June Member Showcase Recap
On June 28, Launch Workplaces hosted its quarterly Member Showcase, providing members an opportunity to present their company to the community and share best practices as entrepreneurs. This session featured members Laurie Wiggins from Sysenex, Jessica Muse from Modern Muse Education and Syed Rumin from Ark Financial Solutions in a panel discussion moderated by member Charlie Birney of Podcast Village and broadcast via Facebook Live. Our thanks to local Maryland company Twin Valley Distillers for providing libations for the networking portion of this event.
A popular question presented to our business panelists was, “how do you grow your business?” Our panel of owners agreed that it’s important for people to know, like and trust your business before you can close a sale. To accomplish this, they recommend turning to social media sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to establish yourself as an expert in your field. Syed takes that one step further and follows his clients on Facebook so he knows what is going on in their lives and perpetuates relationship connections. Another idea is to, “meet people in person and show up,” according to Laurie. Join organizations in your target market so people can get to know you. Finally, good old fashioned flyers hung in strategic locations and word of mouth referrals help Jessica gain new clients for her tutoring company.
Even though each panelist is having success, they have had stumbles along the way. Syed struggled with cold calling because potential clients would accuse him of telemarketing from overseas when he was just down the road in Rockville. Laurie failed to understand her target market in the beginning, which wasted time and resources. Now she knows who her target is, where to find them and what messages are important to them. Jessica didn’t price her services correctly in the beginning because she undervalued her services compared to the competition. She strongly advises business owners to “believe in yourself if you are passionate enough to start your business.”
Continuous learning is important for all business people, and when asked what business books they last read, the answers did not disappoint. Laurie keeps up to date in her industry by reading books on the operations of due diligence. She also wanted to understand what’s happening in today’s political environment so she picked up the best seller Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance. Jessica is studying for her Master’s Degree and last read Industrial Organization Psychology by Paul Levy. This book made her realize that to build a good company, she should build a place where people want to come to work. Therefore, company culture is extremely important. Syed read Fanatical Prospecting by Jeb Blount and learned that it’s best to set a specific time aside each day for making follow up phone calls to prospects.
Launch Workplaces provides opportunities like our Member Showcase to share expertise and help businesses be successful. We provide a community for collaboration and growth. Syed perhaps put it best when he said that he has established important connections at Launch. “The next Bill Gates could be here!” he said half joking and half seriously. Indeed, if you want to work alongside people like Syed, Laurie and Jessica or possibly Bill, contact us for a tour or join us at our next event.
