Solopreneur Networking

This event will change the way you communicate about your business!  

When it comes time to close the deal with a new client, do you find yourself tripping through the conversation?  Or is there a scope of service boundary you consistently find yourself overstepping?  Do clients seem surprised when they receive an invoice?  

Katie Kolon*, founder and principal at Mutual Ground Strategies LLC, a professional mediator, trained attorney, and communications consultant will be leading a strategy session focusing on communication points all solopreneurs need to nail to succeed.  

Attendees will meet at 9:00 AM in the Guild Suite** for coffee, light bites, and open networking.  We'll start the program at 9:30 AM. Plan for practical writing exercises, editing and sharing in small groups until 10:30 AM.  We'll close out as we began -- with open networking so you can continue conversations and connecting until 11:00 AM.  

After the event, the ICA management is kindly offering tours of the building.  Do you think you may want to find space outside your home office?  The ICA has affordable space available!  Get a tour of this historic building see first hand their available office spaces.  

This event is open to all interested attendees.  Members of the Uptown Chamber of Commerce receive discounted pricing.  Attendees are asked to come prepared to work on actual communication from your business that you'd like a second set of eyes on.  This could be phrasing from a standard service contract, an email exchange you're unsure about, or any tough piece of client communication that feels out of sync with your intention. During the event attendees will work in small groups to edit and test phrasing on one another.  The Chamber will collect these samples ahead of the event.

*Katie Kolon works with business owners, leaders, and teams to build the communication and de-escalation skills needed to navigate conflict before it derails relationships, stalls decisions, or undermines trust. She is the founder of Mutual Ground Strategies, where she supports small business owners, founders, partners, and teams facing tension, avoided conversations, and relationship strain that makes leadership more difficult than it needs to be. Her work includes conflict coaching, workplace mediation, communication and de-escalation training, and facilitated conversations that help people address challenges directly and move forward with greater clarity. Katie is a certified mediator, mediation coach, and former employment law attorney. She has spent 15 years volunteering with the Center for Conflict Resolution as a mediator, trainer, and mentor, supporting high-stakes conversations where emotions, values, and business relationships intersect. Earlier in her career, Katie worked in cybersecurity and customer success and has held roles across nonprofit, government, education, and research settings. This breadth of experience informs her work with leaders navigating growth, uncertainty, and complex human dynamics.

**The Guild Suite is located in the historic Mutual Insurance Building at 4750 N. Sheridan Road. Built in 1922 as the headquarters for the Mutual Insurance Company of Chicago, the eight-story building later became home to a variety of nonprofit and community organizations. In the late 20th century, a group known as the Guild of Uptown used a suite in the building as a gathering and organizing space for neighborhood meetings and cultural programs. The space became informally known as the “Guild Suite,” a name that has endured as a nod to that period of community activity.