Women in Business 2026

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

A touch of Soul Magick

Bear builds connections through yoga, food and volunteerism

By SARA JORDAN-HEINTZ

Taylor Bear is a special education paraeducator at Marshalltown High School and also volunteers with the Special Olympics. In 2022, she formed Marshalltown LGBTQ+, which has hosted Pride in the Park since 2024. With a lifelong interest in the spiritual and metaphysical, she launched Soul Magick in 2016, offering Oracle/Tarot readings, event planning and more. A deep connection with

food led her to start Crowley’s Kitchen catering service in 2024. You may even see her ringing up orders at the Flying Elbow. And if that wasn’t enough to keep her busy, she’s also YogaFit certified and leads Yoga in the Park in the 13th Street District alongside Heidi Draisey and Hilary Powell. Her mindset: be a creator. Bear graduated from MHS in 2007 then attended Kirkwood Community College with the ambition of becoming an interior designer. She decided to instead move back to Mar-

shalltown and took a job at Family Video.

“I was there in its en tirety from 2010 to the last day we closed in 2020,” she said with a laugh. “I’ve al ways worked in the public. Somewhere.”

She got certified in yoga, Reiki healing and crys tal therapy, offering these services either at home or meeting clients out in pub lic.

“I did a lot of events with the Fiddle & Whistle when it was open. I’ve worked with October Embers,” she noted. “I’ve always thought

“Purpose gives you a plan, vision takes you beyond your wildest dreams...”

about a brick and mortar. Being someone who does do things solo, it felt like beyond my scope to manage, since my son Axel is autistic and nonverbal, and he is my priority and I am his main caregiver.”

In her home, she offers intimate gatherings for

meditation and readings, plus through her Crowley’s Kitchen, is a private chef for small groups.

“Food is such a connector for people, and it’s also such a way to share tradition and history and love,” she explained. “Just personally, I love having

people over at my home to enjoy a snack or something I’ve made…you can share food with anyone.”

She lost her father about 10 1/2 years ago, saying using her maiden name for the business name just felt

Boss mode

Entrepreneurial spirit guides A&M Cleaning Owner Alexa Mitchell

By ROBERT MAHARRY

Lifelong Marshalltonian and Class of 2018 GMG graduate Alexa Mitchell’s first professional passion was healthcare as she spent several years working at the Iowa Veterans Home.

But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and she lost so many of the patients she had come to know and love, she decided it was time for a change.

“I loved it, but losing all those people, it was like ‘My heart’s not in this. It’s just not,’” she said.

It was Mitchell’s grandfather who first suggested that “Smacky,” as he affectionately calls her, should open a cleaning business. With a little help from grandpa, she filed the necessary paperwork and opened A&M Cleaning late in 2021 with the intention of focusing on residential jobs, but within a few months, she had already secured three commercial contracts.

“We’ve just gone from there and exploded,” she said. “(It took off) instant-

ly, definitely more than what I expected it to be, so the mindset switched to ‘OK, we’re gonna do boss mode. Let’s see what we can make this with adding medical and factories and stuff like that.’”

By 2022, Mitchell, who works with her husband Myles and a small team of two full-time helpers and temporary staffers who fill in as needed, had added a large Marshalltown fac tory to her client list. As the business continues to grow, she is always on the hunt for reputable people who can clean in a way that makes customers hap py and keeps them coming back.

“A lot of people don’t like to clean, and if you like to clean, you have to really be in it. You have to have a niche for it,” she said. With spring cleaning in full swing, Alexa and Myles are headed into a busy season, but they’re thankful to be trusted by an ever-growing list of customers — the new downtown coffee shop Grounded and The Flying Elbow and Most Wanted

Coffee on 13th Street, to name just a few. Looking forward, she would like to venture more into medical cleaning contracts, which would constitute a full-circle moment of sorts for Alexa given her history in healthcare, and service clients as far away as Ames and Des Moines.

Alexa was raised by a single dad, Travis Peters,

who owned a trucking company and reminded her that she could do whatever she wanted as long as she worked for it, and she credits him as her biggest inspiration.

“No matter what, he provided for my brother, my sister and me, never a question about it. He went to work every single day,” she said. “My whole

family’s entrepreneurs.

My great-grandpa owned a trucking company before my dad, and then my dad obviously is an entrepreneur. My grandpa has helped my uncles and my dad, plus me now, start our businesses, so it’s kind of like a whole family thing.”

A&M takes on all forms of cleaning except carpet, and they recommend Jor-

dan Stucky for that. Alexa loves what she’s doing now, loves the bonds she’s built through A&M and remains optimistic about the future of Marshalltown.

“We’re always pro-Marshalltown, born and raised, families have businesses here, so we’re in Marshalltown for the long haul no matter what. No matter what, we’re here,” she said.

No Limits Real Estate: ‘We go above and beyond’

By MIKE DONAHEY

With 58 years of combined experience, the three REALTORS ® at No Limits Real Estate in Marshalltown pledge to do just that – have no limits in serving their clients.

In a recent interview at their offices at 207 E. Church St. Suite 104, Marshalltown, the trio of Magali Marquez, Kajaun Morris and Paula Price said they assist clients in the buying and selling of real estate from start to finish.

And they are clearly passionate. Friendship with professionalism yields sales. The trio produced $19,342,481 in sales with 127 homes sold in calendar year 2025, said Morris.

The businesswomen said they were pleased with the results having only opened the business in December of 2024.

“We were kicking it last year,” said Price.

“We go above and beyond,” said Marquez in answering a question about what makes their business stand out in a competitive environment. “We build relationships and connections with our buyers and sellers … so it is more than a transaction. Ninety-five percent of our business is referrals. We help our clients buy or sell a house and they come back. We are here from brainstorming

to the sale or purchase to closing. We will drive one hour to deliver a check or documents. It also means working on Sundays. We just make it happen.”

Marquez has 16 years’ experience as a REALTOR® in Marshalltown where she resides with her family. Marquez said mortgage rates are currently favorable. She also said that an individual or family can build up equity with a home purchase versus paying rent. The trio noted that rental expenses have accelerated since the global pandemic of 2020.

Morris has been a real estate professional for 10 years. She previously worked at First Rate Real Estate in Marshalltown with her mother, Jamie Bland, the former owner of the business. Marquez and

Striving for growth

MARSHALLTOWN Marketing Director Ashley Swanson embraces leadership role with company

By ROBERT MAHARRY

Ashley Swanson has always had an interest in the building trades: her grandfather owned United Builders in her hometown of Ida Grove, and her father works for the paving equipment company Gomaco. While playing basketball at Grand View University, the class of 2011 BCIG High School graduate led a paint crew as part of a work study program.

Her professional career started with a three-year stint at the paint and coating manufacturer PPG Industries, but she eventually found her way to MARSHALLTOWN, the legendary local tool company with roots dating back over a century, about eight years ago through a connection with Jim Bowie, who serves as a category sales manager.

Swanson started as a product manager, and since then, she has worked her way up the ladder, most recently becoming the director of marketing at the beginning of 2025.

“I knew it was a good fit right away. PPG Industries, I had a fantastic experience with them. They are the number one coating company in the world, so with that, it’s just a massive company. Coming here, immediately I felt that MARSHALLTOWN had big company and global goals, but still a very family-oriented feel,” she said. “And immediately, I could see where, especially under (President/CEO) Joe Carter’s leadership, every

person here is valued. Everyone’s opinion matters, and so you feel that off the bat. And so I knew pretty quickly into my time here that this is a place I wanted to be very long-term.”

She added that her path to the marketing director role has been a bit unconventional as she moved from product management to product development

to category development to sales (covering Home Depot) to her current role.

MARSHALLTOWN, which operates facilities in its namesake community, Fayetteville, Ark. and now Kansas City, Kan., has grown at a breakneck pace in recent years and acquired a host of other companies, and Swanson predicts that the trend will continue.

Residents have probably already noticed the large expansion project underway locally with an investment estimated at $20 million.

“One big thing that I see is we are always striving for growth, and that is not only on the product side but also through acquisition. Over the last six years, we have acquired 11 companies, and I do not see that slowing

down whatsoever,” Swanson said. “Where we are really able to hone in on bringing in these core brands in the market is (that) we already have tools in those adjacent spaces, and so we’re able to really grow our offering, grow our brand reach.

So that’s a piece I don’t see slowing down anytime soon.”

The other core pillar of

MARSHALLTOWN’s philosophy, she said, is American manufacturing — the opportunity to make products in the U.S. and insource them whenever possible.

“From a community standpoint, what MARSHALLTOWN has been able to bring in terms of jobs, in terms of outreach

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and then also just keeping those Midwest core values and showing that ‘Hey, we are a global company with Midwest roots,’ I think, says a lot,” she said. “Obviously, Joe and our executive leadership are very passionate about the community. We just were in the Big Brothers Big Sisters bowling (event) the other night, and it’s just things like that. If we can be a part of those community events and just support the community from that angle, I think that only helps our community foster and grow.”

And, given the theme of this section, Swanson is es-

pecially excited to be part of a business community full of successful women, a rising number of whom are working in the skilled trades.

“When you look at it from that perspective, when women see other women be successful, I think that just really emulates and you really want to grow and follow that lead,” she said. “We have several women leaders here at MARSHALLTOWN that I have looked up to over the course of my career, and just seeing that everyone here has a voice and everyone has the opportunity to grow and lead. It makes you want to do better and be better.”

The former college hooper naturally has basketball on the brain in light of March Madness, and she wrapped up the interview with a quote she loved: “Good players like to be coached. Great players cannot get enough coaching.”

“For me, I’ve always looked for more, and I’ve always looked to learn various aspects of the business. And I think Joe and our executive leadership have really helped lead the way and trust our leadership. We have many women in leadership, and so seeing that just makes you want to push harder,” Swanson said.

Local businesswoman Michelle Burgess wears two hats: Emerson trainer and boutique retailer

By MIKE DONAHEY

Michelle Burgess of Marshalltown wears two hats in the business world.

One is that of a training and development manager for Emerson Process Management (EPM) in Marshalltown. The second is owner of a Real Deals retail store on East Main Street, also in Marshalltown.

The significant responsibilities with even one of the two qualifies her for inclusion in the Times-Republican’s “Women in Business” feature.

Burgess is a Garwin native who said she was significantly motivated to pursue a career in business by, appropriately, a business teacher at GMG High School in Garwin. She was a sophomore at GMG in the late 1980s when the desire to pursue a business career won out.

“I was torn between a career in business and one as an educator while in high school,” she said. “Later, I would earn certification to be a teacher. But at the time a career in business seemed a better option. Everything took me back to training and development. I was fortunate to get this role at Emerson where I can do both … be in business and develop curriculum for leaders in our community,”

Her early business career included positions at John Deere Credit in Des

influenced her. He had retired, making the position available.

She worked 13 years at Lennox before transitioning to EPM.

“At Emerson, I develop, create and facilitate leaders in the organization not just in Marshalltown but other sites in the United States and internationally,” she said. “I was in Costa Rica (in February). I have been to Hungary also and then

will travel to China.”

Burgess said she is pleased with the opportunities EPM presents her. Additionally, she commended the company for its role encouraging its employees to pursue volunteer opportunities to improve the Marshalltown area.

“Their investment in the Marshalltown area benefits our children and businesses,” she said. “I think everything Emerson does

helps us be a more rounded individual.”

Despite her demanding schedule at Emerson and ownership of a retail store, Burgess volunteers to serve on the board of directors of the Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce. And it was Lynn Olberding, the former director of the Chamber, who gave Burgess ideas as to what

Moines, then two of the company’s stores where farm equipment is sold.

There, she was employed at a dealership near Fort Dodge followed by one in the Knoxville-Winterset area.

“I did accounting and computer infrastructure at those businesses,” she said. More opportunities would come — one in a

manufacturing position with Eaton Co. in the Chicago area. The company is a manufacturer of power equipment, according to its website.

Burgess returned to central Iowa, where she was hired at Lennox Manufacturing and as a part-time business educator at GMG. There, she succeeded the educator at GMG who had

BT Training & Coaching Owner Brittany Titcomb comes from long line of entrepreneurs

By LANA BRADSTREAM

Owning a business is something Brittany Titcomb knew she wanted to do for a long time as she comes from a family of entrepreneurs. She just had to first go through the journey of figuring out BT Training & Coaching was the business she wanted to start.

“I knew I wanted to help people be the best versions of themselves,” she said.

Titcomb moved to Marshalltown in 2020 and started her business in 2022 while she was working full-time at Pella as an organizational development senior specialist. Knowing she wanted to own her own business, she worked to start BT when she had time on the side, combining her entrepreneur ambition and her desire to help people.

“I provide leadership coaching and training for front-line leaders,” Titcomb said. “It is for people who are new to leadership and have never had training. I have also been requested to expand my workforce training to include things like communication effectiveness and OSHA.”

She covers a 100-mile

radius, but will also conduct virtual training sessions. And Titcomb’s family background plays a big role.

“I grew up in small business, in the construction industry,” she said. “When I left the family business, I joined manufacturing and worked my way up from an operator to leadership in human resources. That is where I found my passion for training and development.”

BT training tends to cover a range of leadership essentials.

“How to set expectations, communicate effectively, give feedback, how to have hard conversations and overall be more confident in whatever conversation you have,” Titcomb said. “Leaders are not handed a playbook. Next thing a person knows, they are getting promoted to leadership and expected to have the

essentials of a better leader.”

Clients have found the training Titcomb provides is beneficial. She recalled one manufacturing facility success story. After Titcomb’s sessions, she said the owners doubled the business. So, having those hard conversations, while they may be unpleasant for some people, are also valuable.

She provided some common examples of hard con-

versations she encounters in her line of work - if someone sees the direction a company is going in and does not like it, they may not be able to tell their boss. BT can help that person figure it out; maybe a leader does not know how to give an employee feedback, because he or she wants to be liked; Perhaps an employee is not meeting performance standards and the leader wants to improve that performance, but does not want to be the bad guy.

“Those are the most prominent,” Titcomb said. “Another one is if everyone in the room agrees, but you don’t . . . people don’t want to speak out. They don’t want to be the odd person out. How can they share their opinions?”

After a few years of climbing the ladder at Pella and molding the BT services, Titcomb was able to devote her professional time to her business, and has watched it take off, which surprised her.

“I am not from this area,” she said. “I did not have a lot of connections. I did not know a lot of peo-

ple to grow a network, and relationships are important to my business. It was hard to grow this business when people did not know me. I did not expect it to take off as rapidly as it did. I am grateful it did, but was not expecting it.”

Some advice Titcomb had for women who want to start a business:

“You do not need to be all the things to all the people all the time,” she said.

“Some women, if it’s not perfect, they don’t do it. Just start small and do not let what is not good enough stop you. Take one small scary step per day toward progress to make it happen. Don’t think about the next 10,000 steps, just the next one. That’s less scary.” Titcomb, 38, lives with her husband Chris and their three cats - Roo, Tigger and Bamboo.

BT TRAINING & COACHING INFO

Phone: 641-352-9080

Email: Brittany@levelupwithbt.com

Website: levelupwithbt. com.

What it means to be a woman in business

Go ahead, make a difference in your community.

Price eagerly credited Morris for her skills in social media.

The company’s Facebook page has photos of properties for sale or sold and more.

“We have had clients come to us because of what they have seen on social media,” Morris said.

“Kajun does a great job with our Facebook page,” Price said.

Morris lives in Clutier with her family. Consequently, she does business in Tama County and in the 50-60 mile radius of Marshalltown the business considers its primary area – although the team is licensed throughout Iowa.

Price is a 32-year real estate veteran.

“I grew up in Conrad so I do a lot of business there,”

she said. “I do a lot in Marshalltown too.”

She is moving back to Marshalltown after living in the Montezuma area. Price previously worked for Marshall County at the courthouse and Emerson Process Management. However, it is obvious she found her calling.

“I absolutely love helping people, which is why I enjoy my job as a REALTOR ®,” she said recently on the company’s Facebook page. “I find great joy in people finding the home they love or being able to help a seller move on to a new venture or new home in their life!”

The businesswomen opened at their office in December 2024 in the suite, which had been vacated. Along with family members they cleaned, painted, and assembled of-

fice furniture and more.

“We are a self-sufficient team here,” Price said. “We all work together in running the office. We do not have secretaries or accountants. And we collaborate, which is beneficial to our clients.”

Marquez, Morris and Price realize buyers and sellers have numerous choices in the Marshalltown area to assist in the buying and selling of property, which makes them work all the harder.

“I think Marshalltown is going to continue to grow,” Marquez said. “We have a great community here. I know kids leave for college but come back here and work as educators at the high school … residents work in Ames, Des Moines or Grinnell but live here … there are roots here.”

BURGESS | FROM 7

Real Deals

Burgess and her husband Rodney Burgess, a Marshalltown firefighter, purchased their East Main Street building from a local couple in July 2021. They also purchased a franchise from Real Deals, an Idaho-based company. The couple held their grand opening in October of that year.

The store sells women’s fashion, wall décor, home accents, floral and greenery and more. As a franchisee with Real Deals, Burgess emphasized that she owns everything on display in the store, which means she and her staff must be prudent in ordering.

They have invested a significant amount of “sweat equity” in the property at 122 E. Main St. The store is brightly lit, comfortable and spic-and-span clean inside.

Now nearing their fifth anniversary, Burgess said retail in Marshalltown is significantly impacted by cycles in the economy and also due to local geography.

“We are on the north side of town, compared to so much activity on the south side … the large ‘box’ stores — Wal-Mart, Hobby Lobby, Menards and Theisen’s,” she said. “It makes it more challenging to get people to the north side where we offer something different, the hometown, small business feel.”

Burgess also cited the fact that West Main is the busier section of the street versus East Main. Currently, street and sidewalk repairs are in progress on East Main, which is of concern to her as it will impact critical foot traffic.

“I am nervous about 2026,” she said. “I am constantly involved on social media to remind residents we are here. But I am extremely optimistic about 2027.”

She is eager to know if the curb and gutter work on East Main will increase the appeal of the street, which combined with the events will hopefully make a difference in keeping the store a viable option for shoppers.

a desire to create a safe and welcoming space for people of all sexual orientations. Her group holds community cleanup events, hosts the Quiet Hobby Club (formerly Silent Book Club), and a Walking Club held Wednesdays April 1 through Oct. 28 at Riverside Cemetery, from 4:30 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.

‘It’s a lot of duties: creating flyers, creating the events, creating the descriptions, posting the things. It’s managing finances, when it comes to Pride in the Park,” she said. “That event is probably my biggest learning curve in these last couple years just because it’s the largest one I’ve been in charge of.”

The third annual Pride in the Park will take place from noon to 4 p.m. July 11 at West End Park.

Yoga in the Park will be every Saturday May through August from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. with the three instructors trading off. Bear’s first session will be May 16. Classes are freewill offering. Yoga in the Park started in 2015 through joint efforts between the board of the 13th Street District and the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA. Draisey, who is the current president of the district, was then employed at the Y. She recruited Bear to teach yoga with her.

“That’s how I really stepped my foot into yoga. It was something that I had practiced personally, but it had never crossed my mind to instruct,” Bear recalled.

She taught a weekly yoga class at the Y before branching out on her own.

“I really wanted a way to share more yoga, share more spirituality, share more connections, just share more. So that’s really what created Soul Magick,” she added.

But, says Bear, as much as she loves preparing food, teaching yoga, organizing Pride events, and offering spiritual healing, her heart belongs to the special needs community. She volunteers with Special Olympics and is a member of MHS’s Social Emotional Behavioral Health Committee.

“If I could encourage people to do anything — get involved with your Special Olympics or special needs communities, because there is no purer love. There is no group of people that are going to have more fun,” she said.

She spends her free time with husband Joshua Bear and creating balance in her life.

To learn more about Bear’s yoga, healing and catering services, text her at: 641-8402423 or via her social media pages.