Who can small business owners call in their hour of need?
Looking for the answer to that question, the Honey Brook Small Business Alliance was created for small business owners within the Twin Valley area who interact and lend their support to one another.
When talking to small business owners in the Twin Valley School District area, Cindy Risbon discovered that people wished there was a smaller group of people they could call when they needed help, even at 2 a.m.
Risbon, owner of Alternative Wellness LLC in Honey Brook (which offers massage therapy, therapeutic muscle therapy, medical muscle therapy and structure release therapy), founded the Honey Brook Small Business Alliance July of 2013 and became its Chief Administrator. A year later, HBSBA now has 98 small business members.
‘It’s more like a family of small business owners that we know everyone’s going to be there when we need them,’ said Risbon during their monthly meeting held at September Farm on May 13.
Much of their interactions are online on Facebook but once a month a small group of members meets in person.
‘It’s a family of small businesses that help each other out and also now getting into the community, seeing how we can help,’ said Risbon.
HBSBA participated in the Walk Like MADD 5K on May 4 and will participate in the Twin Valley Relay for Life at Twin Valley High School June 13 to 14. To join the HBSBA Relay team for Twin Valley Relay for Life, go to http://main.acsevents.org/goto/hbsba to sign up; or email Cindy Risbon at crisbon@altwellnesstherapy.com. The alliance will also participate in Honey Brook Harmony Day Sept. 20 and Community Document Spreading Event in October. They are also partnering with Community Partnership.
‘To be part of the group I think it’s a great idea to have this. We’re a small community and I think it will help our community to grow,’ said Angela Darlington, a Thirty One consultant and partner at Antiques at Silver Bell Farm in Glenmoore. She feels this is especially helpful with this year being the 225th anniversary for Honey Brook. ‘I think it will really help to drum up community support.’
Referring to how they knew each other through their children’s activities and other groups, Risbon said, ‘Here we have all these connections and weren’t aware of it. So (HBSBA) is also really helping us to know who everyone is in the community and how our lives are interacting together and our children are interacting together. For such a small town, it’s nice to know that.’
Michele Scott said as owner of Chester County’s Best Kept Secrets Tour, her heart has been to help other business owners and to support the community as well.
‘For me, this group helps me to do that,’ said Scott. ‘Use our skills to help other owners because it’s hard when you’re an entrepreneur and there’s so much going on and so much to do. This group is vital for helping each other to do that.’
KC Trost of Trost Insurance in Elverson likes that the group can bounce ideas off each other and share some skills. ‘It’s nice to have a community to do that in.’
‘It’s a great way to network and actually give back to the community and feel part of the community,’ said Angela Steiginga, owner of The Red Star Bakery in East Earl who grew up in the Twin Valley area. ‘I like feeling part of a community.’
Lucy Cummings, owner of Clean Spirit Services, residential and commercial cleaning, in Honey Brook, said HBSBA are ‘reaching out to the community and letting everyone know we’re here and we’d like them to be part of it.’
Anyone who owns a small business within the Twin Valley School District area is welcome to join.
‘We’d love to support them in anyway we can. The more the merrier. We’d love to see the group grow and get more and more involved in the community. That’s really our hope. Welcome to anyone,’ said Risbon.
HBSBA is a family of small business owners within the Twin Valley area who interact and lend their support to one another 24/7.
For more information about HBSBA, email Cindy Risbon at crisbon@altwellnesstherapy.com.
Visit their HBSBA Consumer Page: This page is dedicated to the public. Here consumers can receive information on sales, promos, news, press releases, events and more. https://www.facebook.com/TwinValleyConsumerSpecials
