The students in the Entrepreneurship in the Arts class I teach at Wichita State University astounded me recently. What I thought was an obvious question, stumped them. We were talking about Watermark Books and I asked them why they thought it was important that Wichita have an independent locally-owned bookstore? Their answer … Crickets. The longer we sat in silence, the more I realized they really didn’t know the answer. Maybe it isn’t reasonable of me to expect, but I imagi

I went to the Wichita Community Foundation’s Focus Forward program on Monday. What I discovered in that hour and a half, shook me to my core. I left that meeting feeling like I’d woken up from a long abusive relationship to finally realize how futile it is to hope that things will ever change in Wichita. This city I love, and that I’ve worked hard to make a better place, is not a friendly place for women in business. I went home, and immediately opened my computer to research

At the 3rd Annual WIBA Small Business Connect Event Since I was a little red-headed girl, I’ve know what I wanted to be when I grew up – an entrepreneur. I wasn’t sure what that business would be, just that I wanted to be the boss. As a kid, I dabbled in lots of ways to make money around the neighborhood. We put on plays and carnivals in the backyard, sold “art,” and always had a lemonade stand anytime there was a garage sale on the block. I produced and sold a newsletter, Th

Wow! Your Headmistress has been in the paper twice this week! Just in case you missed it: My consulting client, Kira, has signed the lease on her upcoming gluten-free restaurant. Check out the article here to learn more! Learn more about my businesses and what I'm up to in this small business profile article by Joe Stumpe. #News #HeadmistressJill #CreativeSolutions #Businessconsulting

Several years ago, I read “Radiating Like a Stone, Wichita Women and the 1970s Feminist Movement,” an anthology of essays about local women

Since I was a little red-headed girl, I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up – a business owner. I didn’t know what kind of business I wa