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A decade in, EntreCon still helping businesses big and small reach their full potential

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A decade in, EntreCon still helping businesses big and small reach their full potential

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Vibrant communities are made up of existing businesses and start-ups ventures, were words of wisdom Quint Studer shared with EntreCon attendees on Wednesday.

“You’ve got to make sure you support the businesses that are already here. You’ve got to grow the local businesses – that’s economic development. Number 2, you have to help startups,” Studer told an audience filled with new and veteran entrepreneurs at the Pensacola Little Theatre.

“It’s more than just say ‘buy local.’ For most people in this room, it’s not about passion. If you go out of business or you’re struggling, it’s not because you’re not passionate about your product, you are. It’s how you run the company.”

Studer was the opening speaker at this year’s EntreCon – the Studer Community Institute’s two-day business, leadership and entrepreneurship conference set for today and Thursday.

The theme, “Discover Your POTENTIAL,” is a play on the conference’s 10th anniversary as well as “workplace potential” being a local trending topic.

More than 460 business owners and officials from across the Gulf Coast, as well a few from Philadelphia, New York and Wisconsin, registered for workshops on improving leadership, navigating AI, creating a legacy, finding purpose, financial fundamentals, community connections and other topics.

Some of this year’s speakers include Cedric Alexander, CEO of CL Alexander Consulting; MOGUL founder and CEO Tiffany Pham; Julie Weber, former vice president and chief people officer with Southwest Airlines; Dr. Sunil Gupta, cofounder and chief medical officer with USRetina; Crestview City Manager Tim Bolduc; best-selling author and podcaster Danny Bader, and many more.

During his presentation, Studer also focused on embracing change and investing in employee skills development.

“Because if you can’t manage change, you are going to become extinct,” he said, adding business owners also need to own their development and be kind to themselves.

The conference’s first year brought in about 150 attendees, said Kara Dieck, building jobs program manager with the Studer Community Institute.

“Now, we’re up to 464. Our goal is to outgrow the Pensacola Little Theatre so that we will have to go to the Saenger or larger venue. We just want to keep bringing people to Pensacola,” she said, adding this year’s conference aims to help business owners discover their potential in the workplace.

“And what does that look like for them and how do they get from here to there. And we wanted something that had ‘ten’ in it because we are celebrating 10 years. We looked at local trends and potential in the workplace was something that stood out.”

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When asked if he expected EntreCon to grow into the annual event that it is today, Studer said no.

“I think that’s the value of organic growth. I think when you let something grow that has quality, it’ll grow. If it doesn’t have quality, it won’t,” he said. “To me, yesterday looking at the young entrepreneurs setting up their all of their stuff – that was always about just helping people either grow their own business or start a business or be a great employee in the business that they are in.”

Other cities have started their own similar conferences.

“If cities are interested, they come here, they see it and then, they can put it in their own community. It’s not about just helping Pensacola, it’s becoming a role model for other communities to duplicate and scale it,” Studer said, adding a Wisconsin city held its first conference last year.

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