The first millennial director of East Colorado's SBDC is helping businesses thrive

Lisa Hudson and her team at the East Colorado Small Business Development Center have accomplished all but one of their 18 goals set for the year.

This would be impressive for any business leader, but it's even more praiseworthy since it's her first year at the helm of the SBDC. Oh, and she's the first ever millennial director of the organization.

"My team and I have worked really hard at reaching out to past clients and building new relationships in order to be able to record the figures we have for this year," she explains.

There are a lot of challenges that come with being a new, young leader of a company, and Hudson has faced each of them head on with the help of her colleagues.

It's always been Hudson's dream to help people build their business, and she is able to do exactly that in this position. Because of her age, though, Hudson has had to prove her business prowess to potential clients.

She says she makes it "a point to showcase my strengths with small business owners so they can look past age and see how I can help them take their business to the next level ... I've had clients through the years that test me before trusting me with their business, which I completely understand.  Their business is their life and I just want to help."

But there are also up-sides, Hudson explains, to being a millennial in leadership. "I think the advantage of leading while being in a younger generation is the opportunity," she says. "By being one of the younger directors it's been fun to try to integrate some fresh ideas into the program as well as connect with other millennial professionals."

She recalls meeting many of her peers that are doing similar work. "... (M)y generation is really stepping up to the plate to contribute and it's an exciting time!"

Even though some might say that Hudson is still in the early part of her career, she has already learned some valuable lessons.

"I think the biggest lesson I've learned along the way is to be confident and to get involved," she says. "If you don't get involved you won't be part of the conversation."