Meet Jill Morenz of Aviatra Accelerators

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jill Morenz.

Hi Jill, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My degree is in interior design. After working for another designer for a few years, I started my own business, which I ran full-time for about 3 years and then transitioned it into a side hustle for about 15 years. During this time, I moved to Cincinnati and worked for a couple of nonprofits as my day job.

When I saw the opening to lead Aviatra Accelerators, I knew it would be a great fit, since it combines my nonprofit experience with entrepreneurship.

I now have a new side hustle: Code Crackers Puzzle Hunts. I believe that having my own business gives me a lot of empathy and lessons to share with Aviatra’s students, members, and alumni.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
They say that running your own business teaches you a lot about yourself and I have found that to be true. I thought I had to figure out everything by myself and this kept my design business smaller than it needed to be.

For example, I had a dream of opening my own store, filled with beautiful things to make a home more comfortable and attractive. I collected a thick folder of ideas, paint and wallpaper samples, magazine articles, and catalog pages as inspiration for my shop.

I knew I wouldn’t be able to afford the first and last month’s rent, signage, inventory, and all the other startup costs myself. I realized I would need outside funding, but I didn’t know anything about getting a loan.

So here’s what I did: nothing. I never sought out the information, never talked to lenders, never did any research. Because of my inaction, my dream of a shop never came to fruition. To this day, it’s still nothing more than a folder in my filing cabinet.

The biggest lesson I learned, and one I share with business owners all the time, is that so many people out there want to help you succeed. Now you know they are out there–you just have to ask. Hopefully, other people will learn from my experiences that they don’t have to play small in their businesses.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Aviatra Accelerators is a nonprofit that was founded in 2010. Our mission is to empower women to achieve financial independence through entrepreneurship. We offer classes, coaching, and community to help them start and grow their businesses, so they can create profitable, sustainable companies built around their knowledge, skills, and passions.

For our first 16 years, we have been primarily an education organization. Starting in 2027, we are transitioning to a membership organization with coaching, education and resources inside three tiers of membership, including a free tier.

Over the years, we have learned so much about what women need to be successful business owners, and we have distilled it down to three things: Fundamentals, Feedback and Friendships.

Fundementals: Most of our members do not have a business background. They started their companies because they are really good at whatever they do–health coaching, for example, or making a beautiful product, cooking delicious treats, curating a collection of statement jewelry. What they come to realize as they grow their companies is that they need to learn the Fundamentals of business, like money management, marketing, sales skills, pricing and more.

We bring in subject matter experts to help them learn the key processes and skills to make their businesses successful.

Feedback: So often, business owners create and work in a vacuum. Then at some point we unveil our creations to the world, which may or may not be interested in what we have spent so much time creating. It’s critical to get feedback along the way to help refine your ideas, test your assumptions, and reframe your thinking.

At Aviatra, we offer feedback in several ways, including one-on-one and group coaching, peer-to-peer masterminds, and Ask Me Anything sessions with experts. By getting input from others, our ideas are validated, our thinking is sharpened, and our outlook is positive.

Friendships: Many business owners did not come from entrepreneurial families and may not have many friends who have experience in business ownership. We have found that it takes another entrepreneur to truly understand what you’re going through–to help you celebrate your wins and give you perspective on your struggles.

For example, one of the early wins that a business owner experiences is when someone they don’t know buys from them. Not their family, not their friends–someone completely new has found value in what they sell and paid for it. This is huge, but people who do not have entrepreneurial experience don’t really understand how huge. You need your business besties to celebrate with you.

On the flip side, if you have challenges in your business, other people might shake their heads and ask why you don’t just get a job. But your business besties will understand and support you through the challenging times, knowing that you will ultimately figure it out.

Those friends–other women who “get it”–those are your business besties, and you can meet them at Aviatra in a supportive community.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
There are so many people who work together to make Aviatra a success. As a nonprofit, we have a board of directors who volunteer their time to help me make strategic decisions for the organization. Their support has been invaluable.

Our small-but-mighty team, including our Director of Marketing and Development, Jasmine Hughes, our contracted accountant and PR team, the ladies who run our retail incubator–they all work so hard on our behalf to create opportunities for women to grow.

Our donors, grantors, and sponsors make it possible for us to provide our programs and create the space and opportunities to gather and assist our students, members, and alumni, many of whom volunteer for our fundraisers and other events.

It’s truly humbling to see the support we have from the community of people who align with our values and mission. We could not do our work without them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.aviatraaccelerators.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aviatraaccelerators/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AviatraAccelerators
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jill-morenz/