by David Chapman
Staff Writer
For three hours at least, it was about being “on” instead of “in.”
More than 150 small business owners took time away from working in their business Tuesday to spend time working on their business with the goal of growing over the next year.
The complimentary workshop, part of the “Committed to Growing Small Business Tour,” made a stop at Jacksonville University with speaker Carissa Reiniger teaching owners how to create a one-year “action plan” that was both realistic and aggressive in growth — even in a down economy.
One of the keys to the workshop and a key difference from other similar seminars, noted Reiniger, was that the plans were easy to implement.
“You can have all the right business advice in the world,” said Reiniger, “but end up having no time to do anything with it.”
The business plans focused on “doing” more so than “strategizing about how to do,” a common end result in many focus groups.
It is about making something happen in a realistic way rather than planning for something to happen, said Reiniger, which resonated with her small business owner audience.
“I think it allowed a lot of new entrepreneurs to really come in and focus on what it actually takes to meet their goal instead of just trying to meet a number,” said attendee Richard Jones of Watson Commercial Realty. “I see a lot of new people as well as Chamber members here looking for an edge.”
Some of Reiniger’s points especially hit home with attendees.
“It was motivation to become more focused on what the problems are,” said Beverly Brinn, president of 3 Sisters Chocolate. “To look closely at revenue streams and see if they’re actually profitable, and if not, take them out.”
Crystal Draper, an account executive with Expetec Technology Services, said the business advice on “not just how to do it, but go do it” was both practical and refreshing, something that Chamber Small Business Center Executive Director Sandy Bartow said many attendees were abuzz about following the workshop.
“The were talking about the ‘actionable items’ that they could implement right away to help their business grow,” said Bartow. “Many said it was good to get away and work on their business to help it grow at a workshop like this, which is something we (Chamber Small Business officials) try to help with when the opportunity presents itself.”
As part of “Committed Tour,” Reiniger will stop in several other cities such as Atlanta, Denver and New York, but said the Jacksonville small business owners were both fun, personable — as evidenced by the more than dozen hugs she received following the workshop — and very attentive, something that isn’t always the case with such attendees.
“They were extremely engaged and quite into it,” said Reiniger. “They communicated well throughout and you can tell they really wanted to learn.”
Even though it was a lot to learn — the workshop covered a month’s worth of work crammed into a three-hour speed session — much was learned, said one attendee.
“I thought it was excellent,” said Bonnie Arnold, owner of Bonnie’s Floral Designs. “It really gave you a different perspective because it was such a different approach … the ideas and plans she (Reiniger) gave us can really work.”
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