A Message to Our Entrepreneurship and Small Business Community

By: Jessica Scanlon, Vice Chair for Entrepreneurship, Round Rock Chamber Board of Directors

At our last Entrepreneurship Council meeting, someone said, “entrepreneurship” doesn’t really describe a type of business or industry, the term describes a type of person. People who step-up to start a business are special. I’m not saying that because I’m one of them. I say that because I’ve spent the last eight years of life getting to know hundreds of amazing individuals who shunned conventional career advice and decided to make their own way. They work harder, they think differently, and they are passionate about the lives they chose. It’s not a job – their businesses are their lives.

It is heart-wrenching to watch businesses close their doors when I know those individuals’ families rely on those doors staying open. Each day that goes by while we’re in this crisis, I personally waver between what might be considered naive optimism and crumbling into a complete nervous wreck.

Here’s my optimism. People are dying to spend money, leave their homes, and get back to their regular life. We are only a couple of weeks into this crisis, and you can feel the economic electricity just under the surface ready to erupt. I don’t know how long this will last, but I know when it’s over, there will be an explosion of opportunity.

Prepare your business for the recovery:

• Stay in-front of your customers during your downtime so they remember to support your business when it opens its doors again.
• More people are spending more time online right now. Leverage your online presence more to keep and build your brand equity.
• Show your face – educate your customers about the people behind the business to create a stronger connection.
• Look at your processes and work on improving systems that will help handle more business during the recovery.

Now is a great time to work on your business since many of us aren’t able to work in it right now. Many of us can’t stop to breathe when we’re busy in a healthy economy. Take a deep breath.

To all those special entrepreneurs out there, I’m calling on you. The ones who took huge leaps of faith before, recovery will be solely focused on us rising to the occasion. We must share in a collective hope and lay the groundwork for tremendous future opportunity. We will prove to city, county, state, and national leaders that resources and attention should be given to us during times of crisis and prosperity. We will show everyone that small businesses and entrepreneurs are the backbone of this economy. Be ready to show everyone what it means to be an entrepreneur.