Meet Kelli Despain

We recently connected with Kelli Despain and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kelli, so happy to have you with us today and there is so much we want to ask you about. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others developed certain skills or qualities that we are struggling with can be helpful. Along those lines, we’d love to hear from you about how you developed your ability to take risk?

I’m a “jump in the deep end and flail a bit before learning to swim” type of person. The question I get asked the most about my business, Bottega Exchange, is how did I get my idea off the ground? How do you go from concept to open for business? My answer is always to jump right in. Just like having babies, you will never feel fully prepared. If you waited for all the ducks to row up you will have talked yourself out of the idea. I don’t advocate diving in with your life savings for every idea you have, but when you come up with a good one, and you have asked the opinion of those who matter most to you and the consensus is good then dive on in!

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

As a business owner I am always focused on creating. At Bottega we just finished our expansion of 21 additional private offices and a second conference room, which has been very exciting. We had our Grand Opening of the new space on the 5 year anniversary of opening the original space. We still have a few offices left and would love to give a private tour to any and all who are interested.
At Bottega my team and I make every decision with our members in mind. We create curated spaces for optimal work environments, we plan workshops for small businesses, we invite our local elected officials into the space to interact with our members and answer their questions. We create inclusive and safe work spaces and we facilitate the natural networking that goes on between the various business at Bottega.
At the same time, I run my graphic design firm, Moxie Ink Designs, out of Bottega and I find joy in creating branding for businesses that reflect their message.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

1. Ask for help. I joke all the time that I have no pride – it does not bother me at all to admit I have no idea what I am doing and could use some guidance/help.
2. Give help, stop gatekeeping. Even if no one helped you when you started at the bottom don’t be afraid to offer help. You are not in competition with everyone who does the same thing or similar things to you. I started a support group called Creators Unite where artsy people could come learn things like how to gain access to trade printers, where is the best place to get supplies, how can you diy packaging but make it look professional, etc. It fills the soul to help the next generation of rising talent.
3. Be bold. I love the road less travelled, the ideas from far left field, the design that does not follow current trends. At Bottega our biggest goal was to be different. No sterile workspace here, no sir!

How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?

I’ve been battling Stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer for the past one-and-a-half years. I do chemo every three weeks for the rest of my life. Challenging is an understatement. But going through this life altering experience has given me reasons to be thankful everyday. I have an amazing husband and three lovely, intelligent, helpful children. Friends have showered me with love, meals, rides, notes. The perspective that cancer gives is to realize how lucky I have been to call so many people family and friends, to look back on my travel adventures, to reminisce on college, to have been able to make mistakes and learn from them, to have had the opportunity to live my life the way I chose. Cancer knocked me down but it also gave me some much needed time to reflect on my life and now I am focused on using whatever time I have left to make the most out of everyday.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bottegaexchange.com
• Instagram: @bottegaexchange
• Facebook: @thebottegaexchange
• Linkedin: @bottegaexchange

Image Credits

Ati Grinspun