Small Business Success

Small business ownership can be a pathway to find personal growth, build generational wealth, and to give back to your local community - and successful small business owners often make it look easy! Hear from three local entrepreneurs as they share about their journey, how they started out, their advice to others, and where they turned for help along the way.

This 3-part keynote event will be followed by a moderated panel discussion with all three speakers, to learn more about them and the companies they run.


Jazel Jane Bautista
ACTS Pharmacy

Jazel Bautista is the owner and pharmacist at ACTS Pharmacy in Tacoma, WA, a company she founded with her husband Wilbur in 2018. With a focus on serving their local community ACTS Pharmacy offers a full-service pharmacy couple with clinical services including laboratory tests, immunizations, travel clinic services, and HIV PrEp.  

Jazel and Wilbur have grown their business from the ground up and adapted to the needs of the community while developing their skills as employers and small business owners. In 2024 Jazel Bautista was recognized as the Washington State Immunization Champion by the Association of Immunization Managers (AIM) and Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

 

Cher Hobbick
Bite Me Catering and Altitude 15 Food Hall

Cher Hobbick is the owner of Bite Me Catering PNW and Altitude 15 Food Hall and Culinary Co-op in Olympia, Washington. After selling a business that she co-owned with her husband and moving to the Pacific Northwest, Cher’s entrepreneurial journey re-launched with a desire to bring people together with her passion for food and cooking. When she attended culinary school at South Puget Sound Community College, the seeds of entrepreneurship grew, and she started her catering business, Bite Me. Two years later, Cher continues to build within her community by opening Altitude 15, a shared space for restauranteurs in downtown Olympia which will welcome startup food vendors, feature a commissary kitchen they can share, and an event space for chef driven pop-up dinning. 

 

Grayson Crane
Pink Moon Farm

Grayson (they/he) owns and operates Pink Moon Farm, a 22-acre diversified vegetable, poultry and sheep farm located in Eatonville, WA nearby Mt. Tahoma on Nisqually land. Entering their thirteenth year farming, and sixth year running Pink Moon, Grayson is proud to grow food for the Puget Sound region through CSA shares, two farmers markets, and wholesale accounts to restaurants and regional food banks.  Pink Moon has leveraged several sources of funding, including grants from the USDA, WSDA, Pierce County, and other funders to build a business that aligns with their values.

Grayson loves farm work, being outside, and the process of growing and raising food. Outside of farming, you can find them playing music, petting their dogs, going on runs, and scheming trips to national parks. He is proud to serve on the board of the Washington Young Farmers Coalition and the Pierce County Conservation District.