Registration is open for a small business summit designed to help owners navigate the day-to-day landmines they face.
It will be on Oct. 9th. It is sponsored by the Augusta office of the University of Georgia’s (UGA) Small Business Development Center (SBDC).
Rebecca Mixon, director of the Augusta office, told ABD this summit is to help business owners focus on themselves, additional success for their business, and increase revenue to hire additional employees.
“We’re going to talk about resilience,” she said. “We’re going to talk about negotiations, wellness, and balance for both the owner and the employee, and we’re going to showcase some of those things that go on in the life of a business owner.”
She added that they will cover five topics:
- AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP: Inspire, command respect, and lead with razor-sharp clarity.
- NEGOTIATION SKILLS: Unlock the tactical secrets to closing better deals and commanding your worth.
- SOLO TO CEO: Master the exact blueprint to transition from doing it all to building a high-performance team.
- WELLNESS AND BALANCE FOR YOU AND YOUR TEAM: Protect your energy, master your time, and eliminate burnout without sacrificing growth.
- COLLABORATION OVER COMPETITION: Tap into powerful local alliances and turn potential rivals into strategic growth partners.
The difference in this summit, said program coordinator Shelby Carl, is that it is not solely about the long-term sustainability of the business.
“But also the business owner and their mentality and how they are running the business, but bridging that into actually scaling their business as well,” she explained. “If anyone is starting a business or going to try to hire more employees or figure out a way to adjust to actually scale in the future, this is the event for them. And we have a lot of business owners like that in the Augusta area.”
This day-long summit gives attendees the opportunity to participate in discussions, learn action-ready strategies, and learn from industry experts. It brings to Augusta the dynamics normally found in conferences held in larger cities.
“Business owners are busy, and we want to have something for people right here in our area. For people to travel to Atlanta or travel to Charlotte or to Orlando, it’s costly. It takes time away from their operation, and I think it’s a real service to be able to say, “Hey, you don’t have to take four days or three days away from your business and spend thousands of dollars,’” said Brent Skelley, a business advisor in the local SBDC office and co-owner of Trellis Coffee Bar on Walton Way.
Owners will also learn how to create a thirty-second pitch, a succinct description of themselves and their business.
“It’s helping business owners clarify their one-liners,” Skelley added. “How do I, in thirty seconds, communicate what I’m doing? So, the one-liner is really less of ‘Hey, how do I pitch a group of people to invest,’ and more, How do I articulate what I’m doing in short order in a way that captures attention.’”
In addition to learning from industry experts, the summit provides the opportunity for networking.
“It’s a great way to bounce ideas off of other people that haven’t heard of your idea or maybe have heard of your idea in a different setting,” said Mixon. “It’s a great way to gain insight that you hadn’t really thought of. We always need to hear outside perspective on that.”
Ameris Bank sponsors the Oct. 9th summit. It will run from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. It will be at The HUB-West at 631 Chaffee Avenue.
Preregistration is required. The registration fee is $99 per person, which includes lunch provided by Laziza Mediterranean Grill.
Registration is available at https://georgiasbdc.org/training-program/0838-001-aug-business-summit-in-augusta/.
Special pricing to reserve a table can be arranged by emailing Carl at scarl@georgiascbdc.org
