NEWS & INFORMATION

In this Tune Up Tuesday video, Larry Bonino of Marathon Capital Advisory Services explains how to transition your business from merely surviving to thriving!

Wondering which social media platforms are the best ones to use to promote your business? Zach and Kyra Delinger of Bell Media Group explain it in this Tune Up Tuesday video!

Check out this Tune Up Tuesday video to learn why we’re uncomfortable negotiating, mindset and outcome, how we keep score, and what do our emotions have to do with successful outcomes?

Learn how you can get involved with the Emerging Entrepreneurs Academy in Berks County, PA.

In 2014, I took a job as a corporate restaurant manager. Part of the gig was learning every station in the restaurant – including prep, line work, and dish. Dressed in an old pair of jeans, non-slip shoes, and a company baseball hat, I showed up at 6:30 AM on the dot for my first day of training. I couldn’t wait to get into the kitchen and show all the back-of-house guys that I could hack it anywhere. Except I couldn’t. I had traditionally been a high achiever in professional and academic settings, and I assumed that success would come naturally. But there aren’t any textbooks that teach you how to roll dough. No manuals that explain the cadence of working on a line. And no flow charts outlining the technical communication required to get 25 tickets on their tables, hot and on time. Twelve hours later, I was blinking back tears as I continued to pound away at my station. The kitchen manager caught my eye and said, with a half-smirk, “Go home, Kyra, you’re done for the day.” Covered in grease and flour and frustrated with myself for my lack of ability to finish the shift, I tore off my dirty apron and exited the back of the restaurant without a word. But I continued to show up. And by the end of the grueling two weeks, things were looking up. I had built friendly relationships, developed an enhanced enjoyment of food, and, most importantly, gained a new appreciation for a craft that fell outside of my natural ability. I’ll never be a great back-of-house employee – but I’ll also never look at one the same way again. Why would I tell you this story? It’s not the most flattering story, to be honest. It is, however, relatable. It indirectly reveals deeper truths about my personality and provides context for my work ethic. And most importantly – it’s real, and hopefully, it’s memorable. Storytelling has become one of the hottest crazes in marketing for a couple of key reasons: People are wired to understand and remember stories. Telling stories dates to the dawn of humankind - people are wired to understand and respond to them. For centuries, people have used the art of storytelling to document history, convey complex lessons, and inspire action – far longer than they’ve been presenting PowerPoints or creating social media posts. Stories influence the customer journey. Establishing trust is a big part of the customer journey – stories can help you get there faster. Storytelling in marketing leverages the power of your company’s unique culture to showcase the values you share with your customers and demonstrate why it makes perfect sense for them to buy from you. Stories help you show, not tell. Simon Sinek reminds us that people don’t care about what you do; they care about why you do it. But your “why” can be complex. Your organization’s “why” might be focused on your founder’s experience, or it might be built on the collective experiences of an entire population. Either way, stories show the heart of your organization to your customers, driving brand preference and loyalty. Storytelling is a powerful method that can both enhance your marketing efforts and create meaningful connections. But beyond the ROI and the technical stuff, stories are good for the soul. It’s a wonderfully freeing practice to tell them and share them with others. If you’re looking for creative ways to make an impact with your marketing, telling your story just might be the secret weapon you’ve been looking for.

When doing research, we discovered that there is one thing that all 7.5 Billion people that inhabit the earth have in common, they all have a natural instinct for developing relationships with other people. One might say we were created to “network”. Therefore, if developing a relationship with other people is a natural instinct, and another word for that is networking, and no business can survive without customers (other people), it would make sense that all successful businesses must network. Why Networking Matters Three years ago, when my partners and I were sitting around a table at Panera Bread developing the vision for the Small Business Resource Association, we asked each other the question “what are the most important services we could provide to best help small businesses be more successful?”. The old saying “it takes money to make money” led us to realize that what most small businesses needed most was more “business”. To get more business they needed more customers and to get more customers they either had to advertise more or get out in the marketplace and talk to people about their products or services. They needed money to advertise, which many of them had very little of, so we concluded that one of the best ways we could best serve our members was to provide as many opportunities as possible for our members to meet people, talk about what they do, develop relationships and then, hopefully, make a sale. Remember the old saying “people like to do business with people they like”. What Networking is Not Let me first tell you what networking isn’t. It is NOT going to an event and socializing with coworkers, friends and people you know. Networking is meeting new people and developing a relationship with them as well as reinforcing old acquaintances. If people know who you are and what you do, they have your contact information and they “like you”, there is a good chance that some day they will either do business with you or refer you to someone else. Today’s cover story is a great example of SBRA members that have built their businesses on this networking principle. Here are a few helpful hints to make your networking experience a super success. 1. Meet people with a smile and a Positive Attitude. Nobody likes a Debbie Downer. 2. Be a much better Listener than talker. Make the other person feel like what they have to say is important to you. 3. Be a Reverse networker by focusing on helping others make connections. What you do to help others will come back to you in spades. 4. Be yourself, whatever that may be. People appreciate authenticity. 5. Don’t make promises you cannot keep. Prove you are worthy of Trust. 6. Be Approachable and make people feel comfortable talking to you. 7. Hand out your business card and get theirs. 8. Follow up with a personal call explaining how much you enjoyed meeting them and possibly providing them with a lead that they could reach out to. (reinforcing #3)  Over my career, I have given out literally thousands of referrals to help people connect with the people that could use their products and services. I can honestly say, 50 years later, that it was the people that I networked with and helped that gave me the support I needed to grow my successful businesses. They were my network. Now it’s your turn, take an assessment and find out “Who is in your Network”. The SBRA provides numerous ways you can meet people and exercise the 8 principles above. To learn more about networking opportunities visit https://www.sbrassociation.com/#JOIN

The SBRA Wants Your Ideas on How to Better Serve Our Small Business Members in Reading, PA and Berks County, including Networking and Referral Goup Opportunities and More.

Economic forecast given by Dianne Manges, CFA With BB&T Now Truist

This is the announcement so many of our members were hoping for! Learn more ...