City of Gainesville to host small business workshop to help small businesses succeed

The owners of three local small businesses will share with others how they were able to turn their visions into success stories.

They will share their stories during the “His/Her Stories of Business Success – Boss Moves” workshop that will be presented by the city of Gainesville Office of Equity and Inclusion from 4-6 p.m. Thursday in the Gainesville Regional Utilities Administration Building at 301 SE Fourth Ave.

Those interested in attending must register by Wednesday, by visiting visiting https://bit.ly/42mg0Rb or calling 352-334-5051.

“We are trying to help small businesses and provide them with tips on how they can become successful,” said Zeriah Folston, director of the city of Gainesville’s Office of Equity and Inclusion.

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It is important for small business owners to hear the stories of other small business owners who have overcome the odds to become successful, and that includes listening and learning that what may have worked for one business may not work for another business, Folston said.

It is also important for people to not “compare their seeds” to other people's “trees” because what it took for one business to grow and be successful might not work for another business to grow and be successful, Folston said.

“We want people to know they have to go through their own journeys,” Folston said. “We still believe small businesses are the backbone of the American economy.”

The small business owners who will make presentations during the workshop will be Juan Carlos Tafur-Mejia, owner and creative director of Innova Leaf Creative Solutions; Jerome Guilford, founder of Knight Raven Enterprises; Deidre Mobley-Keith, co-founder/operations manager of Carpet Systems Plus and Reginald Keith, founder of Carpet Systems Plus.

They will share their testimonies about what it took for them to become successful small business owners, and the workshop will also include a question-and-answer session, as well as opportunities for networking, Folston said, adding that the workshop is scheduled to become an annual event.

“You never know who will be the person to give you the advice you need to become successful,” Folston said.

Topics such as meeting payroll, establishing a business plan and more will be discussed at the workshop, Folston said.

Learning from mistakes made by others is a great way for new small business owners to avoid the pitfalls others may have had to endure, Folston said.

The workshop hopefully will attract women, people of color and military veterans who own small businesses and want to access the information that will be available there, Folston said.

“We’re in a season where we have to be helpful to one another,” Folston said.

Helping other small businesses figure out how to become successful is very important to Guilford, whose company specializes in commercial and residential moving services.

Guilford said he started his business in 2001 and received help from a small business mentoring program at the University of Florida that was led by Faylene Welcome, who now works overseeing a similar program within the city of Gainesville’s Office of Equity and Inclusion.

“This is an opportunity for me to share with others what I’ve learned about how to become a successful small business owner,” Guilford said.

It takes a lot of hard work and sacrifices to become a successful small business owner, and each business must have its own template for success, Guilford said.

When dealing with new entrepreneurs, Guilford said his first question is “How bad do you want to see what you’re doing become a success.”

The more small businesses that succeed only helps the overall economy and disadvantaged communities, Guilford said.

“I get excited about programs like this and I want people to take advantage of the resources and information that will be made available to them, and this is a great opportunity to do that,” Guilford said.

Tafur-Mejia, who will also be presenting at the workshop, encourages entrepreneurs to be broad minded when evaluating the success of their business endeavors.

“Success can be measured in many ways. Some people define success as having a lot of money. For others, it entails a prestigious position or professional status,” said Tafur-Mejia via email, whose marketing company specializes in enhancing brand awareness, product marketing, high quality training and storytelling. “I believe that success is a combination of three qualities: Faith, heart and guts. My business was founded on having faith in God that it was the right decision for me to make, putting my heart into making it a success and trusting my gut to follow my intuition on the business decisions I make.”

The Office of Equity and Inclusion, formerly known as the Office of Equal Opportunity, provides services to city employees and residents to ensure fair practices in employment, housing, business and all aspects of society, including government contracting.

The office also serves Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy and Putnam counties, Folston said.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Gainesville Office of Equity and Inclusion to host workshop on Thursday