By Jon Nehring

Marysville mayor

The city of Marysville recently hosted a first-ever Business Appreciation Event to thank local businesses for their impact on job creation, business retention and attraction, and investment in fueling Marysville’s economy. Business owners gathered for dinner, updates from city officials and a keynote presentation by Travis Snider, a business coach with BETS Consulting and Instructor with the Small Business Accelerator Program at Everett Community College. He shared the seven mistakes that successful business owners avoid, gleaned from local entrepreneurs who participated in the Small Business Accelerator Program at EvCC.

Equally important, the event on Sept. 10 at Totem Middle School gave us an opportunity to meet face to face with more than 60 area business owners among the more than 2,000 businesses in our community who have contributed greatly to the economic fabric of our city. Marysville is home to a variety of businesses, ranging from small businesses and service providers, to chain and big box retail stores. The Business Appreciation Event is one way we are saying thank you to them for choosing to locate and operate their business in Marysville.

At the event, I mentioned to business owners that there is “no us without you.” I emphasized the importance of customer service in the business and public sectors, the value of small businesses to commerce in our community, and the message that we as a government share to “buy local,” especially when virtually all services, supplies and equipment needs can be found here in our own economy.

The event was attended by several members of the Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce and Marysville Downtown Merchants Association. From the feedback that attendees provided, they found it a worthwhile event, and time well spent.

Here is a sampling of written comments:

• “Loved all the city information! Very interesting and exciting to see business owners and city leaders come together.”

• “Great evening event for businesses. Thank you for acknowledging small businesses.”

• “I thought it was informative and more personal, and would like to have more of these meetings more often.”

So would we, and that’s why we look forward to hosting more business appreciation events in the future. If you missed the first event, keep an eye out in local media, publications and websites for details about the next event.

One of the aspects of the event that was important to us was that we wanted the event to have value to already hard-working business owners beyond a meal, networking and community updates. We realize time is at a premium for most business owners. With that in mind, we brought in an expert speaker to give the businesses some tips. Snider warned that business owners can expect to confront up to four setbacks in a 20-year span, but he offered ways to avoid those mistakes, with solutions. He gave attendees five tips to succeed in the first five years of their new business that those in the accelerator program came up with:

1. Operate with a plan – set goals and strategies, and communicate the plan to others.

2. Put the right people on the team, those with skills, training and accountability.

3. Attract lots of attention, and measure how you’re doing.

4. Focus on the most important priorities, and spend 60 percent of your time on the most profitable and valuable priorities; delegate the rest.

5. Debrief and focus on results all the time – you can’t manage if you don’t measure.

City officials used the appreciation event to also update business owners on community projects, and to thank them for partnering with city government, including through sponsorship of community events, working with police to prevent crime through programs including Business Watch and the Marysville Volunteer Program. Favorable updates were shared on crime reduction, and transportation and trail projects on the horizon.

Chief Administrative Officer-Community Development Director Gloria Hirashima shared details about the growth trends in Snohomish County, which is moving at brisk pace in Marysville, providing further opportunity for our business community. Parks and Recreation Director Jim Ballew cited the annual Father-Daughter Valentines Dance, which fills up reservation lists in local restaurants, benefits flower shops, clothing stores and even limousine services for dads planning a night to remember for their daughters.

As we approach the holiday shopping season and a time of thanks, we are indeed grateful to our business community for all their contributions. These businesses collectively employ many people, and they support the local community in myriad ways. Please keep our businesses in mind, and buy local, when you make your holiday shopping purchase and any time of year.