Angela Capeles
“Maybe it’s a pro and con, but I cannot stay silent.”
Ángela Capeles reflected on a job years ago, one that she was let go from, along with many other employees, as the company struggled. However, she noticed an unsettling trend—seemingly only women were being fired at first.
At the time, she was frustrated and spoke up about what she saw as an unfair situation. However, the experience was also a wake-up call for her, that if she were going to follow her entrepreneurial dreams, it was “now or never.”
Capeles has now owned her marketing company, Capeles Agency, for six years. Over that time, she has even hired some of her female co-workers who were also let go at that last company.
Capeles’ years of experience have shaped who she is as a founder and CEO today. Everything about who she is—a woman, a proud Puerto Rican native, a lover of storytelling—influences the business owner she’s become.
October marks National Women’s Small Business Month and, according to a 2024 report by Wells Fargo, women-owned businesses make up 39% of all businesses nationally. Over the past several years, women-owned businesses increased at about double the rate of businesses owned by men, the report noted.
In the Harrisburg area, female entrepreneurs own bakeries, run construction companies, operate retail shops and run restaurants, among many other businesses. For many of them, their business is more than a job—it’s a way to give back, to empower others and to positively impact their communities.
For Capeles, that meant fostering a supportive work environment for her staff internally while also giving her full attention to clients and working to accommodate those who are often overlooked.
“For a lot of entrepreneurs in underserved communities, sometimes they cannot afford high-quality branding and marketing services,” she said. “That should not be the case. A big thing for us over the next few years is continuing to grow our support for Latino-owned businesses so they can feel confident in how their businesses look.”
Ashruta Shettar
Passion Project
Ashruta Shettar’s start in business was born solely out of a desire to help local women.
Sure, the entrepreneurial spirit ran through her family as her parents and relatives owned businesses, but she already had a successful career in IT.
But she wanted to be able to employ women to give them a way to make a living, and so she decided to look into opening her own business.
“I had to leave my country and family back in India and come here to pursue a career, so I know how it feels leaving your home and coming out and doing it,” Shettar said. “So, this being a little city, I felt that we should generate jobs here so that women don’t have to leave their family and go to a tier-one city to get a career.”
About a year and a half ago, Shettar opened a Harrisburg location of the Sugaring NYC franchise, an organic waxing and lash studio, because she believed that the beauty service industry offered many jobs for women.
Business is going well, and the studio currently supports four full-time female staffers. Shettar hopes to expand, but also juggles motherhood, a full-time job and other passion projects.
“I would like to have at least multiple businesses that can employ women,” she said. “But it’s about sustainability, as well. I have to take care of my family.”
Harrisburg business owner Alisha Perry, better known as “That Cupcake Lady” around the city, has recently taken the leap to expand her business. Although, she originally entered the business almost by accident.
After helping bake desserts and decorate for her goddaughter’s birthday party years ago, she started getting requests from family and friends for cupcakes and sweets.
Alisha Perry
“Baking and event planning wasn’t like a passion of mine,” Perry said. “In the beginning, I was just doing it as a hobby. At the time, I was a struggling single mom, and I didn’t even have the money to buy an LLC.”
But with support from her family, the cupcake business quickly took off.
“Word around town was, ‘anybody know who that cupcake lady is?’” she said. “That’s how I took on the name.”
Just recently, Perry and her cousin, Christa Vinson, opened Emerald Suite, an event venue in West Hanover Township, where she aims to provide a unique, luxury experience for clients.
“I get a thrill out of adding to people’s celebratory occasions,” she said.
Because of her experience as a single mom and the challenges that come with it, Perry said that she often seeks ways to bring joy to others.
During the pandemic, she donated over 800 cupcakes to essential workers—one of her proudest accomplishments—and has organized cupcake fundraisers for local nonprofits, as well.
“I’ve struggled to make ends meet, not having the help I needed all the time,” she said. “I give, even when I really don’t have it to give because that’s just who I am as a person.”
Jillian Biehl Morrison
Go for It
When Jillian Biehl Morrison sets her mind on something—she goes all in.
“I’m very much all or nothing,” she said. “I think I’m hardwired for entrepreneurship.”
Biehl Morrison has run her photography business, Bevrore, for a decade, providing women with professional headshots and intimate portraits. She strives to give them an experience that helps them feel comfortable and confident. Just in May, she added a second business to her portfolio, opening Seymour’s Plant Boutique & Apothecary in Mechanicsburg.
Biehl Morrison is also the president of the Downtown Mechanicsburg Partnership, which seeks to promote business and economic development in the community. She’s passionate about helping her neighborhood thrive.
“If I had unlimited resources, I’d have 10 businesses,” she said. “I feel like for me it’s not, ‘what are my passions?’ It’s about narrowing them down. There’s just so much that you could do to make the world better.”
Biehl Morrison serves as an example of how to find an interest and learn to make a business out of it. Both photography and plants were passions that she developed post-college and took the time to learn.
“If there’s something I’m passionate about, I will spend hours and hours learning about it,” she said. “I like that about myself. If I’m interested in something, I can teach it to myself.”
Shettar hopes to help young entrepreneurs gain experience early on through her annual Kidpreneurs Fair in Mechanicsburg. The fair gives youth a chance to sell their own products and learn the basics of business.
And for adults interested in business, Shettar advises to begin by building a network—a “zero-dollar investment.”
“Just go talk to people—introduce yourself. I felt very awkward in the first few networking meetings that I went to because I never did it,” she said. “I used to feel achieved when I talked to even a single person. Now, I have a group of friends who are always there at those events.”
Capeles would tell budding entrepreneurs to “go for it always.”
“We second guess ourselves all the time,” she said. “We tend to find our worth when someone else gives that to us, but that comes from within.”
In her early years in the marketing field, Capeles worked under a successful female business owner in Puerto Rico, and yet, now as an executive herself, it took her time to see herself as a CEO.
“Even though I had a lot of strong women leads in my journey, I knew that I was the founder, but the CEO thing hadn’t really clicked,” she said. “I think it’s also because as females we see, it’s a white dude who’s the CEO. It didn’t really click until a few years ago, and I was like, I am the CEO, of course.”
For more information about Capeles Agency, visit www.capelesagency.com.
Sugaring NYC is located at 4635 High Pointe Blvd., Harrisburg. For more information, visit www.sugaringnyc.com/locations/harrisburg-pa.
For more information about That Cupcake Lady, visit www.thatcupcakelady.com. Emerald Suite is located at 7795 Allentown Blvd., Harrisburg. For more information, visit www.emeraldsuiteluxuryeventvenue.com.
Seymour’s Plant Boutique and Apothecary is located at 230 E. Main St., Mechanicsburg. For more information, visit their Facebook page. Find out more about Bevrore at www.bevrore.com.
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