A cup for sharing

Amanda Benson answers a variety of questions at the 1 Million Cups Networking event, Wednesday Morning at the American Family Funding building. Eddy Martinez/The Signal.
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Meant to bring entrepreneurs and members of the Santa Clarita community together over coffee, 1 Million Cups once again brought together business owners to network and engage with each other.

This week, Ask Amanda was featured, which allowed owner Amanda Benson time to present about her business, as well as make local connections . Both opportunities are great for small-business owners like herself, she said.

“I gave 5-minute slideshow on what Ask Amanda is, and I had a chance to meet other entrepreneurs and connect with them, because that’s what Ask Amanda is,” Benson said. “I have a trusted group of networked professionals and that’s what my business is.”

There were several benefits, Benson said, because after her presentation, she discussed how Ask Amanda operates during a question-and-answer session.

Tania Mulry (right) and Kyle Duffy (left) introduce themselves and Amanda Benson at the start of the 1 Million Cups networking event, Wednesday at the American Family Funding building. Eddy Martinez/The Signal.


“It’s a good experience to get up and practice an expanded version of your ‘elevator pitch, and it’s also a great marketing opportunity — (1 Millions Cups) livestreams it on Facebook.”

The event is part of support system for entrepreneurs that Tania Mulry is building in Santa Clarita, through hosting the event, and through her business Steamwork Center, which provides up-and-coming entrepreneurs an office space, coworking space, business coaching and among other services, events like Wednesdays, which was hosted by American Family Funding, which is down the hall from Steamwork.

Mulry uses a combination of her background in financial services and networking to support her own business, after realizing how many people were running an entrepreneurial venture, which can range from the product inventor to the doctor or dentist who’s running their own business, as examples.

“When I started looking into the world of entrepreneurs,” Mulry said, “I was pretty shocked to find out about one-third of the American workforce is these micro-businesses (with five or fewer employees).”

She also mentioned having experience with a startup herself, and some of the challenges that come with not having a permanent space for a business, which all helped guide the mission of Steamwork.

1 Million Cups, which looks to inspire entrepreneurial endeavors, was a natural fit for Mulry’s business — and she considers it her “give-back” in partnership with the Kaufmann Foundation, a national network, she said.

“There’s a niche that is underserved,” Mulry said, “and so we’re really trying to help people.”

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