Scott Tillitt, Re>Think board chair and Antidote Collective founder, and Ajax Greene, Re>Think board vice chair and On Belay business advisor.
By Jamie Larson “Seminar" and “workshop" aren’t words you’d typically associate with the unconventional character of Hudson and Etsy. But the IMPACT series kicking off this week at Etsy’s customer support office in Hudson isn’t your father’s sales meeting. IMPACT: Crafting a Thriving Venture for the New Economy is a series of six workshops with a goal of reinvigorating local businesses — both the old and new — with truly innovative tools and ideas for the new economy. It’s a home-grown venture with a focus on community, social and environmental responsibility and style. You don’t have to be an Etsy seller to take part. But it helps if you think like one. A trio of Dutchess County-based organizations — the non-profit Re>Think Local and Antidote Collective and On Belay Business Advisors — and the worldwide, interpersonal online craft marketplace Etsy have launched the series to “provide universal tools and ideas for ‘craft’ entrepreneurs and local businesses at all levels." The word craft in this context signifies anyone who approaches his or her business in an artisanal and thoughtful way. This being the Rural Intelligence region, that includes — well, just about everybody.
“Lots of people offer business workshops. Ours are different," says Scott Tillitt, Re>Think board chair and Antidote Collective founder. “We talk about deeper vision and new economy values because consumers shop based on their values. We are also weaving in mindfulness. We have meditation practices as well because we recognize that it makes you more creative, calm and able to respond under pressure." The new economy has new goals, philosophies and buzzwords. Re>Think preaches “localism," where local businesses and consumers create a community around shared values, which support a healthy, sustainable and socially conscious economy. Its mission talks about a “triple bottom line" where business owners seek to improve their financial profit as well as their social and environmental impact.
Workshop participants attend a preview party at the Etsy offices.
While the philosophy is central to the organizations, the goals and the workshops at Etsy are also very much grounded in the tangible skills small business owners need to grow their self confidence. The next couple of workshops focus on people and culture, legal strategies, and accounting and finance issues. “What tends to happen in a solo-owned company is that the founder has invented this, let's say, widget, but doesn't know anything about marketing or other really important tools. We are supplying those tools," says Ajax Greene, Re>Think board vice chair and On Belay business advisor. “No one person is a wildly creative marketer and an anal-retentive accountant and every other thing a small business needs." Melissa Gibson, who will be leading the Marketing workshop at Etsy Hudson on October 13 (she's on the Re>Think advisory council), says too often small business owners get overwhelmed and spread themselves too thin because they're trying to do everything themselves.
Melissa Gibson, Marketing workshop leader and Re>Think advisory council member.
“Very often small businesses lack a marketing budget," Melissa says. “The biggest marketing secret is collaboration; work with others around you with shared interests and a common cause. Aside from being cost effective, mentorship and networking in general is so valuable." Etsy seemed a natural host for the IMPACT series despite the fact that it’s far from local. (It has, in fact, global status.) But though the website may have evolved into a worldwide marketplace, in many ways each of the nearly one million sellers on Etsy is a small business. For its sellers, which include many businesses in our region, Etsy is the economy. “It helps us to host these events too," says Jed Thorn, Etsy's Manager of General Support. “We have a global outreach but from this office’s inception we wanted to be a part of the community. Etsy is by no means a small business anymore, but in this office, the world we inhabit is small business all day. every day." This is the collaborating group of support organizations’ first foray into Columbia County, but with the ever-growing number of small businesses here, especially in Hudson, the guidance and partnership appear more than welcome and poised for reward. To find out more about IMPACT and register for workshops, visit http://www.antidotecollective.org/events/impact-workshops-2014
