Mission brewery aims to spark real conversations among small business owners at entrepreneur meetup

Jaime Ramirez, taproom manager at 5×5 Brewing Company, recently attended a local networking event hoping to meet new business contacts.

“Everyone wore their shirt with their logo, handed out business cards, and that’s it,” Ramirez said. “We want to change that. We want to bring like-minded people together to really talk about what works for them, what doesn’t, and to share that knowledge with other business owners.”

5×5 aims to do that on Friday, Dec. 19, from 7 to 11 p.m., with an entrepreneur event at its Mission taproom geared toward small business owners or anyone interested in starting one.

“We want to bring small business owners together to talk about what they’re experiencing right now with the downturn in the economy,” 5×5 co-owner Luis Espindola said. “The Valley is so strong with small businesses, and we should share our stories and talk about it.”

The event is free. Anyone interested in sharing their business story should email jaime.ramirez@5x5brewing.com. Organizers will divide attendees into small groups to encourage focused conversations.

Speakers are asked to arrive at least an hour before the start time to keep the program running smoothly. While no vendor booths will be available, attendees are encouraged to bring small marketing materials to share.

Espindola said hosting the event so close to Christmas is intentional.

“If you’re a business owner or entrepreneur, it’s the most stressful time of the year because your sales aren’t doing as good as you hoped or because your sales are doing so well, and you’re trying to make sure everyone has their orders before Christmas,” he said. “We want to bring that community together and talk about those worries or fears or challenges. My main concern is to bring people together to learn about other small businesses that might be able to help their business.”

Ramirez said speakers will have about 10 minutes to share why they started their business, the challenges they’ve faced, and their goals moving forward.

Non-entrepreneurs who want to learn what it takes to start a business are also welcome.

“We hope folks will buy a beer and join us for a useful discussion, but a purchase isn’t required,” Espindola said. “What I can guarantee is that they will leave with information helpful for their business. And we hope everyone stays in touch after the event, and we’ll do it again next year.”