Small business owners meet, network at The Thrive Table

   Small-town business owners often have similar experiences, challenges, and ideas that work.

   Why not get together and talk about them?

   That’s the thinking behind The Thrive Table, billed as “a monthly gathering for Eastern Iowa business owners, entrepreneurs, start-ups and dreamers,” according to its Facebook page.

   The initiative made a stop at the Innovation Lab in Monticello May 22, as business owners and others from inside and outside of Monticello gathered for a roundtable discussion.

   “The goal is just to bring people together. A networking,” said Monticello Area Chamber of Commerce director Megan Beaman. “A lot of small business owners have the same struggles, same strengths and weaknesses.”

   Brian Wolken of Monticello Main Street, which is partnering with MACC to bring The Thrive Table to town, added: “It’s an entrepreneurial roundtable with the goal of empowering regional entrepreneurs and putting them in contact with other entrepreneurs.

   “It’s hard for a new business or new industry in one community, and to have that be enough to sustain it, so they’re trying to take a more regional approach and help make connections.”

   The event was hosted by Sarah Hermanson of Manchester, who runs the discussions in various Eastern Iowa cities for her company, One Above HR.

   After introductions, Hermanson asked for input from those in attendance.

   “They went around and shared some experiences in their businesses, if there was a challenge, and how they overcame that challenge,” Wolken said. “And what tools they used to allow themselves to get more done in a day.”

   Among those tools that came up, he said, were Artificial Intelligence (AI) and social media, and how those can be used to help a business.

   “You can do a lot of things in AI that really cut down on the amount of time it takes, whether it’s making a presentation or social media post,” Wolken shared. “It really lowers the workload.”

   The event took about an hour, Beaman said.

   “The conversation was good throughout,” she said. “You hash out all the issues, and then you can start focusing on options: ‘What can we do?’ ”

   Beaman emphasized that it wasn’t just for Monticello business owners.

   “I think the goal is to bring people from a lot of those smaller communities that are similar to Monticello, to have this conversation like, ‘Hey, you have somebody in Manchester that is dealing with the same thing you’re dealing with in Monticello.’

   “And also building those networks so people can cross-communicate.”

   Wolken said there were recurring topics during the discussion.

   “We talked quite a bit about podcasts, and people we follow to get inspiration from,” he said. “How do you find motivation? How do you find the continual drive?”

   Another, he said, was the mental health aspect of being a business owner.

   “The ones that have been really well-received,” Wolken said, “have been the, ‘How do you take care of yourself as a business owner? How do you let things go?’ ”

   The Thrive Table typically holds meetings in the fall, winter and spring.

   “We’ve paused for the summer, so we’ll be looking to the fall to ramp the series up again,” Wolken said.