Ready to make your hobby a side hustle or start your own business? The "Small Business and Side Hustles" Library U newsletter connects you to Library and community resources and programs to help you start or build your business!
Twyla Prindle is the founder of Kash Kids, Inc. and author of more than a dozen financial literacy books for kids. Her best-known work is Where Is My Money? She is one of North Florida’s leading advocates for teaching children financial literacy and entrepreneurial skills. Twyla hopes to inspire children to become financially independent adults and future entrepreneurs.
# Interview with a Local Business Owner
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What business book would you recommend or what book do you wish you had when you started your business? I'm torn between two highly recommended business books:
- The Lean Startup by Eric Ries provides valuable insights into building a successful startup by emphasizing a lean and iterative approach. It explores strategies for efficiently testing ideas, adapting to feedback, and creating sustainable business models.
- In The Power of Broke by Daymond John, he discusses how being resourceful and leveraging your limitations can lead to success in business. Daymond John is a successful entrepreneur and one of the Sharks on the TV show "Shark Tank." I find that the struggle in Jacksonville for wannabe startups is that they lack the capital. This book gives you many ideas in this area.
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What advice would you give someone starting a business in Jacksonville? Starting a business in Jacksonville, like any location, requires careful planning and consideration of the local market. Here are some pieces of advice:
- Market Research: Understand the local market in Jacksonville. Identify the needs and preferences of the community to tailor your products or services accordingly.
- Networking: Build strong local connections. Attend networking events, join business organizations, and engage with the Jacksonville business community to establish relationships and partnerships.
- Compliance and Regulations: Familiarize yourself with local business regulations and compliance requirements. Ensure that your business operations align with Jacksonville's legal framework.
- Customer Engagement: Focus on customer engagement and satisfaction. Building a loyal customer base is crucial for sustained success.
- Adaptability: Be adaptable to the local culture and business environment. Flexibility is key in responding to market changes and customer preferences.
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What advice do you have on running a business?
- Staffing: Hire individuals who not only have the necessary skills but also align with your business values. A cohesive team is essential for productivity and a positive work culture. Provide ongoing training and opportunities for professional development to keep your team’s skills up-to-date.
- Marketing: Develop a strong online presence. Leverage social media, a well-designed website, and local SEO to reach your target audience. Implement a mix of online marketing strategies. Utilize traditional advertising methods alongside digital marketing efforts.
- Financial Management: Maintain a clear understanding of your business finances. Regularly track income, expenses, and cash flow to make informed decisions. Consider working with an accountant or financial advisor to ensure proper financial management.
- Customer Service: Prioritize exceptional customer service. Happy customers are more likely to become repeat customers and advocates for your business. Innovation and Adaptation: Stay innovative and be willing to adapt to changing market trends. Regularly assess your products, services, and business processes for improvement.
- Community Engagement: Actively engage with the local community. Sponsor local events, participate in community projects, and build relationships with other businesses in the area.
A final word of advice: Remember that the success of a small business often depends on a combination of factors, including a solid business plan, effective leadership, and a deep understanding of the local market. Continuously seek feedback, stay agile, and be resilient in the face of challenges.
# Upcoming Library Programs
Life Lit
Life Lit are free workshops offered by trained professionals and volunteers that focus on improving your day-to-day life. These programs cover a wide range of workshops from gardening to small business needs. No need to bring anything but yourself to participate!
Networking for Your Business with SBDC
So you have an idea for a business. What’s the first step? Take the idea that has been forming in your head and see if you can turn it into an actual business. In this mini-workshop, you'll learn vital networking skills for starting or expanding your small business. Presented by the Small Business Development Center at UNF business consultants, Christian Evangelista and Taylor Kennedy. This class will be followed by a Q&A with SBDC staff.
Tuesday, April 16, 2-4 PM, Main Library
Entrepreneurship Long Hand with EY
Are you ready to become an entrepreneur? Do you want to measure your entrepreneurial mindset? This one-hour workshop will cover the basics of entrepreneurship and help you activate your inner entrepreneur. Bridging the digital divide is an EY commitment. They're building a better working world by supporting all people with the opportunity to fully participate in modern education, the economy, and society.
Tuesday, April 30, 6:30-7:45 PM, University Park Branch
# Books & Articles We Recommend
Kristin Neff changed how we talk about self-care with her enormously popular first book, Self-Compassion. Now, ten years and many studies later, she expands her body of work to explore a brand-new take on self-compassion. Drawing on a wealth of research, her personal life story, and empirically supported practices, Neff demonstrates how women can use fierce and tender self-compassion to succeed in the workplace, engage in caregiving without burning out, be authentic in relationships, and end the silence around sexual harassment and abuse.
Don’t wait for the system to let you in—break down the door and build your damn thing. Build the Damn Thing is a hard-won, battle-tested guide for every entrepreneur who the establishment has left out. It is an indispensable guide to building a startup and breaking down the barriers for diverse entrepreneurs from the visionary venture capitalist and pioneering entrepreneur Kathryn Finney. She explains how to build a business from the ground up, from developing a business plan to finding investors, growing a team, and refining a product.
In Lead Like a Woman, former Fortune 500 executive Deborah Smith Pegues shows how women competing in the business world or serving in a nonprofit can position themselves for success. She'll teach you to embrace 12 traits that can help you excel as a leader, and she'll also help you eliminate 12 tendencies that could be hindering your progress. You will discover how to develop confidence while sharpening your professional and relational skills; let go of unproductive thoughts and habits that sabotage your success; and create a transformative, participative, and inclusive organization.
Leadership expert Sally Helgesen and bestselling leadership coach Marshall Goldsmith Marshall have trained thousands of high achievers -- men and women -- to reach even greater heights. Again and again, they see that women face specific and different roadblocks from men as they advance in the workplace. In this book, they identify the 12 habits that hold women back as they seek to advance, showing them why what worked for them in the past might actually be sabotaging their future success. Building on Marshall's classic bestseller What Got You Here Won't Get You There, How Women Rise is essential reading for any woman who is ready to advance to the next level.
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Courses We Recommend
Learn how women in leadership roles can effectively navigate biases, stereotypes, and other challenges to lead organizations with confidence. In this course, executive coach and expert on workplace diversity and inclusion Audrey Genevieve Daniels shows female leaders how to use their stories as a motivational superpower to lead others and embrace the hurdles they overcame as a source of pride.
Join global workforce management expert Dr. Shirley Davis as she shares how to create and lead an organization that leverages the diverse talents of all contributors. Dr. Davis reveals the benefits of inclusive leadership, including the positive impacts it can have on employee engagement, innovation, and creativity. She then outlines a best practice framework for developing inclusive leaders in an organization, and shares tips for avoiding common leadership pitfalls.
Leadership—the art of influencing and developing others to achieve their highest potential—is often identified as the most critical role in an organization. But what is effective leadership and how do you cultivate it? In this course, leadership consultant and global workforce expert Dr. Shirley Davis covers the basics of leading yourself and others.
Great leaders care about more than just the bottom line. They achieve—or exceed—their goals by bringing humanity to their work. In this course, Carolyn Everson, the vice president of global marketing solutions at Facebook, delves into how (and why) adopting the core tenets of enlightened leadership can boost both your effectiveness and overall happiness.
