Our community is comprised of entrepreneurs and artists and creatives – folks who have chosen incredibly difficult professional paths that often don’t offer any safety nets or guarantees. Nonetheless, we regularly hear that being a parent is a far greater challenge and so we asked some of these folks to open up to us about the things they’ve done as parents that they feel will have a meaningful and positive impact on their child.

Ashley Shareef | Creative Direction & Owner, AGD Studio

Foster their creativity! I believe everyone has a creative side to them… it’s just a matter of knowing how you get in touch with it, and continually pursuing it. I think it’s important to also remember that “creativity” is a spectrum, inspired by a range of adventures. It can be going out into nature, painting a city on the walls of their bedroom, or their first musical. Creativity can be found through instruments, costumes (year-round), watching construction sites be built, and imaginative storytelling. Share your imagination with your kids. They are blank canvases, and the more colors you share with them, the more vibrant their foundation is for growth. Read more>>

Danica LeBlanc | Author & Entrepreneur

Quitting is the most important thing I’ve done since becoming a parent. I quit comparing myself to other mothers. I quit holding other people’s expectations as my own. I quit working a job that I absolutely hated. I quit allowing space in my life for the things that don’t align with my passion. On the day my son was born, I realized that I wanted him to show up in this world unapologetically, and that meant I had to. Read more>>

Jessica Abegg | Realtor, Live and Love Denver KW

My three small children are a huge part of my business, and my big WHY for always pushing forward. They help me remember to be grateful and humble through the highs and graceful and perseverant through the lows. As a fifth-generation Denverite, I saw the patterns in my own family heritage and how the choices that they made (and more often did not make) in the Denver real estate market impacted the family line and our intergenerational wealth. Those impacts rippled for generations. I am aware that the choices I make in property ownership will impact my own descendants as well, and I take that inter-generational role seriously. When I first started my business, I had a newborn daughter. Read more>>

Amy Barrett | Co Owner Tables Restaurant

We have taught our child that family, honesty and equality are what matters. We have taught her to respect herself and others. Read more>>