This year the Chamber Business Academy went virtual!
For the Small Business Council's 6th annual Chamber Business Academy, we offered five classes on topics important to small businesses on five consecutive Wednesdays via Zoom. Did you miss out? See below for a summary of this year's academy and a video highlight real. We hope the Academy will be back to a weekly in-person event next year and that you will join us for more great content. Until then, read on to see what you missed this year!
Week 1 - Pandemic Prospecting: "How to See When You Can't Even Shake Their Hands"
Our first session titled "Pandemic Prospecting" was delivered by Eric Shulman, a 40-year Sandler Sales Training Program veteran and owner of An Inside Man. This session noted that, with the current pandemic, many things have changed in the sales world. How do you make things happen when you can't even get face to face with your target prospects and clients? If cold calling was tough before the pandemic, it's certainly tougher today. What do you say and how do you even start a conversation? This session demonstrated simple ways to get the conversation started and how to keep it going.
Week 2 - Social Media Marketing 101
For week 2 Kristine Zwick, Director of Client Success at Reach, shared their exact strategic method for creating social media marketing campaigns that convert for their clients. Points covered included setting budgets, building an audience, and creating eye-catching ads that get customers to click. Kristine has 12 years of digital marketing under her belt for brands both big and small, and is responsible for ensuring all marketing campaigns at Reach exceed client KPIs.
Week 3 - Ownership Thinking
The focus of Ownership Thinking is to shape employee behavior toward improving financial performance, improving employee engagement, and moving from a "me" to "us" mentality. Instructor Ray Watson is a Principal with Executive Leadership Resources, Inc., CEO Roundtable Facilitator, Predictive Index Certified Talent Optimization Consultant, and Business Coach. He is a former owner/partner of a diverse list of business endeavors, executive with Fortune 500 companies, and Army Special Forces Officer. He has taught this popular topic at the Business Academy almost every year since its inception.
Week 4 - Payroll & HR
Brian Nagle, Sales Leader with RealTime Services, explained the benefits of using a PEO company that allows business owners and operators the time to focus on their company, as well as payroll changes, challenges, and concerns specifically for 2020. Brian Nagle has 20 years of sales experience in providing staffing firms with payroll funding, administrative services, and strategic consulting.
Week 5 - Traction: "The Entrepreneurial Operating System"
For the final week we returned to a topic that has been a staple at the Chamber Business Academy every year. EOS (the Entrepreneurial Operating System) is an integrated business system that helps growth-oriented leaders and entrepreneurs clarify their vision, gain traction, and get healthy in order to get control, grow, and increase the value of their business. This session was presented by John King, a former COO & Integrator for a production company, who now implements the EOS with clients ranging from $2 to $200 million in revenue in a variety of industries including healthcare, insurance, construction, engineering, and legal services.
A big thanks to Old Town for sponsoring this year's Chamber Business Academy!
For more information on the Chamber Business Academy, and to be informed when the Academy returns in 2021, contact us at cpilkington@kisimmeecahmber.com.
Our new Unity Member Little Piper Boutique recently opened their doors on West Osceola Parkway. This unique boutique is owned by sisters Megan Carrion and Morgan Phillips. Here Megan tells you about their shop in her own words:
My name is Megan Carrion I wanted to tell the story of our family-owned and operated business Little Piper Boutique. Last year my sister and I both found out we were pregnant together and only 7 weeks apart. This was my first child and her second. My sister is my best friend and to be pregnant with her was so exciting for us both. As we both progressed through our pregnancies the excitement only grew! We shortly found out we would both being having little girls. These would be the first two grand daughters and first daughter for my sister. We did our gender reveal parties and baby showers together.
Sadly, as we both reached the end of our pregnancies our worlds came crashing down on September 16. At this time my sister was 35 weeks pregnant and I was about 28 weeks pregnant. My sister hadn’t been feeling well that weekend, and wasn’t sure if she had felt her baby move. So, when she told me what was going on I told her to just go to the ER have them check and make sure everything is okay. I said, "Maybe you are going into early labor!" I had no idea the next phone call I would receive would bring me to my knees. She told me they couldn’t find the heartbeat and her baby had passed away. She was going into have a C-section so they could deliver Piper. So, on September 16 Piper was born sleeping and in the arms of Jesus.
We wanted to do something in memory of her, and that is how we came up with Little Piper Boutique. We are more than just a children’s boutique. In our boutique we have a memory wall to honor all babies that are born sleeping. We want to be an outlet and a safe place for women to come tell their stories, but also be a place they can shop for their other children or the children they plan to have. The amount of families that we have connected with already has been simply amazing! We have cried, hugged, laughed, and told stories with families we didn’t even know until they walked in our doors.
On September 24th the Parkways Business Council hosted a Return to Work Employer Preparedness livestream event. PBC Chairman Alex De Jorge spoke to Jaime Escobar and Carey Stephenson with ADP about some of the most common questions and concerns expressed by employers as their employees return to work on-site. You can view the entire conversation with Jaime and Carey at the bottom of the blog post, or skim through some of the main points of interest below.
First off, ADP shared with us their Return to Work Guide, which can be downloaded here. This guide includes an FAQ for employers as they welcome their employees back to the office or work location.
The 3 Most Common Questions From Small Business Owners
Carey Stephenson of ADP outlined the three most common questions that ADP receives from their small business clients. See the brief outline below and view the video at the bottom of the page for more details including a Q&A session following the initial presentation.
1. How do I go about re-opening? What do I need to be aware of?
OSHA requires employers to provide a workplace free of any known hazards, and COVID-19 has been classified as a known hazard. Therefore, as an employer, you must show that you are taking steps to mitigate the hazard of COVID. These steps may include:
It is also important to visibly communicate that you have done these things.
2. What do I do if an employee tests positive for COVID-19?
Should one of your employees test positive, a great start is to refer to the FAQ on page 19 of ADP’s Return to Work Guide and the CDC website for detailed cleaning requirements, etc. Then, be sure to complete the following steps:
3. I’ve readied my work space, notified my employees of the steps I’ve taken, but what if an employee says they won’t return?
In prior situations, refusal to work would have been legitimate cause for termination, but in the case of COVID-19 the question of “why” the employee refuses to work is important. Situations in which an employee might refuse to work include:
