Rosemary is a native Austinite, born and raised in East Austin. She is the giving coordinator at Tito’s Handmade Vodka, and her role goes well with her passion and desire to make the world a better place. She works in the philanthropy department and handles the monetary donation process for all national giving and assists nonprofits with their support they provide in the community. Rosemary completed the Hispanic Austin Leader program in 2009 and Leadership Austin in 2020. She is a former board member of the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and GAHCC Foundation board of directors and has held various leadership roles in the Hispanic Austin Leadership program. In 2015, she received the GAHCC Chairs Award; in 2016, she received the TAMACC Women of Distinction award; in 2019 she received the HAL Alumni of the Year award; the HABLA Outstanding Community Leader Award in 2020 and Con Mi Madre Mariposa Award in 2022. She is a past advisory board member of the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center Advisory Board, appointed by Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza and a past committee member of Somos Austin. In her spare time, she enjoys day trips and spending time with her family, especially her young grandson.
Rosemary Banda shares her experience as an EGBI supporter.
To get started, do you mind telling us a fun fact about yourself? Native Austinite and have lived in Austin all my life. I love to coordinate gatherings where women can come together and mingle and socialize and leave behind their day to day tasks for just a little while. It’s important to build each other up and just share sometime together.
How did you first get involved with EGBI? I first heard about EGBI in 2008 when they presented at the Hispanic Austin Leadership class. My HAL classmate Barbra Boeta, went on to become Executive Director and it was a great opportunity to learn more about EGBI and become a wholehearted supporter.
Why is it important to support organizations such as EGBI? EGBI is important to small companies and entrepreneurs to get the training and coaching to start up their business and keep thriving. Offering their services in Spanish is a must for the Hispanic community.
How has your involvement with EGBI helped you grow professionally and personally? As giving coordinator, it’s important to me to support organizations that provide a great service to the committee. Seeing the members of EGBI and how they are thriving, reassures me of my commitment to EGBI.
In 2021, EGBI supporters help EGBI pursue their mission of training, coaching, and supporting aspiring and existing business owners who face barriers to growing a successful business.
Want to get involved too? Contact us to find out how you can volunteer or donate.
Luz Gonzalez is a Premier Online Business Strategy Expert, International Speaker, CEO and Co- Founder of IndustryIkon.com, and works with service-based small business owners and experts (coaches/ consultants/authors/speakers) to convert their online presence to a client attraction machine. Luz has a B.A. and J.D. from U.C. Berkeley, over a decade of experience with online branding strategy having presented around the US on the topic, was an International Human Rights Lawyer, has spoken at well-established institutions such as McKinsey & Company, UC Berkeley, Stanford, etc., led online branding strategy for over 4 years with companies in Silicon Valley. Luz has a unique take on high ticket branding & marketing incorporating behavioral economics, neuroscience, and evidence-based strategies.
Luz Gonzalez shares her experience as a volunteer of EGBI.
To get started, do you mind telling us a fun fact about yourself? I used to be an international human rights lawyer, but found that digital marketing work is much more impactful than a lot of the work I did in the legal space.
How did you first get involved with EGBI?
I first heard about EGBI from someone on the board who said I should reach out. He mentioned how EBGI supported Latino entrepreneurial communities, and as a Latina who sees how often my community does not have access to the digital marketing resources many other business owners have, I knew I wanted to be part of their mission.
Why do you feel that it’s important to give your time volunteering with EGBI?
There are a number of organizations that support businesses at the $1M level, but I find that the work supporting entrepreneurs who have yet to reach the first million-dollar and revenue is some of the most impactful work. I find that the work that EGBI does fills really important gaps, and I would love EGBI to be able to support Latino Entrepreneurs around the country since I haven’t seen a program that is so comprehensive, accessible and affordable, that really changes lives. I am so proud to volunteer with EGBI!
What has been the most beneficial part of volunteering for you? How has your involvement with EGBI helped you grow professionally and personally?
Volunteering with EGBI has been absolutely wonderful. Every time that I get to work on digital marketing with the entrepreneurs in the room it’s a reminder of how important this work is and how it really changes lives. It’s been an incredible opportunity to get to know a staff and to get to know the people that are touched every day by the powerful work that EGBI does. Being able to support the EBGI students relights a fire in my belly each time, and reminds me how powerful digital marketing can be in changing lives for people who previously didn’t have access to this knowledge.
In 2021, EGBI volunteers put in more than 130 hours to help EGBI support and serve over 400 small businesses. Volunteers like Luz make this possible and continue to help EGBI pursue their mission of training, coaching, and supporting aspiring and existing business owners who face barriers to growing a successful business.
Want to get involved too? Contact us to find out how you can volunteer or donate.
SMART goals are used in the professional world to define and guide the importance of goal setting. As a small business owner, creating strong and attainable goals is essential for success. Below, we will walk through what SMART goals are, and tips for creating your own!
What are SMART goals? SMART goals have five components … S =Specific: Well-defined and clear goals with a purpose. This includes questions such as: who is involved in this goal, what do I want to accomplish, where is this goal to be achieved, and when do I want to achieve this goal. M =Measurable: Includes criteria that measures progress toward the end goal. Measurable goals specify indicators of progress, as well as tools to determine if a goal has been met. A =Attainable: Not impossible to achieve, something that is realistic. When thinking about attainability, it is important to ask yourself if you have the resources and capabilities to achieve the goal at hand. R = Relevant: Within reach and aligns with your business targets. To determine if your goal is realistic, ask yourself if your goal is reachable given the time and resources you have available to you. T = Time-Based: Includes a timeline that is clearly defined with a start and end date. When creating goals as a small business owner, it is important not to rush the process. Creating a timeline that is reasonable based on your own abilities is essential.
Why should you use SMART goals as a small business owner?
SMART goals provide structure to your business. Whether you are working on a specific project, or want to achieve personal growth, creating a SMART goal helps to outline clearly what you want to achieve.
It is easy to track the progress of your goals using the SMART method. Closely tracking the developments within a goal can not only help you stay organized, but more importantly stay motivated to hit your deadlines.
It is easy to get overwhelmed when attempting to complete a big goal. Using the SMART structure, each part of your project is clearly outlined, which creates a non-stressful work mindset.
Retaining customers is one of the most important aspects of being a successful business owner. Repetitive clients are what make local businesses strong competitors. Below are some tips on how to keep customers retention rates high!
Create an online presence Creating an online presence is an easy way to keep up your customer retention rates. Creating an e-newsletter or email list for customers to subscribe to is a great simple way to encourage customers to return to your business. Additionally, interacting with regular customers on various social media platforms is a great way to create customer loyalty. Connecting with new customers on media channels will help them get to know your business better very quickly.
Learn about your customers It is important to take time to learn about your new customers, as they learn about your business. Consider taking steps such as adding a poll or survey to your email lists, to learn about your customers’ interests and preferences. Customers are more likely to return if they feel as though you personally appreciate their business.
Entice customers with events and special offers Deals and promotions are a great motivator to bring people back to your business. Brainstorm events or special deals that you can offer to your customers, which will likely bring even more new individuals into your business. Whether this means a guest speaker, happy hour event, or product sale, customer retention rates will soar.
Create a loyalty program A customer loyalty program is a strong pillar in increasing customer retention rates. These programs reward repeat customers by giving them incentives to come back and support your business. Customer loyalty programs make individuals feel special through giving them a sneak peak at new products, or exclusive offers and deals.
Be honest and set realistic expectations Being straightforward with your customers is essential if you want to improve your customer retention rate. Being honest can have a huge impact on your business’ ability to keep customers returning. One example of this is shipping times; while most businesses can not compete with Amazon’s shipping rates, you should always be honest with your customers on how long it will take for products to arrive. Keeping customers informed on the reality of a situation makes them feel as though their money and time was well spent.
Nextdoor is a social networking platform that allows individuals within a community to connect with one another. Nextdoor is a great place for businesses to connect with their valued and local clientele. Business owners can create Nextdoor Business Pages for advertising local deals, posting announcements to their neighborhood, sharing links, and most importantly egnanging with nearby customers.
Create an account, or log in to an existing account to manage your new business page using the email and password you already have. If you are claiming a business page on a mobile device, the account you are signed into will automatically be used. By connecting your business and personal accounts, you will be able to switch between accounts without having to log out each time. Keep in mind, you should not connect your personal account with your business account if you plan to share your business login information with employees.
To create a new business account (that is not connected at all to your personal one) select “Sign Up” under the green login button
To connect your NEW business account to your Personal Nextdoor account, sign in with your personal account email address and password
To add an additional business page to an existing business account, sign in with your existing business account email address and password
Once you have created or signed into your business account …
Enter in the name of your business and click “Next”
Enter your business address and click “Next”
Enter the email address that you would like to be contacted at, as well as phone number and website link
Select the category that best describes your business and tap on “Claim Page”
You now have access to edit your business page at any time, view and respond to recommendations, and create ads. Click on the “Your Page” tab on the menu panel to upload a business logo, business hours, photos, and more. HOW TO VERIFY YOUR BUSINESS PAGE: It is essential that you verify your business page so individuals know that your page is trustworthy. To verify your business, your association with the business is confirmed by a text or call to the business’s phone number that is in Nextdoor’s records.
After selecting your business page from search results, select either “Text” or “Call” and enter the verification code that you receive
Review the information that is currently on file for your business, update if necessary
If there was not a number for your business in Nextdoor’s records, or if the verification has failed, you must submit a government-issued document to Nextdoor support HOW TO SUBMIT A VERIFICATION DOCUMENT …
Login to your business account
Click on the logo on the top right of the page
Click on the “Settings” button
If your business is unverified, you will see an option to select “Submit Verification Materials”
Select “Add Document” to attach your verification documents. You may attach up to two
Once successfully uploaded, click “Submit”
TIPS FOR USING NEXTDOOR BUSINESS:
With a free Nextdoor Business Account, users can create two free posts per-month. Posts can be used to advertise new products, or highlight special offers that are going on. Consider marking this down in your calendar every month, so you do not miss the opportunity to capitalize on these two free posts.
Take advantage of the categories on Nextdoor! There are categories such as lost and found, which can be used if something was left at your business by a consumer.
Interacting with customers is the most important aspect of Nextdoor. If people leave comments on your page, be sure to respond. Additionally, reach out to customers who leave both good and bad reviews.
