Each newsletter, we introduce you to a founder or two within our community. With these interviews, we dive in a little deeper with a fellow business owner within our circles, get to know her origin story, founder’s journey and all that has come with it!
In this fall edition, we’re excited to feature two powerhouse entrepreneurs who have built businesses around supporting and lifting up other women (and many of us here!) through financial clarity, vision, connection and community. Our kind of women!
Meet Heather Nelson-Tapia, a Sonoma County entrepreneur, consultant and podcaster who understands that relationships are at the heart of strong businesses. Through The Connection Hive, her podcast Her Story Unscripted, and more than 25 years in hospitality and events, Heather has built her work around connecting people, businesses and ideas. Her “community over competition” philosophy makes her perspective especially relevant to TLC – and to women founders looking to grow through authentic connection and collaboration.
Founder, The Connection Hive; Co-Founder, Set & Strike; Podcast Host, Her Story Unscripted
How many years have you had your business — founding story/inspiration?
I founded The Connection Hive in 2023 — but my path here wasn’t a straight line. I spent over 25 years in hospitality, starting as a hostess at Cattlemen’s Steakhouse and working my way up through banquet management, hotel catering and sales, and 13 years in business development at Encore Event Rentals. Every one of those roles built the same muscle: connecting people, spotting opportunities, and solving problems on the fly. Eventually I realized I could take those skills and relationships and build something of my own and that’s how The Connection Hive was born. Along the way, I also saw a real need for reliable event labor in this market, which led me to co-found Set & Strike. And about five years ago, I added one more thing to the mix: I started podcasting, which has become Her Story Unscripted (recently rebranded from Life Conversations with a Twist).
Is this the direction you planned?
Honestly, no – and I think that’s the most honest thing I can say to this community. I didn’t set out with a five-year plan that had “podcast host” or “business owner” on it. It was more that I kept following the thread of what I was good at and what energized me, and it led me somewhere I never could have mapped out in advance. That’s actually become a theme of the podcast itself: most of the women I interview didn’t plan their path either.
What is the most rewarding thing about being an entrepreneur?
The flexibility to build a life around what actually matters to me, being present for my family, while still doing work I love. And on the podcast side specifically, it’s getting to sit across from another woman and watch her tell the real version of her story, often for the first time out loud. That never gets old.
What has been the most challenging?
Wearing every hat at once. Between The Connection Hive, Set & Strike, and the podcast, there’s no single “job description”. I’m the strategist, the operator, and the one showing up to do the work, all in the same day. Learning to delegate and trust my team has been an ongoing lesson, not a one-time fix.
What is one piece of advice you would give to someone wanting to start a business?
Start before you feel ready, and don’t wait for the “perfect” version of your idea. Every business I’ve built came out of noticing a real gap and just starting, all the messy first steps included. You’ll figure out the rest by doing it, not by planning it into place.
Bonus: What has being part of this TLC community meant to you?
Being part of TLC has meant being surrounded by other women business owners who understand the exact struggles I’m navigating, and being able to work through them together instead of alone. The connections I’ve made through this community are something I truly cherish. They’ve helped move my own business forward, and just as importantly, I’ve been able to do the same for others. I’ve met so many incredible women doing work they love, and that kind of community is rare. It’s exactly the “community over competition” mindset I try to lead with in everything I do.
Also in this edition: Five Questions with Anne Bishop.
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