Speaker brings useful information to business conference

By St. Clair Murraine
Outlook Staff Writer

Business owners can find success if they capitalize on available resources and when possible, collaborate to generate growth, a leading consultant told attendees at the Capital City Chamber of Commerce’s Advance Conference.

LaFern Batie, CEO of the Batie Group, also said branding is one aspect of business that shouldn’t be overlooked. She made those and several other points during her hour-long presentation last Tuesday at the Turnbull Center.

The event drew an audience that included business owners from nearby Gadsden County.

Business owners today have more resources than ever before, she said. Some of what’s available to help owners grow their businesses can be found online, and aren’t difficult to access.

One such tool is SEO, which can be easily incorporated with a little knowledge of digital marketing, or also with the help of a reputed Google SEO Agentur. Needless to say, entrepreneurs just need to realize the potential of the internet in order to make their business a success.

In some cases, she said, a person’s mindset could be the biggest barrier to finding ways to save or enhance the service they provide. To clear that barrier and accelerate their commerce, they may need to seek meaningful advice from an experienced financial advisor sydney or the ones present locally.

“One of the strategies is to start somewhere,” said Batie, whose company is based in Tampa. “Start with one person, one resource, tap into your chamber, tap into another business owner.”

One line of information on resources was presented by Daryl Jones and Cristina Paredes from the Office of Economic Vitality. During their presentation, Paredes, director of OEV and Jones, deputy director who oversees minority women and small business enterprise, went into detail about programs that the agency offers.

They presented a direct link to information that Batie suggested. Essentially resources.

“It’s important,” Jones said. “We want to do our part to make certain that our minority owned women businesses harness every option available to them that they can build capacity.”

Jones lauded business owners who make it a point of interest to attend the conference. The information presented was too vital to miss, he said.

“That’s why it’s so important that we are in the room and in the places talking directly to those businesses to which it is our job to intentionally provide resources for,” he said.

Turning to the Capital City Chamber of Commerce is a good starting point for small businesses to find the help they need, said Katrina Tuggerson, president of the chamber.

“The Capital Chamber of Commerce will continue to be that voice to connect the dots and also to talk about the resources that are there,” she said.

Many times, she said, owners will reach out when they’re almost out of options to save their business.

“Small businesses like to use resources when they’re in panic mode or when they feel like they don’t have a choice,” she said.

Just as important as knowing where to find help, collaboration has plenty of advantages for business that do so, Batie said.

“We have to get out of this mindset of I’m going to get mine; you go get yours.”

The message that Batie brought is one that he will take back home, said Eric Hinson, a member of the Gadsden County Commission. In fact, he said, he’d like to see more collaboration between the City of Tallahassee and Gadsden County.

“To hear what they are saying today about collaboration and also having programs that can be a business incubator just brings me hope that we can inject some of this into Gadsden County,” he said. “We have a lot of space; land.”

Along with collaboration comes trust, Batie said, encouraging a workplace culture that allows employees to feel that they have a share in the business. The concept works well in her company, she said.

“No one in our organization works for me,” she said. “They know I’m a stickler, but no. You work with me. I’m not the boss. I’m part of the team. Everybody has value in this organization.

“If you are building a team, equip them with what they need to be productive. Sometimes as leaders we are happy being the one who knows it all. That’s not how you build an entrepreneurial culture. That’s not how you create ownership. You have to abandon the seat of being the single point of failure.”

Batie’s words resonated with Frank Williams a member of the chamber and owner of Florida Developers, Inc. construction company.

“For most of us, as small entrepreneurs, our businesses are set up in such a way that if we are not there or we are sick, the business dies. Williams said. “That is not very good.”

Williams said the conference was “rewarding,” adding, “I think she shared a lot of great information.”