Nearly 400 local business owners and professionals attended the Better Business Bureau second annual Better Business Summit, which took place Thursday, November 7 at the Red Lion Hotel in Cromwell.
“There was such great energy at the Summit with the variety of vendors and many of our local businesses and entrepreneurs in attendance,” noted Jessica Mand, Founder of INDEMAND COMMUNICATIONS.
Jessica gleaned a lot from keynote speaker Thomas Rusin, global CEO of HomeServe, whose topic was “Applying Big Business Thinking to Any Size Business” saying, “I appreciated that he provided 15 tips all great leaders should follow—simple recommendations overall, but so impactful when leaders use them combined.”
seedership Co-Founders Jennifer and Ray Smithberger, who participated as presenters and sponsors at the Summit appreciated that the summit gave them visibility and validation.
“Hosting a sponsor table gave us an opportunity to meet with dozens of business owners of all sizes across many industries,” said Ray.
“It was great to see so many businesses that not only care about improving their business but also their community,” he added. “The consistent theme in all those conversations was they all give back to their communities, re-affirming why we do what we do at seedership: Helping local businesses track what they give and share their community impact story.”
Ryan Keating, Vice President at Keating Agency Insurance was grateful to have won tickets to the event from a Hartford Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs (HYPE) raffle. “I was unsure what to fully expect,” he admitted, adding “the BBB Summit was a pleasant surprise filled with quality content and many familiar faces from our local business community.”
Express Strategies Managing Principal Bernard Kavaler also got a lot out of the experience.
“Throughout the day, there was good advice and tangible suggestions on how to create and expand business opportunities. Hearing directly from people earnestly working to establish and grow businesses was both helpful and encouraging,” he said.
“So many small businesses in Connecticut are working really hard to connect with prospective clients and customers, and the Summit highlighted that there are resources and support to turn to,” he added. “You couldn’t help but come away with the feeling that small business innovation is on the increase, and it was energizing to make new connections.”