SCORE St. Louis August 2019

SCORE St. Louis August 2019

St. Louis Bi-State Region

Aug 2019

SHANEE’S LABOR OF LOVE THIRDTIME’STHE CHARM L ike most who come to SCORE, Shanee Davis came with the dream of opening her own business. She envisioned a local convenience store that would serve as a community hub and provide daily necessities, beginning.After learning about her vision, Tony helped Shanee.“I got partnered with the greatest person,” Shanee says of Tony.“He was instrumental in the process of starting my business. He encouraged me when I felt deterred. It’s been a phenomenal experience. I feel forever indebted.”

grab-and-go items, and fresh foods to commuters heading to and returning from work. Rooted in her childhood experience of hours-long bus rides to get groceries for her family, Shanee’s dream was to build an accessible business to serve her community. Last year, Shanee saw her dream come true. She secured a contract to open up QSM Mart at Riverview Metrobus Center and just celebrated her one-year anniversary of being in business. “It’s something to be excited about!” she says. (You can read more about QSM Mart at QSMMart.strikingly.com.) Shanee attributes reaching this milestone in large part to SCORE and her mentor here, Tony Cuneo.When Shanee came to SCORE, she connected withTony, a former COO and business owner with a background in social work.After retiring,Tony looked for a way to serve others that would also utilize his business skills, and his search led him to SCORE. Since serving as a mentor with us, he’s worked with a variety of folks to help them develop their business ideas. Tony says he appreciates the range of people he’s had the opportunity to work with.“It’s the diversity that I really enjoy,” he says.

Tony helped Shanee develop her business plan and mentored her in the financial aspects of owning a business. Of course, as with many entrepreneurial stories, Shanee’s hasn’t been without challenges. She had to go through several trials before winning the contract for her current location, and she was turned down twice before succeeding.“Each time, she had to go before a panel and speak about her plan,” Tony says.“She put together a very fine presentation.”

Tony.“What impressed me the most was her tremendous drive,” Tony says.“She is singularly minded, always focused on her goal. Even after getting told no, she didn’t waver. She’s an amazing person.” Today, Shanee is excited to connect people through her business and to fill a local need, and she knows she can turn to Tony for continuing guidance and support. “I’m part of the community,” Shanee says of the business Tony and SCORE helped her get up and running.“I grew up here; I caught the bus here. It’s very sentimental to do business in the community I grew up in. I look forward to watching it grow.” With SCORE, you’re never alone! Schedule an appointment to meet with a mentor today. Call 1-866-726-7340 or visit StLSCORE.org right now!

I got partnered with the greatest person.

Along the way,Tony was there to provide feedback and encouragement at every turn.

“Shanee came in with the dream of having her own business,” Tony says.“She brought determination to the table.” He’d mentored other entrepreneurs before, but Shanee’s commitment to her vision stood out to

Shanee speaks to the incredible support and guidance Tony has provided her from the

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1-866-726-7340

The Marketing Secret as Old as Mankind Tell Me a Story

CONVEY: Use stories to convey your expertise, relevance, humanity, and values.

the story is about the value you can deliver to your customers — or about the common ground you share with them.Your company is just a supporting character.You created your product or service for a purpose; you know the scenarios in which it’s most important. Why not share that knowledge with your demographic? You can harness these tips through a variety of media, so don’t be afraid to tell your story through blog posts, case studies, your website’s home page, FAQs, newsletter articles, videos, podcasts, and more. Infusing your marketing with human storytelling is a remarkably effective way to engage and connect with your audience.You can take advantage of it right now by revisiting your brand message and marketing collateral to see where storytelling makes your business stand out to your customers. Once you start engaging with your prospects and clients in a way that brings the narrative to them, you’ll find your own story has a very happy ending. With SCORE, you’re never alone!We offer workshops and seminars each month to help you develop the skills you need to succeed.Visit StLouisSCORE.eventbrite.com today!

It’s not hard to imagine a marketing manager crying out in frustration somewhere because their marketing messages are being utterly ignored.You’ve likely been there too. No, this isn’t a worldwide conspiracy among consumers to make your job harder; rather, it’s the result of consumers seeing trillions of ads per year on the web alone. If you want your marketing to break through the clutter, you need to give people what they want: stories. While Americans consume more than 100,000 digital words every day, 92% of consumers want to internalize those words in the form of a story. In the Information Age, branding is less about flashy logos and more about forming true relationships between customers and companies. John Naisbitt, author of the world-renowned book “Megatrends:Ten New Directions Transforming Our Lives” says,“The more high-tech we create, the more high-touch we will want.” A great brand can help you stand out and give your business a unique way to differentiate itself in a crowded marketplace. To really succeed, you have to captivate your audience with a story. By doing so, you give your products and services context, as well as an identity that exists beyond the basic problem-solving your business offers. Best of all, you connect with your target audience on an emotional level, making your message more meaningful, more memorable, and easier to pass along. In fact, science shows that digesting brand stories prompts the brain to perform at a higher function, as opposed to the basic functions employed to digest plain >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4

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