A Park City native and entrepreneur will soon share her story with a national audience. Kristin Silvestri — owner of The Collective Park City boutique on Main Street — is scheduled to appear this March on the entrepreneurial docuseries “Women In Power,” a program highlighting female lead ers, founders and professionals from a wide range of industries. Her episode will stream through Inside Success Network platforms and focus on confidence, creativity and building a business through persistence and community support. It’s everything that Silvestri stands for, both as a woman and as a community member, but this kind of opportunity came sort of on a whim. One night, scrolling on her phone for something, she saw an ad: “Apply to be on this show called ‘Women In Power.’ It’s all about empowering business owners and women to go after what they want,” she recalled. After looking into it, she decided, “‘You know what? Whatever. I’m just going to apply and see what happens.’ And they called me the next day.” Following several rounds of interviews, she was selected to participate in the filmed series, which documents the professional journeys, struggles and lessons of women in business. Silvestri said the platform offered a chance not only to reflect on her own path but to encourage others. “I feel like I’ve lived five lives, but I’ve always been really motivated and wanting to succeed in any way I could, and this was a really cool platform to be able to talk about what I’ve done throughout my life and to hopefully inspire other people,” she said. Silvestri was raised in Park City after her family moved to the “nothing” town from New York in the late ’80s. As a young athlete, sports shaped much of her early life, particularly soccer, and she went on to play professional soccer for three years.  But she’s always had a creative streak and a love for fashion, so, despite earning a degree in journalism, she moved to L.A. to pursue work in the fashion industry. “I worked for different brands, I worked for showrooms, I worked for retail. I kind of tried to get the full spectrum of the industry because I knew I wanted to be in it in some capacity,” she said. Eventually, Silvestri returned to Park City, roughly 11 years ago, and initially worked at the high school coaching soccer, and later took a role with Lululemon. Soon after, she was approached by two local women about opening a boutique. “There were three of us who initially opened the store, and we opened in COVID, which was a very strange, very wild start, but we definitely made it work, and worked really hard,” she said.  Then, about three-and-a-half years ago, her partners offered her the chance to purchase the business outright.  Now, as the sole owner, Silvestri said those two mentors played a major role in her decision to take that leap.  “I had these two leaders who were just badasses, and that really inspired me to want to jump on, one, taking over this business, and two, being able to talk about women in business,” she said. That theme — women supporting one another professionally — remains central to her business philosophy. It’s so important, she said, especially in a world still steeped in prejudice against women.  “Being a business owner, I mean, I have people constantly coming in asking if my parents funded it for me, or if my dad funded it for me. And I’m like, nope, just me, just doing my thing,” she said. “So I think the more that we’re sharing those stories, hopefully it will inspire other women to just go after whatever they want.” Parkite Kristin Silvestri flew to Miami for the filming of her episode in “Women In Power,” an experience that helped her remember how she got to where she is today. Credit: Photo courtesy of Kristin Silvestri Her first big lesson in the broken system came when she and her partners first tried to open the shop.  “The three of us ladies, we were trying to get this lease for our store, and they wouldn’t allow us to do it without husbands co-signing. And it was really frustrating, like we have the clout, we have the background, we have the financials, we’ve got all those things in line, and they wouldn’t do it without a husband’s signature,” she said. “That was just very telling of what we’re up against, even five years ago.” She said it’s easy to think women are past fighting for equality, but actually, looking at history, it hasn’t been long since 50% of the population was treated differently. For example, it wasn’t until 1974 with the passing of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act — granting women nationwide the legal right to open bank accounts, apply for credit cards and secure loans without a male co-signer or husband’s permission — that women even had the legal right to financial freedom. Silvestri believes talking about experiences like hers helps reinforce the need for continued progress.  “We’re at a downside. People don’t always look at women specifically to run businesses and be the head of something. And so it’s breaking those barriers and kind of breaking our cultural, habitual thoughts,” she said. That’s why on Park City’s Main Street, she has also worked to encourage collaboration rather than rivalry among retailers. After noticing a competitive attitude between the handful of women-owned boutiques surrounding The Collective, she launched a recurring multi-store shopping night. “I was like, ‘Why? You guys, we’re powerful in numbers. We are better when we’re supporting each other,’” she said.  The event, the first Friday of every month, now includes 11 participating stores and encourages local shopping from 4-7 p.m. It’s just one way she’s worked to foster teamwork, a strategy she believes is essential to progress. She pointed to her experience as a soccer player and coach, where winning requires working together. “Women in business, we’re at a disadvantage. We have to work harder than anyone else to make this happen,” she said. “It’s not about competition, it’s about, let’s find our strength and power in each other in order to reach the common goal.” Her episode in the TV series highlights similar themes. And while the goal is to help benefit other women, Silvestri said the process, from filming in Miami to collecting b-roll of her family, also gave her the chance to truly reflect on her life.  “You forget about where you came from sometimes and how much you’ve accomplished in your whole life,” she said. “I’m always going so warp-speed to make this business happen and work really hard and be in community and do all this stuff. And then I’m like, ‘Wow, this has been a really fun journey.’”  As for the show, with about 15 episodes released of the planned 103 — “I cry every single time” — Silvestri said she’s grateful to be on the roster.  “I love mentoring other women,” she said. “If I inspire just one, maybe two, maybe 10 other women to really go after what they’re passionate about, I think that’s the key.” The post The Collective owner participates in TV show all about women empowerment appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less