Erin Hutchison
Owner, Vehicle Vault Museum and Event Center
You own a car museum! How did that happen?
Vehicle Vault is really a labor of love. The joke is my degree is in anthropology with a minor in art history. I always knew I'd work in a museum, but I never thought I'd own an automotive one. I’ve loved cars my entire life. My family was fortunate enough to start collecting. After a while, my father said, “Well, what are you going to do? They're all just big paperweights right now.” And so the idea of a museum was born. I feel very strongly that we have to honor the past to appreciate where we are now. So that's the big thing for me—the history of the cars and the artistry. We have 55 cars and they are all works of art.
Tell us a little bit about your philanthropy.
I sit on the boards of the Rocky Mountain chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Make-a-Wish Colorado.
And you rent out the museum for special events?
Yes, we have a lot of social events—lots of anniversary and retirement parties. We’ve even hosted a few weddings. The museum is a wonderful venue for special celebrations.
Yumi Tran
Owner, Indochine Thai & Vietnamese Cuisine
How did you and your husband go from big tech careers to owning a restaurant? Were you done with the corporate world?
I wasn’t done. I mean, I loved the corporate world. I loved the stress that came with it. But my husband just decided he wanted to open a restaurant. I have no idea what the rhyme or reason was. So my husband opened it first. And then after a few months, it seemed like it wasn’t going to make it. He was struggling. So, I quit my job to help him.
What’s special about Indochine?
We have, in a roundabout way, developed a very healthy menu. I can't have MSG and cannot cook the way how most Asian people cook. I know other people can’t tolerate it either, so I revamped all recipes to eliminate MSG completely. And then all of a sudden, the whole gluten-free thing happened. Some of our regular customers were telling me, “I cannot eat wheat” and “I have celiac.” So I created many gluten-free recipes very early on. At that time people were saying it was just a fad. But really, this is a health-related issue, so our menu has been almost entirely gluten-free since 2007. And it’s all because we really want to accommodate our customers, who are so good to us.
Raemi Rue
Owner, Raemi Rue Photography Studio
How did you develop your love of photography?
Well, even though my mom was a photographer and I majored in photography in college, it took me three decades to really realize what I wanted to do with my life. Before I landed on photography, I was an adventurer. I went to Europe by myself in my 20s to explore the world. It was the best thing I’ve ever done.
How do you help your commercial clients build their brand through photography?
I really am passionate about helping businesses show the public their true colors, their true face, and the true client experience. Because people want real; they want to see the real thing. We can spot a stock photo a mile away, and we scroll fast through stock stuff. But when it's real, and people get to see who you and your business really are, that's a special experience. And when I get to see a business winning, like when I get to help that single dad who had an amazing idea and now he has a shop on Mainstreet in Parker, how beautiful is that?
So, a business can show its authenticity through images?
Absolutely. Because it’s about what you want people to feel emotionally when they come to you with a need. When I can create an emotional connection between the business's product and their potential client, their sales go up. Whether we want to admit it or not, we all make purchasing decisions based on emotion.
Gwen Nava
Hairstylist, Legacy Builder
Hairstyling is a true family affair.
Oh, yes. My mother was a famous hairdresser on the east coast. She created her own method of hair extensions, and I still use that method. She also created the first dress made of human hair and one of her dresses is in Ripley's Believe It or Not in Canada. She has passed, but she left her legacy. I had a salon in Aurora for many years and now my oldest daughter owns a salon there called The Hair Fetish Experience. And my son is a barber who works in one of my brother’s many barber shops. All of us grew up in this in this industry and we will carry on my mother's legacy.
Tell us about your hairstyling journey.
I started beauty school at 12 years old and graduated at 13. And then I had my own salon in North Carolina where I was raised. My mom told me I should learn to do hair so I’d have something to fall back on, but I love doing hair. It’s my hobby and my career.
What’s the name of your salon in Aurora?
It was called Rumors, and I opened it in 1999. It was one of the largest salons at the time because it was a salon and a barber shop. The business grew by word of mouth and the barber shop became a place where a lot of Broncos players came, and then word spread and we became the set for 26 episodes of “Live at the Barber Shop.” I had so many famous people coming in there. It was so cool and we had so much fun.
What happened to the salon?
I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and then the pandemic came, and it all just became too much. I still own the name and maybe one day I’ll open another salon. But for now, I'm just waiting for the next opportunity. I don't know what it is, but I believe it will come along. And you know, I'm just so blessed. I have my wonderful husband—we’ve been married 32 years—and I have my four children and 10 grandchildren. I do not live by sight; I live by faith. And I recommend that to everyone. Because it's working. It works.
Tasha Beckman
Owner, EXIT Mosaic Realty
Tell us about the unique services your real estate business offers.
I have a master’s degree in change management, and one of my talents is identifying logistics and systems and processes to help in a situation. I apply that to a program we offer that we refer to as the Moving Makeover program. It's typically for probate or conservatorship situations, in which a family member has inherited real estate and needs or wants to sell it. We will invest up to $10,000 on behalf of the personal probate representative to improve the property from a marketability perspective, and then collect direct reimbursement out of closing proceeds. Then at closing, that investment is returned to us. So many times in these situations, someone has inherited real estate that they have never lived in, so they have no idea what needs to be done to maximize the value of the property. And they may not be in a position to lay out a large sum of money to get the property ready to sell. We do that because it's the right thing to do. We offer this service to traditional sellers as well.
And you also manage your agents differently than the standard real estate franchise.
I’ve been in the business since the mid-1980s and I opened my own franchise in July of 2020 with four agents. And I now have 19. I wanted to do things differently because I was trying to solve pain points for myself. When an agent is producing at a high volume, they end up having to hire a third party, like an assistant, to help them. That can become very expensive and comes right out of their profits. Instead, I hire assistants for them to take care of marketing, social media, administrative duties, etc. The agents don’t have to foot the bill for those services. I don't like being nickeled and dimed for those things, so I didn’t want to do that to my agents. I want them to focus on being out in the community, building the business they want to build in order to feed their family,
The other thing that is unusual for us is we are actively engaged in mentoring, guiding and coaching the agents to improve their business. I really am driven to raise the bar of excellence in this industry. I am a Tom Ferry coach; Tom Ferry International is a coaching organization in the real estate industry. So I coach agents around the country as well as the agents in my office to make sure they are delivering a higher standard to the consumer. I am very driven to make sure that agents aren't playing at this. Buying a home is usually the biggest financial decision any consumer will make, and it's not fair for us to be practicing on the consumer. We practice and practice with each other before we're ever out in the community.
Hannah Echols-Grieser
Freelance Writer, Book Author
When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
I’ve always felt like I can't fully think unless I have paper in front of me. Writing things down is just how I process and make sense of the world. I feel like if I'm not writing, my mind is going a million miles a minute and it becomes difficult for me to be present. I’m grateful to write because it helps me not only see the world around me, but to see the people around me as well—it's just a way to slow down and be present.
And you recently published your first book! Tell us about it.
I work as a copywriter, and part of my job is ghostwriting books for our founder. The book came out in January. It’s called Run Your Race. How to Fulfill God's Will for Your Life with Peace, Patience, and Productivity. It’s the book I wish I had when I was fresh out of college. It’s an answer to so many of the questions I had about faith and how it practically affects my life when it comes to my career and my finances. It’s filled with wisdom and insight about how to navigate life as a young adult. I would have loved this book and I know a lot of other people will too. I feel so honored to have been a part of it.
Jo Avu
Owner, Sunrise Pharmacy, Compounding & Medical Supplies
Tell us about your journey into owning your own pharmacy.
I attended college in my country of Nigeria and majored in French. When I graduated, I couldn't get a job. Everyone wanted experience, but how would I have experience? I went straight from high school to college; I had never had a job. Then somebody advised me to get my master’s degree. And I said, “Well, it’s not going to be a master's in French. If I have to go back to school, I have to do something else.” So I decided to try science. I didn't have any background in science; I had to start all over. I started taking general science classes at a community college in Denver. Along the way, I found an interest in medicine and decided to be a pharmacist. And I was accepted to the University of Colorado School of Pharmacy.
Opening your own pharmacy is so brave. How can you compete with the big chains?
I can’t compete with the big chains. I'm really not here to compete with anybody. I just want to be myself. I'm just here to take care of my patients. I'm not in competition with anybody.
Do you feel like you've made the right decision?
Yes, I still feel I made the right decision. Each time my phone rings, I can hear myself talking to myself. I love to help people, and when I'm helping them, I feel like I'm helping myself. I don't feel stressed out about anything. I know the people will come and my business will grow. Even if I only help one person today, I will go home happy knowing I did my best today.
"I really am passionate about helping businesses show the public their true colors, their true face, and the true client experience. Because people want real; they want to see the real thing." —Raemi Rue
"I’ve always felt like I can't fully think unless I have paper in front of me. Writing things down is just how I process and I make sense of the world."—Hannah Echols-Grieser