Brea Starmer, CEO and Founder of Lions & Tigers, had the opportunity to connect with other independent small business owners and consultants through IndeCollective’s Fireside Chat series. Through IndeCollective’s ten-week program, independent business builders access the far-ahead mentors, actionable playbooks, and supportive community to double their businesses, while saving valuable time. And given Brea’s leadership in growing Lions & Tigers from a team of one to more than 100, her story and valuable lessons learned, were well received by IndeCollective members.
During the fireside, first they discussed how Brea had the courage to take the jump into creating her own business. She often talks about her story of being laid off pregnant, inspiring this business advocating for flexible work for underrepresented folks.
“I always knew I was destined to be an entrepreneur; I just didn’t know what the business was. It wasn’t until I was discriminated against and left out of the workforce that I was resolved to build something better, more inclusive, that offered an alternative to the way work was working for millions of people,” Brea said. “We’re now on a very clear path to scale and impact much larger sets of workers, both brand-side and freelance, because of this clarity of purpose.”
Brea spoke about L&T’s origin story as a safe harbor for consultants who don’t want to choose between work and life. She described wanting to create a community with the goal of impact over hours spent. It took four years to get to where L&T is now, a community of 100+ consultants centering our 70% women and 33% BIPOC team members.
One of the topics that resonated most was “Stewardship”, a core tenet of Lions & Tigers’ mission. By understanding that work doesn’t work for everyone, Brea was able to unlock the potential of highly skilled individuals who otherwise would have been pushed out of the workforce. She calls this the Era of Sustainability.
“Brea’s story of building Lions & Tigers from a solo practice to a team of more than 100 was inspiring for our members,” said Sam Lee, Founder of IndeCollective. “We could have talked for hours about the ins and outs of how she’s built a thriving business, raised three beautiful kids, and helped so many others follow in her footsteps. Finding better balance between work and life is no small feat — but having great mentors, like Brea, who are willing to unpack the tradeoffs and how they went about making the decisions goes a long way in helping the rest of us to zero in on the right next steps for our own businesses and lives.”
For Brea, this time spent teaching others is joyful. “It’s my responsibility, given my privilege,” Brea said.
For more information on IndeCollective check out https://indecollective.co/
Thank you for sharing your story and practical lessons with our members at IndeCollective, Brea!