We hosted our final event of Small Business September this morning and were thrilled to have 150 people join us at The Lyric to be inspired. Guests had the opportunity to hear from CSU Football Coach Jay Norvell, CSU Women’s Volleyball Coach Tom Hilbert, CSU Dean of the Business School Beth Walker and Julie Weber, former Vice President and Chief People Officer at Southwest Airlines. As I reflect on the comments shared by each of our speakers (especially as I put back on my small business owner hat), I took away a handful of insights. Most powerful for me was:
- You, our small business community, is appreciated! You make our community a special place to live, work and play. And you do it by taking risks that many others would be hesitant to take.
- GRIT, Adaptability and Heart are what make small businesses succeed.
- People are your most important asset. Celebrate them and protect them. Together, you employ more than 53,000 people with an annual payroll of $2.3 Billion.
- There are partners that want to support you.
We invite all of our small business members to take advantage of the resources created during Small Business September all year long – especially the media kit that Jet Marketing has posted on our website. The kit outlines how you can celebrate small business all year long!
And a very special thank you to our Small Business sponsors. We were able to provide a month of celebration and showcases thanks to FNBO, Elevations Credit Union, KRFC 88.9, iHeart Media, Kaiser Permanente, Madwire, Signarama, UCHealth, Williamson CPAs, Jet Marketing and WTF Marketing.
We look forward to continuing to celebrate the impact of small business on our community!
SHOUT OUT!
A special thank you to The Center for Family Outreach. The Center provides education, prevention and early intervention programming for youth and their families. They depend on the support of our community to do this important work. I invite you to join The Center for Family Outreach at their annual Masquerade Ball! The evening will include tapas, libations, live music and dancing – all in masquerade ball attire. Get your dancing shoes and mysterious masks ready for a celebratory evening to support The Center. Details on this evening of fun can be found here.
And a very special Shout Out to our own staff member Chad Beane. Chad is being recognized as a member of the 2022 40 Under Forty Class. He joins a wonderful list of young leaders in Northern Colorado (alongside many of our members) that are building community and creating the future. Check out the full list here!