We were lucky to catch up with Ali Berger recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Ali thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Looking back, what’s an important lesson you learned at a prior job?

In a 1-1, I once received feedback that changed EVERYTHING for me. I was told, “Your 80% is better than most people’s 120%.” followed by “I am thankful for your 80%.”

What was meant to be a praise for my work ethic turned into a mental shift that challenged me to evaluate my values and the type of business person I wanted to be.

Let me set the stage. In this season I was working full-time at an agency 9-5 while also to keep my business with a business partner floating at every other waking hour of the day, I was hustling because I had a dream of “building a marketing and events empire,” and an even greater dream for women’s ministry.

After I received that feedback, I remember sharing it with a trusted mentor and communicating that I was not okay with giving just my 80% to something.

My faith plays the leading role in how I order my life and my businesses. Colossians 3:23 instructs: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.”

For me, this meant not only my actions but my heart had to be fully committed to the work that I was doing.

As I deconstructed this idea of contentment without showing up wholeheartedly in my work, I realized I needed to make decisions that allowed me to be fully present. While the demands of my business increased, I eventually became more part-time at the agency.

I learned a valuable lesson. If God’s entrusted you with a dream or vision, it is your responsibility to steward it wholeheartedly.

This feedback from my boss made me recognize that in that season I simply could not show up fully for his agency and for the business and ministry I was responsible for stewarding.

Shortly after this conversation, I reduced my hours working for this company, and not long after ended up leaving the company to full-time focus on my business and the ministry I felt called to.

This shift began the beginning of the ultimate alignment journey. Within 2 months, I ended up moving to a new city which lead to shutting down my business to launch 2 new businesses that were more aligned with the work I enjoy doing.

I now run a Marketing + Consulting company that helps brands glow up their brand and shine in their industry and a Community Organization that creates community and connection for over a thousand Central Virginia women through award-winning events.

I’m thankful for this feedback, because it changed my life and led me to starting 2 new businesses that bless the community! For any other high-achieving visionaries out there – don’t settle. Pursue the work that lights your heart on fire and allows you to show up wholeheartedly. That’s the work that will radically transform you – and your community.

Ali, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

The Spark Co helps brands spark momentum through building and implementing effective marketing strategies that provide the ultimate glow-up and position them to shine in their industries.

Our vision is a future where brands we ignite are catalysts for fostering vibrant and thriving community, creating a ripple effect of positive impact while adding their own unique sparkle to their industries.

Our primary services include Marketing Strategy; Marketing Implementation: Social Media, Paid Ads, EMS (Email), Blogging; Squarespace Website Builds and Event Consulting.

Personally, I run a “Sparkle Squad” for female entrepreneurs to connect on goals and faithfully stewarding their businesses.

Women in Business creates community and connection for women in Central Virginia to be all they are called and created to be. We host events that connect women to other local leaders and encourage and equip them in their leadership. In for years we’ve hosted 30+ events and connected over 1000 women leaders!

These businesses ultimately sparked out of a passion for “creating space.” My first career job was as an Executive Assistant for a fast growing Inc. 5000 Software Development Company where I was given the opportunity to create experiences for the team and clients, launch a Fun Committee and even develop a large-scale fundraising event for a local non-profit that has grown to be the organizations largest annual fundraiser. Through these experiences, I learned so much about creating excellent experiences and the value of intentionally marketing them. I learned how valuable community was in your work. When I began to burn out doing too many things at one time, this lead me to start doing the work that felt truly meaningful to me: helping others create space and marketing their businesses.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Women in Business genuinely began with a joke about throwing a girl’s night out. I was at a networking event with other women who all agreed we were tired business women who just needed to do something fun with other women who got it. Women who understood the pressure to perform, who loved their work, often were multi-disciplined but who also wanted to feel human and genuinely connect.

This joke led to actually throwing a girls night a few weeks later. As a marketer, I did what I knew how to do best to spread the word: started an Instagram account and sold tickets through Eventbrite. We had 16 ladies attend our first event who immediately asked: “When’s the next one?”

This led to event after event; each one almost doubling in size.

Why? We were intentional with how we promoted the event. We made sure we really connected with the community thro0ugh social media. We would introduce our event hosts so women coming for the first time felt like they knew someone before they showed up. As owners, we hop on IG stories or live events to explain what women attending an event should expect.

We also created a private Facebook group that is constantly growing where women can privately connect, share their goals, prayer requests and ask for advice.

Every year we do a “Galentine’s Rose Blitz” where we surprise local businesses by showing up with a rose and asking them to be our galentine. This campaign always drives so much engagement and we have businesses that watch our platform hoping we’ll stop to give them a rose!

My advice for you is: social media can be a powerful tool when you show up authentically and connect. Trends for 2026 favor authentic content, even for brands.

This is an invitation to get really creative with how you show up on social media. To go behind-the-scenes, to offer relevant advice, to show your face and faces behind your team. This is the real and raw stuff that people want to see! They want to connect with you and the more you connect with them, the more loyal they will become.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

My businesses both started because they were my “passion projects.” I loved running events and would throw various fun experiences for friends a year. I started getting contracted to coordinate retreats and work on side projects like building my church’s website or designing wedding invitations.

It then turned into being in the right place at the right time. I remember once of my first clients I met at a print shop and they needed business cards in 72 hours. The print shop couldn’t help them, but I knew I could. We designed and helped him print his cards by the deadline!

As these opportunities began to grow, the more I realized I could turn this into something. I started burning out at my job, often working 55+ hour weeks, and took a leap of faith to try to grow my first business with my best friend who desperately knew I needed a change in pace.

Covid hit a few months later, challenging us to really pivot and figure out how we could grow a business.

How did we grow in the middle of a global pandemic? It looked like taking every opportunity to connect with new people virtually. We created clear service packages and strong proposals. We set revenue and billable hour milestones and when we hit them, we knew it was time to start contracting help to steward our clients!

We had monthly finance meetings to track our progress. When we started consistently hitting those milestone, we started looking for a small office space.

I’ve now been an entrepreneur for 7 years! I’m so thankful for the freedom and the flexibility stewarding your own businesses offers!

Contact Info:

• Website: thesparkco.co, lyhwomeninbusiness.com
• Instagram: @ali_berger
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ali-berger/