd Dale’s Meats through the economic slowdown and has