My Experience at the ATTSmallBusiness Roundtable

On Tuesday, June 14, 2016, I attended an exclusive ATTSmallBusiness Roundtable at RPM Steak  with Bill Rancic. In case you don’t know who Bill Rancic is, he was the very first winner on “The Apprentice” TV show.

A small group of entrepreneurs were invited to discuss business agility, “The Power of &” and network with other experts in the Chicago area. I was invited by Robin from FleishmanHillard last month. I don’t know how she found me, but I’m glad she did.

The evening began with cocktail and appetizers, which allowed for networking with Bill and the ATTSmallBusiness team. The first people I saw when I got to the restaurant were Zondra Hughes and Dawj Sangster, two of the Six Brown Chicks. When I saw them, I knew I was in the right place.

I spoke with several people before we were directed to the dining area for dinner and conversation. Assigned seats and swag bags awaited our arrival.

DINNER AND DISCUSSION

Here are my tablemates:

• Bob – ATT sales team member
• Aksh – Co-founder of Get Occasion online booking system
• Jennifer – ATT government affairs team member
• Nicole – Founder & CEO Ms.Tech & 1871’s WiSTEM CoFacilitator

• Seat for Business Experts (Bill Rancic, Anita, Susan and Adam)
• Barry Moltz – Small business expert and speaker
• Sean – Founder of Fortune Fish & Gourmet

The small business experts, Bill Rancic, Adam Toren (Co-Founder YoungEntrepreneur.com), Anita Campbell (Founder and CEO of Small Business Trends) and Susan Solovic (THE Small Business Expert) gave brief presentations and led discussions at each table.

Side note: It was great meeting Anita Campbell in person. We connected on Twitter and I’ve entered a couple of her contests.

Here are some of the questions asked by the facilitators, as well as a conversation at our table.

Random but relevant: The food was delicious! We had the option of three salads; choice of meat; three sides; and dessert.

After dessert and the last roundtable discussion, the ATTSmallBusiness #PowerofAND sweepstakes winner was announced… I won the LG G5 mobile device for the most tweets! Another young lady won the tablet.

LESSONS AND TAKEAWAYS

• Give customers experiences not just service.
• When using social media, have a goal; don’t just post randomly.
• Gabe (I don’t know his last name) gave me wonderful advice about branding. I told him that I was going through a branding challenge and he told me to determine my brand by removing services. I think I’m almost there.
• Adam Toren writes for business publications, including Forbes, Entrepreneur and Business Insider. I asked him for names of editors. He advised me on how to apply and told me to call him after I’m done.
• Zondra asked me what I was doing these days and I told her I was looking for work (gotta fund my business until it takes off). She told me about an agency that works with top brands.
• Barry will send me information about his speaking and presentation coaches.
• The most important lesson of all: ask for help and you’ll get it.

The swag bag had handy tools in them, as well as a personalized thank you note.

Overall, it was a wonderful experience. I gained valuable information, met wonderful people, had a delightful dinner and won a mobile device from Tweeting.  Thanks to ATTSmallBusiness and RPM for this opportunity. Keep me on your list for future events.