Business Growth and Leadership Strategies Front and Center at Small Business Solutions Hub

On March 22, the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce convened its quarterly Small Business Solutions Hub program entitled “Business Growth Strategies and Insights for Excellence in Leadership.”

The program was presented in collaboration with the Springfield History Museum’s ILLUMINATION project. A full freight room at the Chamber Depot welcomed two local business owners – Arnold E. Morgan, Jr., owner of Morganic Roots, and Mia Bowman, owner of The Soul Garden, to offer their insights on starting, growing, and leading a business.

After a 30-minute networking session, with amazing lunch of vegan soul food provided by Mia Bowman herself, attendees heard opening remarks by the Director of the Springfield History Museum, Emily David, as well as the Chamber’s Director of Advocacy & Development, Paige Walters, who introduced Mr. Morgan.

Arnold E. Morgan, Jr., Morganic Roots Eco Firm
Arnold Morgan, Jr. began with a bit of personal history – his parents are both business owners in Oregon. At the age of thirteen, he had already made a deep dive into commerce, selling T-shirts, stickers, and handmade wares at Portland Saturday Market and other local festivals. While earning a business marketing degree at the University of Puerto Rico, he continued his entrepreneurial ways to earn living expenses. In a sense, he’s been a business owner his whole life.

“You don’t want your business to take control of you. I look at it like walking a dog, where the dog is your business. You don’t want the dog to be pulling you – this means your goals are too high. But you don’t want your dog just sitting there, either, going nowhere. You want to be able to flow with your business.”

– Arnold E. Morgan, Owner, Morganic Roots Eco Firm

Mr. Morgan delved into strategies, some simple and some complex, that spoke to his unique combination of formal education and street smarts. He explained why and how he moved into the realm of organic landscaping with Morganic Roots in 2017; the importance of doing what you love; and understanding that most growth is incremental and takes time and patience.

Morgan also touched on logisitics strategies, like: thinking about what your consumer or audience is thinking; breaking down the goods and services you provide in order to more easily place value on them; and not underselling yourself.

Mia Bowman, The Soul Garden
Ms. Bowman, the owner of Mia Multiplied (the LLC which includes The Soul Garden), offered insights on effective leadership through impressive and often humorous stories about her experiences as a nursing director as well as a small business owner.

Some takeaways from her talk include: showing your team you know how to work hard and leading by example; embracing the worth of your team members and letting them be heard; and understanding what your team members excel at, and placing them accordingly – that is, not setting up anyone to fail.

“The best way to build your business to higher heights is to work with people who lead in their arenas. When you lift somebody up, they are happy to do it.”

– Mia Bowman, Owner, Mia Multiplied/The Soul Garden

Noting that her food truck business was about to be converted into a catering business, Ms. Bowman referred back to something Mr. Morgan had said: if it isn’t working, or you are no longer invested in it, don’t be afraid to change your business. Most of all, said Bowman, don’t lead through shaming or intimidation, but through empowerment.

The presentations were followed by a short Q&A session.

Many thanks to the attendees, featured speakers, JR from Morganic Roots and Mia from The Soul Garden, and the Springfield History Museum and ILLUMINATION Project for their collaboration on this program.

The Chamber would also like to thank their Small Business Solutions Hub title sponsor, Kaiser Permanente, as well as their investors, Ask Erik Computer Services, Belfor Property Restoration, Chambers Construction, Eugene Area Radio Stations (EARS), Hershner Hunter, OCCU, and WaFd Bank.

Please enjoy the video of the full program embedded below; also available on the Small Business Solutions Digital Hub under the Springfield Chamber Resource Library.