The Creative Coast | Cultivating the Innovation Economy in Coastal Georgia.

Creating an Unforgettable Brand Experience To Drive Profit | The Creative Coast

Olive Ridley Studio's Physical Brand Experience Checklist https://oliveridleystudios.com/physical-brand-experience-checklist Connect with Megan at Olive Ridley Studios... https://www.oliveridleystudios.com/ https://www.instagram.com/oliveridleystudios/ https://www.facebook.com/oliveridleystudios https://www.linkedin.com/company/68980315/

Learn more at https://thecreativecoast.org.

Get Funded! Strategies to Help You Find and Write Grants ft. Melissa Reams

Calling all non-profit leaders! This Lunchtime Topic will help you come up with strategies that win grants. From researching the best grants for your organization to writing grants, this live and interactive event with Melissa Reams will cover what you need to consider when seeking and applying for funding for your organization. About Melissa Melissa Reams is the founder and principal consultant at Upstream Consulting, a Savannah-based consulting firm that provides a full range of grant services. After working with nonprofits for more than a decade, she decided to launch her own business so she could help health and social service nonprofits win more grants without all the stress. Since 2017, Upstream Consulting has helped small and mid-sized nonprofits throughout the U.S. secure nearly $10M in grant funds.

The Reality of Entrepreneurship ft. Dwayne Stephens

Being an entrepreneur isn’t easy. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, it’s hard work to start a company, get customers, find the right team members, and stay sustainable. In this Lunchtime Topic, we’ll be speaking with Savannah’s Dwayne Stephen’s about local opportunities and activities entrepreneurs can get involved with to help them create a VIABLE, LONG-TERM business. In this Lunchtime Topic, you’ll learn… Common misconceptions about entrepreneurship The best method for determining what customers ACTUALLY want The value of customer discovery to creating a viable product or service The importance of finding accountability partners to help you keep going Local resources to help you succeed ________ About the Creative Coast Our Mission Our Mission is to catalyze the innovation economy in Coastal Georgia. The Creative Coast is here for the entrepreneurial, technology & creative community of the Savannah region. We build and support the creative economy in Savannah through education & social programs that connect and foster local innovation in both large and small companies. Our Vision Propelled by The Creative Coast, Savannah will be transformed into a vibrant hub for creative and innovative businesses, organizations, and individuals. Our History The Creative Coast was founded in 1997 by the Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA), Chatham County and the City of Savannah to create/foster the creative technology and entrepreneurial ecosystem. Through our activities, we strive to make an economic impact on our community, our city, the region and our state, through the creation of high-wage, high-tech and creative jobs. Learn more at https://thecreativecoast.org.

How Transformational Leaders Create Successful Teams | Lunchtime Topic ft. DeLisa Clift

How Transformational Leaders Create Successful Teams | Lunchtime Topic ft. DeLisa Clift Are you leading a team for the first time and feeling as though you could use guidance? Perhaps you’ve been in leadership roles for a while but you’re in need of new perspective from someone who has been in your shoes? DeLisa Clift, founder and CEO of Global Business Development Strategist LLC, will be speaking with us about how successful teams are created through transformational leadership. About DeLisa: DeLisa believes that we all were created with talents and purpose. And in life those talents and purposes met to create innovative ideas that build successful businesses that has the ability to change the trajectory of our lives and those around us. DeLisa prepares business owners to position themselves in competitive market. She has helped small disadvantaged-owned businesses, minority owned businesses, and women owned business win over $212,890,000 dollars in private and government contracts over the past 10 years. Through procurement readiness coaching, leveraging diversity certifications programs, and strategic business planning business executives are prepared through education and support from a trained professional with over 30 years of business development expertise to diversify revenue and increase profits by 50%. DeLisa holds an MBA in Human Resources from Walden University. ________ About the Creative Coast Our Mission Our Mission is to catalyze the innovation economy in Coastal Georgia. The Creative Coast is here for the entrepreneurial, technology & creative community of the Savannah region. We build and support the creative economy in Savannah through education & social programs that connect and foster local innovation in both large and small companies. Our Vision Propelled by The Creative Coast, Savannah will be transformed into a vibrant hub for creative and innovative businesses, organizations, and individuals. Our History The Creative Coast was founded in 1997 by the Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA), Chatham County and the City of Savannah to create/foster the creative technology and entrepreneurial ecosystem. Through our activities, we strive to make an economic impact on our community, our city, the region and our state, through the creation of high-wage, high-tech and creative jobs. Learn more at https://thecreativecoast.org.

Combating FEAR in the workplace: Utilizing psychological skills to enhance optimal mindsets

Topic: Combating FEAR in the workplace: Utilizing psychological skills to enhance optimal mindsets Dr. Daniel Czech is an Associate Dean and Professor in the College of Health Sciences at Georgia College. Daniel earned his PhD in Performance Psychology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He has published over 90 peer review manuscripts, 4 books, 5 books chapters and has given over 100 peer review presentations around the World. More recently, Daniel was awarded the researcher of the year and first year professor of the year awards at Georgia Southern University. With over 30 years of combined experience as a professor and performance enhancement consultant, Dr. Dan Czech has taught, consulted with, observed, and interviewed thousands of people in various disciplines across the world. During that time he has seen the traits, characteristics, and attitudes of both highly successful people and those who have not met their goals. For anyone looking to achieve their personal or career goals or improve their quality of life, No Fear is for you. No Fear will teach you to approach life without fear, relentlessly and optimistically work towards your goals, embrace challenges, respond to setbacks, enjoy life, and ultimately to achieve the type of success we all desire. Learn more at https://thecreativecoast.org

Diversity & Equity in Your Business Model | Elbi Elm of The Culturist Union

In this session, Elbi Elm will share how to make sure that your business is intentionally diverse and equitable for both your employees and customers. About Elbi: Elbi Elm is the Founder and CEO of The Culturist Union, an inclusive digital platform centered around social and creative empowerment. She will be opening Savannah’s only black-owned coffeehouse and business incubator this summer, 2021. Elbi is a USAF Veteran, SCAD and Howard University Alumna, and former marketing manager for Howard University’s School of Theatre Arts. With over 15+ years of leadership experience, Elbi is a diversity marketing advisor and board member for several nonprofits including Buy Local Savannah. In 2019, Elbi was SCORE’S Savannah’s BizPitch competition winner. Most recently Elbi was named American Express’ 100 for 100 program participant. Lover of warm weather and vintage coffeehouses, Elbi is happiest spending time with her son Langston. Learn more at https://thecreativecoast.com/.

Lunchtime Topic | Create Quality Video Content From Home ft. Tyler Edic

Learning to adapt to your business has been the theme of 2020. While video creation can be time-consuming, video content has thrived this year and will continue to do so. Help your marketing flourish in the long-run, beyond the pandemic, by learning to create quality video from home. Presented by Tyler Edic, Video Production Coordinator for Visit Savannah and the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce. Did you know? - “54% of people want to see more video content from marketers?” (source: HubSpot). According to Smart Insights’ research, “People will spend 100 minutes a day watching online videos in 2021.” - Video continues to be the preferred content across social media. For example, platforms like Facebook favor video content in their algorithm. In this Lunchtime Topic, Tyler will share how to create quality video from home and will discuss… - Why video is more important than ever and will continue to be in a post-COVID world. - How to set up your video shoots at home for ideal quality. - Tips and tricks of video production. - The best video and audio equipment to use. Resources mentioned: Desktop Microphone: Blue Yeti, Blue Stock Video/Photos/Music: Motion Array Cell Phone Gimbal: DJI Osmo Mobile 3 iPhone Lav Mic: Rode Smartlav+ Free editing software: Davinci Resolve, Openshot Captioning software: Kapwing, Otter.io, Temi Searchable video: Ziotag

Lunchtime Topic ft David Harper of The Advisory Alliance

David Harper is owner and Managing Principal of The Advisory Alliance, the oldest leadership consultancy in the Creative Coast, Lowcountry, and quite likely east of Atlanta. Over the last 17 years, David and The Advisory Alliance have worked with regional, national, and international clients, advising and coaching numerous leaders in a wide cross‐section of industries, companies, and organizations. From that, he has a few things he’d like his children and others to know as they navigate their careers. Learn more at https://www.creativecoast.org.

Lunchtime Topic ft. Ilise Benun

Ilise Benun is the founder of Marketing-Mentor.com, the go-to online resource for creative professionals who want better projects with bigger budgets, through which she offers business coaching to small groups and 1:1. She is also a national speaker and author of 7 books, including “The Creative Professional’s Guide to Money,” 3 online courses via CreativeLive and The Simplest Marketing Plan – all tailored to the needs of creative professionals. Since 2008, she has hosted the Marketing Mentor Podcast. Connect with her on LinkedIn and get her Quick Tips at www.marketing-mentortips.com Ilise teaches us how to perfect our LinkedIn profiles and cover... - What are the most important elements of my LinkedIn profile? - How should I decide whether to accept the invitations to connect that I receive? - How can I reach out to strangers without sounding spammy? - What’s the best way to share my content on LinkedIn?

Lunchtime Topic with Jen Bonnett: Logistics Technology Corridor Overview

VIRTUAL – Lunchtime Topic with Jen Bonnett: An Overview of the Savannah Logistics Technology Corridor Savannah is one of two designated technology corridors in the State of Georgia. Augusta has the Cyber Technology Corridor, and we have the Logistics Technology Corridor. The goal of the corridors is to activate more technology firms and jobs in each region. Technology firms and jobs are important for a couple of reasons: first, starting salaries in technology firms tend to be at least 10 percent above average Chatham County wages, even for less technical roles like customer support; second, technology jobs are skills based, meaning technology skills are more important than a degree. The Savannah Logistics Technology Corridor (SLTC) Taskforce has been working hard over the past three plus years with the goal of growing Savannah into a globally recognized location for logistics innovation. One of our biggest wins to date was obtaining $400,000 in state funding plus $100,000 of local matching funds for a series of studies on how to achieve this mission. The first of these studies was completed this spring. Come learn about the study’s findings and how you can be a part of the SLTC mission. About Jen Bonnett: Jennifer is a recovering entrepreneur turned entrepreneurial economic development professional focused on helping entrepreneurs launch, grow and scale technology businesses in Georgia. Jennifer serves technology entrepreneurs through her role as Director/General Manager of the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), Georgia’s Technology Incubator. While at ATDC, Jennifer has spearheaded the development of a recurring year round curriculum and statewide expansion. Jennifer has a passion for female technology entrepreneurs and is the founder of StartupChicks, a non-profit membership organization. StartupChicks is focused on connecting, educating and inspiring women and girls to become STEM focused entrepreneurs. Jennifer is a former technology entrepreneur with over 25 years experience in Information Technology and Software Development specializing in web and mobile technologies. Jennifer has held numerous CEO/CTO positions in bootstrapped, angel and venture-backed technology startups. Learn more at https://thecreativecoast.org/.