(light calm music) - [Voiceover 1] This program was made possible by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you.

Thank you.

(light upbeat music) - [Voiceover 2] It's Your Business with Michael Akins is brought to you by WCTE-PBS and the Center for Rural Innovation with funding provided by a grant from USDA Rural Development.

This series was produced under an agreement with Tennessee Tech University Center for Rural Innovation.

- Welcome to the second season of It's Your Business.

I'm your host, Michael Aikins.

This program is dedicated to highlighting some of the many small business owners and entrepreneurs in the Upper Cumberland Community, telling their stories and gaining insight from their entrepreneurial journeys.

As we saw last season, entrepreneurs and small business owners can come from anywhere, from any background and any experience.

On today's episode, you'll hear from Amy New, President and CEO of the Cookeville Chamber, local business owner, Luke Ramey, and discover free business resources from the Tennessee Small Business Development Center.

We hope this program will inspire you to dream big, follow your passions, find solutions and turn whatever it is into your business.

(bouncy guitar music) (bouncy guitar music increase tempo) - Amy New has spent her career working in rural development.

From local to state government positions, Amy has worked with rural communities for years, and her newest position brings her back to her roots in Putnam county.

I spoke with Amy about her work in the Upper Cumberland, the importance of rural development projects and her ambitions for small businesses.

(slow lively music) I'm here at the Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce with President and CEO, Amy New.

Amy, thanks for being on the show.

- Thank you for having me.

This is exciting.

- Amy, we have so much to talk about today.

First things first, who is Amy New?

- Oh, that's a loaded question.

Let's see, so where do I start?

I would say what makes me who I am and why I love what I do today is probably where I grew up in Monterey, Tennessee, here in Putnam County.

So, born and raised on a farm, and went to Monterey High School, and then had the opportunity to go to Tennessee Tech for school.

And throughout school, I actually had an opportunity to work in my mom's office.

She was the County Mayor at that time.

So I think through that, that made me fall in love with public service even more.

And I actually had the opportunity to intern here at the Chamber of Commerce while I was at Tennessee Tech and work under George Halford's leadership when he just came in as the CEO and President.

Then after graduating from Tennessee Tech, I went on to work for MMA Creative, which is a full service marketing firm.

I think we actually did a couple of things with Tennessee Tech, then Ollie Otter, and the Car Seat Program, and some things like that.

But after leaving MMA, I went on to work for Governor Bredesen in Nashville.

My husband actually was the one that got the job at Nashville, and then we were doing some contracts with the tn.gov and they asked me to come on and be their Regional Economic Development Specialist there.

And then of course, that's really not something you do right before a new governor's coming in, but Governor Haslam had then come in and I had the opportunity to interview for some roles under his administration and stayed on.

- If you could tell our viewers a little bit about, you know, what your role is as the President and CEO, but also what does the Chamber actually do?

- My role as the leader here is to manage and work with one of the, what I think is one of the best teams in this region.

They are incredible.

They care so much about what they do every day.

Also our board, we have twenty-five board members who are 100%, they care so much.

And because we do more than just what any regular chamber would do, which is, you know, have chamber members.

And we do education, we do training, we help promote them, we do ribbon cuttings, we do groundbreakings.

But what people may not know is that this Chamber of Commerce actually houses the Economic Development Organization as well and some communities that is completely separate.

Here in Putnam county, we house the Highlands Economic Partnership, which is actually not just Putnam County.

It's a four-county regional partnership, which in my past role with the State of Tennessee, that's very attractive when you see a community bringing all of their resources together and working in that capacity.

And then we have our Visitor's Bureau, where we are constantly marketing all the assets that are here so that we can get heads in beds.

So they generate, so sales tax dollars for our community.

- So the Cookeville Putnam County Chamber of Commerce, that's just one of 14 chambers of commerce in our Upper Cumberland region.

Maybe some of our viewers out there, maybe they're an entrepreneur.

Maybe they're a small business owner.

They're thinking about joining the Chamber, but they're kind of on the fence.

What would you tell to that viewer?

- Well, one, I would tell them that joining a Chamber of Commerce is the easiest way to market their business because of the networking that is created at our events, as well as when people which we all know, people are moving to Tennessee every day from other states, California, Illinois.

We can actually look at our website and see where people are looking from.

And so making sure that when someone comes, we're putting in, they'll ask, you know, "Who paints around here?"

"Who can we call that's going to help us create a video for our business?"

So we can pull up and do our referrals that way.

But I would say the education, networking that you get, but also the exposure that you get through the Chamber.

- Let's talk a little bit more globally.

Why is it important to our Rural Upper Cumberland region to have a Chamber of Commerce or much even more importantly, 14 chambers of commerce?

Why does that help our area?

- The advocacy is really a big deal for rural communities.

And I say not just advocacy on a local level with our local elected officials, but it's also at the state level.

And right now at the federal level, we've been talking a lot about wages and the unemployment insurance.

So being able to be that voice for our small business, we have the capacity here.

We have the connections here, the relationships here, so that a small business can continue to do what they're really well at.

And they can share their challenges or problems with us.

And then we go and we're the voice for them.

So advocacy is probably one of the biggest things that we do for small businesses, but also the education that we have.

So, you know, I mean me, I used to be, I still like to think that I'm a photographer, but I used to have a photography business.

And I remember so much of, you know, not everyone that specializes in just photography also knows how to market themselves, also knows how to do the financing, and how to do the taxes.

Those are opportunities that we have to connect to all of our people that are good in taxes, are all of our people that are good in marketing.

And to connect them with this small business over here, that's very passionate about what they're doing.

So connecting, pulling resources, and then helping them grow their business.

- When you think about leadership, one of the most important aspects is vision.

What is your vision not only for the Cookeville Putnam County Chamber of Commerce, but the region that you serve?

- My vision, actually, I should say our vision because that is one thing that when I first came in to this position, was to sit down with the team to create a cohesive vision.

What do you all feel like is our job?

What is our Why?

And then we'll figure out the How later, but why are we here?

Why are we important to our local governments, our businesses, our nonprofits, our religious community?

And that was one to be the voice, but also to be a connector, a convener, a collaborator, a partner, someone that can be there to be a resource, really, at the end of the day, it's to be a voice and to be a partner.

- And it takes a special person to be a leader and particularly step into this role.

Now your experiences along the way, I think you would agree, have helped you learn to become a leader to accept this position.

And you talked at the beginning of the show a little bit about you worked for Bredesen and Haslam.

Can you tell us a little bit more?

Expand on those roles, what did you learn about leadership through those and how have you taken those back to your current position?

- First, it was listening to the people who are in the trenches everyday and doing it.

Instead of us just coming in as the State saying, "You have to do this", it's sitting down and saying, "Well, let's talk about why you're doing this.

How can we improve it?

How does it work better for you?"

And so that was the first step for me as a leader, was not always just coming into talk about what we do.

It's to sit down and listen.

And I think that is another reason why when the Assistant Commissioner role came up with, or, well, actually it wasn't even posted anywhere.

It was, I was leaving to go work for the University of Tennessee and Randy Boyd had come in and he said, "Well, why are you leaving?"

He was like, "I just got here.

Why are you leaving?"

I was like, "Well, I feel like there's a lot more focus that could be put on Rural Tennessee and it's not being put on it.'

And he was like, "Well, what would you do different?"

And so at that point, I had just written my capstone for the UT Economic Development Certification.

And I had shared all the things and he was like, "I need you to stay."

And so they asked me after I'd went through the vetting process with Governor Haslam, "What are, you know, what are you gonna do?

I was like, "I have no idea what I'm gonna do, but what I will do is I'm gonna go to all 95 counties and I'm gonna sit down and listen to what they need, and then we'll figure out what we're gonna do."

And so listening is the biggest part about leadership.

And also it's not about you.

It's about us.

It's about the team.

It's about making sure that everyone also has the tools that they need to be able to do their job.

- You understand as a leader that while the Chamber is certainly an important entity, you're not the only one here in the Upper Cumberland.

You all work quite extensively with a lot of other resources.

Could you tell us a little bit about that?

- Yes, so actually that was something that was another attractive part about coming back to this areas because other parts of the state do not have something like Tennessee Tech, or the Biz Foundry, or a TSBDC that is so committed and also works together.

That is the bit, that is the most important part, is that they work together.

They also don't care who gets credit.

People come in everyday and they're like, "We wanna start a business."

"Well, we're not the experts in starting a business.

We're the experts in helping you grow the business and connect you to the resources."

- There's so much uncertainty right now, let's end it on a positive note.

What would you like to tell our viewers?

- I would say, be patient, but be kind.

I have recently been in many restaurants or around town where you see someone and they, I know they have a lot going on because everyone's very stressed out.

Everyone is probably busier now than they've ever been in their life.

Whether it's juggling family or juggling their business or taking care of people, being nice and being patient, it goes a long way.

- Amy, this has been a pleasure to talk to you.

Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to be on here.

- Thank you so much.

This has been great.

- Like many entrepreneurs, Luke Ramey recognized the need in his community and came up with a solution.

That solution is called Cookeville Creative, A one-stop shop for graphic designers, videographers, music producers, and all kinds of creative professionals.

Luke established Cookeville Creative in 2019 with his business partner, Casey Lemons, and has been serving the community ever since.

(bouncy pop music) I'm here with serial entrepreneur, Luke Ramey in Cookeville, Tennessee.

Luke, welcome to the show.

- Thank you.

Thanks for having me on.

- So I've got so many things to ask you about.

Let's start out with the basics though.

What does it mean to be a serial entrepreneur?

And how does that relate to you?

- I think what my dad would call it is, I'm not grounded enough to have a real job.

(chuckles) I think that's what he would say, but no, a serial entrepreneur, I like to start new things.

I like to build things and then I like to get them running on a good system.

And then I like to build something new, - Walk us through what is Cookeville Creative and tell us about your other businesses.

- Yeah.

So Cookeville Creative is a, it's a commercial film studio or video studio here in Cookeville, Tennessee.

And I was actually doing some work for a church here in town.

And I was doing a lot of video work and there were a lot of videographers I was working with in town.

And what I realized was we do so much video work in Cookeville.

We probably could support an actual commercial studio.

And I had that theory and I bounced it off people.

And everybody was like, "Yeah, maybe you could, maybe you could."

Then I finally found one guy that would do it with me.

And then (laughs), so Casey Lemons and I jumped in and started Cookeville Creative.

And the idea was just to, and honestly it wasn't a popular idea at the time, but the idea was I wanted to bring the cost of video production down, which is not, when you're talking with videographers and trying to work with other videographers, it's not really the conversation they like to hear, but the idea was if we could bring the cost of video production down, we can have more businesses and organizations get into using professional video.

- So tell me about your other businesses.

- Cookeville Creative, obviously that's the one pretty much day in and day out you can see me running around here, but then I've got another business that we spun up back in March of 2020 called, Skip The Line.

And, if anyone that knows me right now, Skip The Line's like my favorite child, you know what I mean?

So, I brag on it all the time and talk about it.

And it's only because we're having to do so much stuff with it right now.

It's really, it's moving from that startup phase to like a real business phase.

So Skip The Line is a, it's a mobile merchandise platform specifically for live events which seems incredibly niche, I know.

But I've got a background working with promoters.

I sold advertising (chuckles), I had an advertising company that sold advertising for live events.

I've got a friend that works in merchandise for live events, so different touring acts, large ones.

He would do merchandise for, print their merchandise and then manage it onsite, selling it.

And he called me up because we had had an idea five or six years ago, "What if people could go to a concert and they could just from their seat, order their merchandise, and we could fill that order into a bag, have available for pickup or take it to them at their seat, you know, and just drop it off?"

What we realized was that there wasn't a need for it.

And because there wasn't a need for it.

It was not going to work in the market.

And so at the time we kind of dismissed it saying, "No, you know, people are still just gonna go out and buy merch on a merch table.

It's no big deal."

And then March 2020 came around and I get a call from my buddy, Mike.

He goes, "Hey, do you remember that idea?"

And I was like, "Oh yes!

Now's the time."

And now is the time because we knew that live events were gonna come back, especially in the United States, but globally they're coming back.

And we knew that those are gonna come back.

But what we didn't think was gonna return was the mob at the merch table because people's buying habits, people's traffic patterns were changing.

People are not looking to go to the, to the store and stand in line anymore.

They wanna order their groceries and pick 'em up.

They wanna have food dropped off at their house.

They, you know, people are just changing, they're ordering online for all their clothing now.

And when they get it, they try it on and send back what they don't need.

It's, the marketplace is obviously changing.

And so we believed in live events.

When the events came back, new buying patterns would come back with them.

So we started building a platform from there and it was exciting on the forefront.

Him and I had never developed software before, neither of us.

And so we found a software developer and got that spun up and started doing it, and started testing it on some tours this last spring, Spring of 2021.

And it worked really well and then rolled it out in the summer with some events.

And we've actually launched it Fall of 2021.

We're on the Dude Perfect tour.

They were, Dude Perfect, they're a YouTube, they do trick shots and stuff, you know, but they were, they were kind enough to partner with us.

They love the idea.

They thought that people were gonna buy mobily and so they wanted to work with us and it's been a great partnership.

- So it sounds like to me, the need is the inspiration for the business.

But what is your motivation for being an entrepreneur?

To put it in your dad's terms, "Why don't you just go out and get a real job?"

- (chuckles) Go get a real job.

Yes.

My dad worked for the same company for 42 years and retired from them and it's so impressive watching that happen.

And he was, he was huge in my life, but he would acknowledge him and I are different people and we're motivated differently.

He was motivated by finding security for his family and those types of things that I'm, although I don't, I want security for my family, of course, but my motivation is that I like to see new things take root.

And, you know, I do think need drives the idea and that's how we figure out what to do next, what that next entrepreneurial adventure will be.

But I think my motivation is that I always wanna be building something new.

I always wanna be launching something, creating a system that works.

I love a system that works.

And once I make system that works and it's going, I lose interest because I'm a systems builder, not systems maintainer.

And so I think that's, my motivation, is always looking, what's that next problem I can solve?

- Well, you know, a lot of times I think entrepreneurship can be a scary thought for people.

- Yeah.

- You know, there may be people watching the show right now thinking, "You know, I've always had that idea.

I think of an innovation, but I just haven't really made it over the fence yet."

What advice would you give to them?

- Yeah, it is scary.

And, but I think you would invest at the level that you're comfortable with.

I think that's the biggest thing that I tell people that are trying out a new idea or wanna invest in something.

You don't have to go crazy right away to see, you know, when you throw it against the wall and see if it sticks, you don't have to make, you don't have to make the whole thing a pasta when you're doing that.

You don't throw the whole bucket of pasta against the wall.

You just throw a couple of pieces, you know what I mean?

And so, what I always tell people if you've got an entrepreneurial idea that you wanna push forward, don't, you don't have to go all in on it, just see if something works.

And if something small works, make it a little bit bigger, build with, you know, everyone has a different fear tolerance.

I think mine is probably high with (chuckles) entrepreneurial ideas.

I go all in.

I remember I started a, this is tangential, but I started a mitten-making business.

I was touring with a band playing drums back in the day.

And I was like, "How can I make more money on the road?"

And I was like, "You know what?

We're in the van a lot of times.

Maybe if I started like making mittens, I could make mittens while we're on the road."

So I was like hand sewing mittens, and I was terrible at that.

They didn't fit.

They were like all had wrong number of fingers.

It was terrible.

And like, it was awful.

And so if you can find a way to take your idea and do it on some micro-level before you have to blow it up to macro, I think a lot of people look at the macro and it's like, "Well, you know, I'll have to quit my job.

I'll have to do this."

I'm working on my next idea while I'm doing my previous idea, you know.

Skip The Line came about while Cookeville Creative was running, you know, and commanding most of my time.

And the next thing will be, will come up when Skip The Line is running and has most of my time.

So you don't have to always, I'm normally a foot in the future with something else, while I'm still living in, you know, the security of the thing that I built before.

And I think that's important.

And so if you're working at a bank, if you're working at, you know, a fast food restaurant, if you're working at a school, if you're a teacher and you've got an idea for a business, you don't have to quit your job to do it.

Just do it on some micro-level.

And let's see if it sticks, you know, throw it against the wall.

- So we've got the resources and assets right here for rural entrepreneurship.

- Oh, yeah.

- What do you think the future holds?

- I'll say this.

I did not think I would ever be involved in a software company.

If you would've asked me five years ago, I don't think I would've thought of myself as, "Hey, I'm gonna do software someday."

I can't write a line of code.

I don't know how to do it at all.

This is the good thing is that the future is probably gonna be in technology and software development.

That's gonna be your big startups and your, you know, and that's been like that for the last 10, 20 years, right?

We're gonna see more of that.

And I wanna speak to those that are in a rural environment.

You don't have to know anything about it to have a great idea, and then reach out to the right tools around you to do that.

We have those resources.

And so I don't think people should be scared to have the idea and then look around and figure out those resources around you to pull together.

That's what we did and it was successful.

- Well, Luke, this has been a great conversation.

Thank you so much for being on the show and thank you for what you're doing here in the Upper Cumberland.

- Yeah, thanks for having me on.

(bouncy pop music) (lively audacious music) - Hi, I'm Tyler Asher, the Director of the Small Business Development Center.

Have you ever wanted to start a business?

You currently own a business and don't know how to grow your business?

Our job is to provide you with free resources to help you grow your business or expand your business.

- Hi, I'm Jodi pits.

I'm also with the Tennessee Small Business Development Center and I work with Tyler Asher.

We provide business resources and counseling for small business owners in the Upper Cumberland area.

- [Tyler] Our goal is to be a one-stop shop for all your business needs.

Whether it be through marketing help, brand strategy, web development, financing, our job is to help you grow your business.

After our first initial intake call, a business can sit down with the SBDC team.

There, we'll take a deep dive into your business plan and any of your business financials.

This will allow us to help you with marketing, funding, or any other aspect of business may need.

- Once you're connected with the Small Business Development Center, you'll get a link from us through email and you can choose your options from there for business counseling.

You can choose virtual appointments, phone appointments, or in-person appointments at the office here in Cookeville.

- [Tyler] We have a three-stage approach of starting out with coming through the Business Resource Collective, and then you would come to the Tennessee Small Business Development Center.

This allows us to help your business on multiple levels.

All of our services are free to the business, which allows us to give you a third party, independent advice on anything that your business may need.

- [Jodi] Once you meet with us, we'll decide with you what you need for your business, what the next steps are, any sort of troubleshooting, or problems that you're encountering along your entrepreneurial journey.

We'll help you with any resources that you need connections with, whether that's attorneys, or accountants, or just general business counseling.

If you need help with a business plan, we have templates and tools that can help you along your journey.

We have partnered with Tennessee Tech and the College of Business to provide skilled interns to local business owners who need help with very project-specific problems like marketing, social media planning, financial planning, and general business planning.

- If you're currently thinking about starting a business, my favorite thing to do is to tell you to go for it.

Go for it by reaching out to us through the Business Resource Collective, scheduling an intake appointment, and letting us sit down with you and figuring out, "Is this business worth the risk?

Is it worth going after a dream?

Is it worth going after certain challenges or hurdles that a business owner faces every day?"

That's where this comprehensive approach that we have helps in planning and deciding if this is the right business for you to go into.

- The greatest piece of advice that could offer to anyone who wants to start their own small business is to decide who your client is, who your customer is, what they look like and where you can find them.

After that, the rest of the pieces will start falling into place and we're here to help you along the way.

The best part of all of this is that all of the resources and counseling through the Small Business Development Center are at no charge to the clients.

This is a service provided by the State of Tennessee, and we're happy to help you with anything that we can connect you with.

- The best part about my job is I get to watch people take a dream and turn it into a reality.

My goal every day is to help people achieve their dream of starting their own business and becoming their own boss.

Whether it be a small mom-and-pop place, or something large that can go from one to two states, to something international.

All we wanna do is help a business grow and achieve.

- I'm a passionate enthusiast of the Upper Cumberland and I believe in our region.

We have resources and people here with incredible talents.

I've worked with small businesses across the Upper Cumberland for almost a decade.

And helping you get started and helping you grow is exactly why we're here.

- A lot of entrepreneurship is just hard work and determination, doing your homework, being strategic about certain things in your business, but most importantly, taking a leap of faith and starting your own business.

And the Small Business Development Center can help you take that leap of faith in starting your own business.

- Thanks for tuning in to It's Your Business.

For more information on today's topics and extended interviews, please visit the WCTE website.

To learn more about free small business resources and expert assistance, visit the Business Resource Collective website.

Until next time.

I'm Michael Aikens.

(lively audacious music) (calm piano music) (light upbeat music) - [Voiceover 2] It's Your Business with Michael Aikens, is brought to you by WCTE-PBS and the Center for Rural Innovation with funding provided by a grant from USDA Rural Development.

This series was produced under an agreement with Tennessee Tech University Center for Rural Innovation.

(light upbeat music) (light calm music) - [Voiceover 1] This program was made possible by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you.

Thank you.