The first event of the Park Road Association’s 2018 Workshop Series for small businesses, held at Zest 280 in West Hartford, focused on creating an action plan.

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The Park Road Association kicked off its 2018 Small Business Workshop Series on Feb. 6, 2018, with “Practical Planning to Help Your Business Soar,” an action-packed planning session that took participants through the steps necessary to create a business action plan geared towards growth.

A capacity crowd of 15 participants attended the workshop, which was held at Zest 280, located at 280 Park Rd. in West Hartford.

The interactive workshop, led by Chelsea O’Donnell of local marketing consultancy Journey Communications, gave participants an opportunity to develop the vision for their business with a focus on core outcomes for their customers, internal operations, and staff.

From that map, each attendee chose a select number of priorities to focus on for the year ahead. Once those foundations were built, participants were then guided through developing strategies to make the goals from their vision map a reality.

Finally, attendees worked to build a 90-day action plan that they could begin working on immediately to take the first steps towards their goals.

“Park Road is comprised of business owners who, just like any small business community, go through ebbs and flows and challenges but often feel alone,” said Tracy Flater, co-president of the Park Road Association. “Our goal with this workshop was to bring our West Hartford small business family together and give people who can feel isolated the chance to work side by side with others in a similar position. The event gave us a great opportunity to share experiences, inspire each other, and come away with tools to help everyone take their businesses to the next level.”

Participants included businesses in retail, food and beverage, health and wellness, beauty, photography, and professional services. The diverse mix of business owners offered an interesting opportunity for collaboration and the intimate setting allowed O’Donnell to be able to give each participant individual attention while still being able to offer anecdotal advice to the wider group.

“The most exciting part of the workshop was seeing people from all different businesses and backgrounds offering ideas and inspiration to help one another,” said John Paindiris, co-president of the Park Road Association. “As a small business owner it’s easy to feel siloed but what we often forget is that our challenges are ones that almost all business owners face. Getting together as a local business community offers us all a chance to step away from the day-to-day and focus on bigger and better opportunities with people around us who are like minded and working towards the same goals. It’s an environment that has powerful potential and one that we are excited to cultivate with the rest of our 2018 workshop program.”

The 2018 The Small Business Owner Series offers bi-monthly workshops that include topics such as marketing and social media strategy, financial and retirement planning, and business and asset protection. To find out more about upcoming events, visit http://www.parkroadct.com/upcoming-events.

About The Park Road Association

For decades, the Park Road neighborhood has been a historic establishment in the town of West Hartford. Through the efforts of some incredibly dedicated volunteers, it continues to thrive, better than ever, and become a unique destination for those seeking a relaxing way of life. The Association’s mission is to improve the quality of life for the Park Road neighborhood by maintaining the aesthetics of the street, bringing the community together through events, helping maintain the safety of the neighborhood, and improving business promotion on Park Road and the surrounding streets.

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