Alyssa Gardner

I've been a business owner for coming up on 2 years now, and what led me to becoming a business owner was wanting to have something for myself and something that I could pass on to my children. I wanted to show them that there are other pathways, other than just going to college, getting a degree, and getting into the field. At first I was hesitant because I went back and forth on what kind of business I actually wanted to start, and I was a little overwhelmed because no one else in my family owned a business, so it was starting from ground zero. As a veteran, I attended VWISE through Syracuse University's IVMF program, where I met other veteran business owners, and that pushed me to make the jump. I own FLX Connect, a boutique co-working space in Martinez, Georgia, that's geared towards community and building business relationships. We offer conference room rentals, a podcast studio, and networking events to connect business owners with each other. We also provide a productive environment for remote workers who need to get out of the house. The most rewarding part is being able to say it's mine - when people ask if it's a chain because of how it's decorated, I can say no, we did this ourselves with my husband. I'm hoping to have multiple FLX Connects all around to share that connection and community base we provide.