The DTSF Connection

DTSF Connections is brought to you by the team at DTSF Inc., and produced by Thinker Networks LLC.

The DTSF Connection is brought to you by your friends at DTSF Inc. and produced by Thinker Studios in Downtown Sioux Falls.

The DTSF Connection Podcast is brought to you by your friends at DTSF Inc. and produced by Thinker Studios.

People like Brienne Maner and organizations like the Zeal Center for Entrepreneurship are just a couple of the things that make our community and our city great. The DTSF crew sits down with Brienne for an unbelievable conversation about start-ups, the impact COVID-19 has had on the entrepreneur community and what she and her team are doing to help fight the good fight for the dreamers and doers all over our community. The bottom line - you've got support! If you're worried about your business or are curious about why right now is actually an incredible time to start your business, reach out to Brienne and the Zeal Center. We have so many great people doing incredible things in our city, keep up all the good work. A special nod to all you start-up owners and entrepreneurs who are working hard to make your dreams a reality. As always, catch all of our episodes on your favorite streaming platform - Click HERE!

Let's be honest, no one's life has been the same for the last two months. Especially local business owners. The DTSF crew sits down with the one and only Greg Koch, who runs two of our favorite downtown businesses. On this episode we sit down and unpack how he has pivoted so successfully in his business. Greg prioritizes experience and trust when it comes to his customer service philosophy. Two things which will never lose value. Greg talks about how he's pivoted his business into e-commerce and the importance of continuing to develop new skills with your team. "Commerce vs. conscience", is how Greg talks about how he balances the need to continue to operate a business, while prioritizing the health and safety of his team and their valued customers and guests. Go listen to all of our episodes on your favorite streaming platform

Right now many commercial (and residential) tenants are feeling the crunch. Gregg Brown and Marcus Mahlen from NAI Real Estate Sioux Falls, sit down with the DTSF Crew to talk about what some of the current struggles are, and how we can navigate them together. Something important to keep in mind is to keep communication lines open, and when you have questions don't hesitate to reach out to your real estate broker, landlord or property management group to get in touch. DTSF is happy to help connect you to additional resources that might help as you navigate some of these struggles with your property or business.

DTSF is proud to have Dr. Mary Guth, LMFT, join us on this episode of The DTSF Connection. She is a licensed marriage and family counselor in Sioux Falls and has been helping people and families in our community for 20 years. Her message is simple, don't give up hope and don't hesitate to reach out if you need help or to reach out to those who you may feel need an encouraging word. Life is hard as it is, add on dealing with the stress of a national health emergency, economic hardship, and social distancing - it's easy to see how mental health issues have been on the rise. We talk with Mary about the importance of staying mentally healthy, how to care for yourself and others during this time and break down some of the topics surrounding mental health, anxiety and depression. If you or someone you know is struggling or looking for someone to talk to there's several resources you can reach out to: Dr. Mary Guth practices in Sioux Falls, view her info and office information HERE: Sioux Falls Helpline Center National Suicide Prevention Center

Jessie Schmidt is the Director of the Sioux Falls Better Business Bureau and she's passionate about helping local businesses grow. The DTSF crew sits down with Jessie to talk about current resources, some issues facing business owners and how they can best prepare to recover from the impact of COVID-19. Jessie truly loves and cares about Downtown Sioux Falls, it's residents and business owners - and that's evident in the way she pours into her work. This is an instant classic and we're so happy to have had this conversation. As always, tune in anywhere podcasts can be heard at RIGHT HERE

The DTSF Crew sits down with Steve Kurtenbach from AllSportCentral and talk about some of the awesome ways the sports and running community is coming together to create events to help support local businesses. For DTSF's virtual First Friday (more info to be found here... https://www.facebook.com/events/1021389068255824/ ) As part of the #onesiouxfalls Race Series, Steve and the AllSportCentral crew will be giving back a portion of the proceeds to local businesses who need our support now more than ever. As always you can check out our full episodes at https://anchor.fm/dtsiouxfalls where you can subscribe to your favorite platform and listen anywhere!

If you know downtown, you've heard of Chelsea's Boutique. A retail institution in downtown over the last several years, we sit down with the woman behind it all, Chelsea Geidd. Chelsea's Boutique has long been a favorite for women's fashion and boutique clothing, but for her, it goes so much deeper than that. Beyond the clothes and the style is a personal mission that she and each one of her team members live by. Empowering women, empowering others, and helping people grow. In addition to running a full-time retail business, Chelsea coaches women entrepreneurs, is a life coach and mentor and also conducts personal styling and confidence sessions with private clients. She's a force to be reckoned with in multiple industries and we are so happy to have her right here in Downtown Sioux Falls

What do you do when a global pandemic shuts down nearly every public event or gathering? For this powerhouse entrepreneur and leader, it's simple - you pivot and look for ways to adapt and overcome the circumstances. Addie Graham-Kramer has been leading the charge and setting the bar for events since 2013 and hasn't looked back since. We sit down with Addie and ask "what now?", when it comes to hosting and throwing events, conferences event just normal workflow. How do business leaders, owners and team members make changes and look for ways to adapt?

Nathan Sanderson Stops by with the South Dakota Retailers Association (SDRA). The SDRA provides resources, guidance and regulation for retail businesses and during this crisis is gathering resources and information for business owners.

During this time - leaders in our community across industries and organizations are coming together to help get through this health crisis. One industry that's been impacted particularly hard, is hospitality and tourism. We sit down with Teri Schmidt of Experience Sioux Falls to get her take on the current state of affairs, what hotels, and other tourism based businesses can be doing right now to help prepare for success when we come out of this, and what she loves about the Sioux Falls tourism industry. This is a great episode - tune in here or on your favorite platform. https://anchor.fm/dtsiouxfalls

Wow, what a whirlwind of a month it's been. We're 10 episodes into this new adventure with a podcast and video series and have been completely overwhelmed by the support and participation from our community, neighbors, and friends. As we look back on a month that seems to have felt more like a year, we pulled some of our favorite moments from conversations with business leaders, community members, public servants, and our friends all in Downtown Sioux Falls. We hope you enjoy this compilation of clips and that it acts as a reminder to stay strong and keep moving forward. We are in this together, rising tides lift all boats.

DTSF Welcomes John Meyer - successful CEO and entrepreneur, co-founder and community advocate. John's passion is now focused on helping other entrepreneurs, leaders and teams work better. By living a couple of his mantras "Do work that matters", and "Better Every Day" - John leads people and teams to focus on continuous growth and innovation. In this episode, John will outline his EFFORT model for building a culture, specifically one that supports remote employees. As businesses large and small turn to remote work across the country, this information now, more than ever is extremely relevant. As always, don't forget to tune into on Anchor, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or most other platforms where podcasts are streamed.

DTSF Welcomes South Dakota Congressman Dusty Johnson on the show to discuss the details and impact of the recently passed CARES act. Representative Johnson is a strong supporter of South Dakota and the fighting spirit of South Dakota businesses. He encourages all businesses who are eligible to apply AS SOON AS POSSIBLE because this is a limited resource and business owners should act now. As the Congressman points out in our conversation, employees are a business's greatest asset, and this CARES Act is an option for those business owners looking for a solution and some financial relief during the midst of this local, national and global crisis.

If you move around in downtown, chances are you know Vaney Hariri. Also known as V The Noble One, Vaney is a tour de force in downtown Sioux Falls. A musician, leader and entrepreneur, Vaney is the co-founder of Think 3D Solutions a downtown organization who's mission is to add value to teams and people through organizational culture consulting, coaching and leadership training. Leadership is always a critical aspect of community and business success, but even more so during critical times such as these. As Vaney says, "what we do often, we do well", and anything that you can do well, is a skill - leading others included. As always make sure to visit https://dtsf.com for more details and subscribe to our podcast here: https://anchor.fm/dtsiouxfalls

DTSF Welcomes President & CEO of the Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce, Jeff Griffin. Jeff joined the Sioux Falls Chamber earlier this year and has taken no pause while leading the chamber and the Sioux Falls business community through this crisis. As Jeff points out, chambers of commerce existed for a long time and have been the backbone of downtown and metropolitan communities for years. The Sioux Falls chamber is no exception and with leaders like Jeff at the helm, we are confident that together, as one, we will rise through this crisis and succeed on the other side. Several resource sites including https://www.siouxfallschamber.com/supportsiouxfalls.cfm is a great tool to keep up with business changes across the community and learn more about what you can do to support. Additionally, Sioux Falls business owners need to go check out the site and more resources available at https://www.siouxfallschamber.com to learn how they can apply for financial and operational support throughout this time.

Even in an unprecedented time like this, we're constantly encouraged by the strength of our community in Sioux Falls. Despite the rapid turn of events that has many of us in DTSF and even more of us across the state wondering what our reality will look like in 30 days, there's an outpouring of support and rallying cries from all over our city. Enter, Andy Patterson and the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation. You'll have to listen to this whole conversation to hear more details, but at the end of the day, Andy and his team are doing some incredible things to raise support for small businesses and individuals throughout Sioux Falls and our surrounding area. We truly can succeed through this, if we link arms and do the work together. #OneSiouxFalls

DTSF Ep. 04 - Robin Byrnes joins us in the studio to talk about some of the recent updates happening with a new online retail project, Our Mayberry. Our Mayberry aims to give small businesses an opportunity to expand their online sales, while at the same time rallying customers around causes that benefit the community. As the Executive Director of the Sioux Falls Community Theatre, Robin is fired up about giving back to the community and also knows that now, more than ever, small businesses need tools to adapt. More info can be found at www.ourmayberry.com - they plan to release an official launch later this spring.

Jamie Wood is a huge advocate and supporter of small businesses in Sioux Falls. Her work with the SBA provides a wide array of resources for small business owners and there are several opportunities for DTSF members to take advantage of some free consultative services and some disaster relief funds that will allow them to weather the storm as we shift business practices and social distancing.

We know it's a chaotic time for a lot of our DTSF businesses, especially those retailers who are really feeling the impact of slowed foot traffic and social distancing. Terri Schuver, owner of Sticks and Steel downtown at the 8th and Railroad Center, joins us to highlight some of the things she and fellow business owners are doing to lessen the blow of the economic slow down as a result of COVID-19. Terri belongs to an online community of retailers who suggest things like, pivoting to take your events and education on-line rather than in-store. Do you have products that you'd like to highlight or showcase? Start doing some on-line videos that really connect you to your audience...

We're teaming up with our friends at Think 3D and home of the Thinker Networks studio to launch a podcast of our own! During these unprecedented times, it's important that we stay connected to our community, and provide some good, online content that not only helps keep everyone informed, but can also serve as a tool for growth and restoration for small business owners and DTSF members. There are a few resources that are available, including disaster relief funds through Downtown Sioux Falls. Right now, as so many businesses wonder what the next step is, we know that we'll be better on the other side of this if we work together now to not only flatten the curve, but help lessen the blow to local businesses as much as possible.