Opening Remarks & Keynote

10:30AM - 11:45AM

Evolution of Business in Connecticut - A Fireside Chat with BBB President and CEO, Paulette Scarpetti

For over 40 years, Paulette Scarpetti has been at the helm of Better Business Bureau in Connecticut. Throughout the years, she has seen the business arena experience periods of rapid growth as well as recessions, new products entering the marketplace and antiquated technologies phasing out. Paulette has watched companies merge to increase productivity and growth, as other businesses faced different challenges to meet evolving trends.  She understands that it is essential to a successful business to constantly evolve and pivot to meet the needs of the current marketplace.

Join Drew Crandall, long term BBB Accredited Business owner and former BBB Board Chair, as he chats with Paulette on her tenure as BBB Serving CT's CEO.  They'll look back at the challenges she faced and the growth of BBB under her leadership into the invaluable business resource it is today. Throughout the years, Paulette has had one goal in mind - to help local businesses to learn, to grow, and to build a thriving business community in Connecticut.

Paulette Scarpetti

President/CEO, BBB Serving Connecticut

Drew Crandall

President, Keep In Touch

** Register for This Session Here **

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Lunch 'N Learn

12:00PM – 12:45PM

To Sell Is To Serve

The future of business, and the future of selling, is in serving our customers and clients. Dan Gannon will share simple strategies and discuss the importance of our evolution away from transactional sales to meaningful relationship building that produces higher conversions and long term results. 

Dan Gannon

Regional Director, Partner Engagement, Post University

** Register for This Session Here **

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Breakout Session 1

1:00PM – 1:45PM

Social Media Advertising: Platform Trends, Usage Metrics, Safety, Responsibility & A Look Ahead

2021 continues to see growth in social media usage engagement. The amount of time adult users spend on social network platforms—which grew by 13 minutes in 2020—will remain higher than before the pandemic, at 1 hour, 35 minutes per day. In this session we’ll dive into predictions and forecasts specific to social media, particularly centered around Brand Safety, Social Responsibility, Privacy Concerns, as well as Platforms Trends and Usage Metrics. 

Bob Smolik

Director, Research and Category Insights, Tribune Publishing Company

Michael Eruzione

Digital Strategist, Hartford Courant

** Register for This Session Here **

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Breakout Session 2

2:00PM – 2:45PM

SESSION POSTPONED - Date TBD

This session has been postponed due to a family emergency, new date TBD. All registrants will be emailed a copy of the presentation materials and make-up date as soon as they are made available to BBB. Our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience. 

How to Navigate the Great Resignation

Employee expectations have fundamentally shifted during the pandemic. As a result, organizations can expect large talent shifts to occur in the next year. Join us to learn how can you leverage a people-centered culture to reduce employee stress and limit turnover in your organization.

Darren Richard

Founder/CEO, Chateau Rouge, Inc.

** Register for This Session Here **

Opening Remarks & BBB® Partner Session

10:30AM – 11:45AM

SBA Resource Partners – Assistance To Small Businesses Beyond Mentoring

Learn about the valuable resources available to small businesses through the Small Business Administration. No matter your industry or experience, SBA Resource Partners has something to help your business evolve through all stages of the business life cycle.

Catherine Marx

District Director, SBA Connecticut

** Register for This Session Here **

11:45AM – 12:00PM

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Lunch 'N Learn

12:00PM – 12:45PM

Working Remotely, Successfully and Securely in 2021, and a Look to the Future 

In 2020, many businesses had to quickly uproot their in-office workforce, totally changing the way their employees got the job done.  While many quickly pivoted and transitioned to remote work, now that some of the dust has settled, it is important to step back and recognize that there may be opportunities to better streamline, secure, connect and collaborate remotely.  

In this session you will learn about: 

• Securing the remote workplace 

• In house, cloud based or hybrid data solutions 

• Personal use computers or business issued computers 

• Connecting securely to the corporate office 

• Balancing cost vs benefit vs risk when choosing a remote work solution

Rod Wilson

President, RAD Computing

** Register for This Session Here **

12:45PM – 1:00PM

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Breakout Session 1

1:00PM – 1:45PM

Build Agility at Work. Develop Your Emotional Intelligence 

It’s clear that the workplace has become more uncertain, volatile, complex and ambiguous which calls for leaders to remain resilient and flexible. Each day, we’re called to make progress faster while changing systems and processes along the way. We are asked to stand firm in our ideas while remaining open to new perspectives. This kind of agility demands that we develop and use our emotional intelligence (EQ) with a new level of sophistication. Sound daunting? It doesn’t have to be.

In this session, Maureen Ross Gemme, MS Ed. from Emerge Leadership Academy LLC, will explain the 8 EQ mindsets needed to embrace this challenge in our new world.

You’ll discover:

• The instinctive mindsets of your personality using Everything DiSC
• Recognize the opportunity to expand out of your comfort zone
• How to take action to become more agile in your approach to emotional situations

Maureen Ross Gemme

MS Ed., CEO, Emerge Leadership Academy, LLC

** Register for This Session Here **

1:45PM – 2:00PM

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Breakout Session 2

2:00PM – 2:45PM

Workshop: Make Your Business Future-ready Through Design Thinking

In our fast-paced and uncertain world, adapting to change is increasingly crucial for businesses to survive and thrive. But how can businesses develop the skills needed to confidently and resiliently meet changes head-on? And how can businesses nurture a culture biased toward innovating through, not shrinking from, change? One answer, Design Thinking, is a set of practices that we use across Pitney Bowes to create seamless client experiences, transformative innovation, and resilience in the face of change. Not just for designers, Design Thinking is a human-centered approach to problem-solving that helps us creatively and empathically move forward through ambiguous circumstances. In this hands-on workshop, you'll practice six Design Thinking skills. You'll draw things, destroy stuff, and have some laughs along the way. You'll leave inspired and empowered to immediately apply Design Thinking in your business. This interactive session requires paper and a thick marker or other writing utensil. Be ready to be on camera if you can (ideal but not required).

Sara Conklin

Director of Client Experience, Pitney Bowes

Steve Potter

Client-Centered Innovation Program Manager, Pitney Bowes

** Register for This Session Here **

Opening Remarks & BBB® Breakout Session

10:30AM – 11:45AM

The Power of the Seal: BBB Accreditation - How to make it work for you!

What does it mean to be a BBB Accredited Business? Why do Consumers tend to choose an Accredited Business when searching for a company to do business with?

 Join us on Thursday, November 18th at 10:30 to learn how BBB Accreditation can work for you. We will cover a variety of different tools and benefits that are designed exclusively to help Accredited Businesses build consumer trust, expand their marketplace exposure, and help their company continue to evolve in the ever-changing business arena.

There’s more to Accreditation than just using the BBB Seal:

• A unique Business Profile on BBB.org that you can customize with your own logo, photos and content. 

• Affinity programs that offer value-added benefits only available to Accredited Businesses such as discounts on workers compensation insurance and tuition discounts for yourself and your employees.

• A free Customer Review app that allows your customers to easily and immediately generate Customer Reviews for your business.

• Full access to a custom Accredited Business Portal where you can manage all aspects of your Accreditation – from updating your Business Profile, to downloading the BBB Dynamic Seal, review your Profile stats, manage Customer Reviews and Complaints and much more. 

• Take advantage of exclusive marketing programs and promotions 

Becoming a part of Better Business Bureau’s Accredited Business community shows consumers that you have met the BBB Standards for Trust and are committed to promoting ethical relationships in your business, your local community and Connecticut’s ever evolving marketplace. 

Kristie Dumas

Manager of Business Engagement, BBB Serving Connecticut

** Register for This Session Here **

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Lunch 'N Learn

12:00PM – 12:45PM

The Ins and Outs of Borrowing Post Pandemic

If nothing else, the last year and a half has been uncertain, for virtually every industry. Many programs, assistance opportunities, grants, and funding options were brought market to help businesses of all sizes continue to function throughout a turbulent time. As time passes and businesses adapt to today’s marketplace climate, so do the needs of businesses. 

Join Sharpe Capital and Latin Financial to learn about how the business financial landscape has shifted throughout the pandemic, and look forward towards the future of borrowing, post-pandemic. Brendan Lynch and Sonia Alvelo will review various lending opportunities outlined below, and open discussion for any questions you may have.

• SBA programs

• Business Lines of Credit  

• Equipment Leasing 

• Cash Advance 

Sonia Alvelo

President/CEO, Latin Financial

Brendan P. Lynch

CEO, Sharpe Capital

** Register for This Session Here **

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Breakout Session 1

1:00PM – 1:45PM

Engage & Inspire: The Power of Your Story

The art of storytelling comes down to delivering the right parts, of the right stories, to the right audience. In this discussion, we'll examine a process you can use to elevate the impact of your messaging.  You'll have a better understanding of how to: 

- Meet the needs of your audience by asking the right questions

- Structure your stories to captivate your audience

- Identify what's needed and remove what's nice to know

Whether it's the moment that changed your life or the heritage of your brand, you have a unique story to share - and the world needs your voice.

Kevin Sturmer

Owner, Outermost Ring LLC

** Register for This Session Here **

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Breakout Session 2

2:00PM – 2:45PM

Your Future Customer: Marketing Your Business in 2021 and Beyond - Panel Discussion

As with most things during the last year and a half, marketing trends have shifted. With more people working remotely, ordering products online, supply chain issues, and more – the way businesses present themselves to potential customers has never been more important. Understanding your who your “future customer” is, where they are looking for you, and how to best reach them with the right message can seem overwhelming. Join us for a panel discussion with industry professionals and thought leaders from various media: out of home, digital, print and more, to learn how to best position yourself today and into the future.

Victoria Mottesheard

Senior Marketing Director, East Region, OUTFRONT Media

Diane Hannes

President/General Manager, NBC Connecticut/WVIT and Telemundo Connecticut/WRDM

John Fuller

President, Full Power Radio

** Register for This Session Here **