Mastering Your Craft: Scaling Production with Teresa Velazquez & Stephanie Long (LIVE)

This is the 100th EPISODE of The Tidbit —and our season finale! In this special live episode, Tessa Velazquez, Cureate Facilitator + Coach, spoke with Randy Wilburn, a communication strategist, entrepreneur, host of the “I am Northwest Arkansas” podcast, and founder of ONBoardNWA, a hyper-local jobs board. Randy shares strategies on how to stand out in a way that is authentic to your voice, tips for implementing guerilla marketing tactics, and attracting the right talent that aligns with your vision. Stay tuned until the end of the episode for two audience #tidbits! If you have a story to tell about your product or business, this episode is for you.

Host: Kim Bryden, Tessa Velazquez

Producer: Gabriela Saldivia

Guest: 

Randy Wilburn: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/randywilburn/

https://www.instagram.com/iamnorthwestarkansas/

The two final episodes on this season of The Tidbit are focusing on goal setting and the future of your business using your unique positioning. On today's episode, we explore how to position your business in a B2B (business-to-business) context —specifically with institutional buyers. We address sustainability in the workplace, specifically when it comes to food systems and health, and overall core values that determine the “why” behind what institutions may want to buy. Kim talks to Sara Hoverter, a senior fellow, attorney and adjunct professor at Georgetown Law specializing in health and food policy, and Kai Abelkis, sustainability manager at University of Maryland Medical Center.

Host: Kim Bryden

Producer: Gabriela Saldivia

Guests:

Sara Hoverter: https://www.law.georgetown.edu/faculty/sara-p-hoverter/

Kai Abelkis: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kai-abelkis/

On this episode of The Tidbit, Kim talks to Scott Shigeoka about his new book SEEK: How Curiosity Can Transform Your Life and Change the World. Scott says curiosity is key as a small business owner, and staying curious can help cure the disconnection and dissatisfaction in the workplace that has been so commonplace since the global pandemic. 

Host: Kim Bryden

Producer: Gabriela Saldivia

Guest:

Scott Shigeoka: 

SEEK: How Curiosity Can Transform Your Life and Change the World

On today’s episode of The Tidbit, we don’t want to do “business as usual." With everything transpiring in the world today, between global wars, the rise of hatred and vitriol, and overall mental health crises at an all time high, we thought it important to have a discussion around complex and profound emotions like grief, sorrow and loss. Kim speaks with Colin Campbell, author of Finding The Words, Working Through Profound Loss with Hope and Purpose about his story and his work to make grief less frightening, lonely and mysterious. Colin says that an important part of processing grief is to talk about it with a community that gets it.

Host: Kim Bryden

Producer: Gabriela Saldivia

Guest:

Colin Campbell: https://colincampbellauthor.com/

The Tidbit is live! In this special episode, Kim hands over the host mic to Tessa Velazquez, coach and facilitator at Cureate. Tessa moderates a conversation with Teresa Velazquez, owner of iconic D.C. bakeries Baked & Wired and A Baked Joint, and Stephanie Long, owner of home-based artisan bakery The Cake Occasion. As bakers and entrepreneurs, Teresa and Stephanie have both successfully scaled their small businesses thoughtfully, even during the busy holiday season, and they share some tidbits of knowledge they’ve learned along the way.

Host: Kim Bryden, Tessa Velazquez

Producer: Gabriela Saldivia

Guests: 

Teresa Velazquez: Baked & Wired and A Baked Joint

Stephanie Long:  The Cake Occasion

It is no surprise that individuals in the food, farm and beverage industry are masters of their craft. Through this mastery, they are able to differentiate themselves in the marketplace and provide education to consumers about their highly specific goods or services. On this episode of The Tidbit, Kim speaks with oyster sommelier Julie Qui about why she got interested in oysters, what it took to hone her craft and how she eventually went on to co-found the Oyster Master Guild. Julie leads master oyster classes worldwide, teaching people everything they need to know about this sometimes controversial product.

Host: Kim Bryden

Producer: Gabriela Saldivia

Guest:

Julie Qiu: https://instagram.com/inahalfshellist

The Oyster Master Guild: https://www.oystermasterguild.com 

Traversing the U.S. from Mid-Atlantic to the Heartland, you’ll pass by many farms and rural communities. The large majority of these farms are family owned and small to mid-sized operations that don’t see large profits. How might we improve economic conditions, growth opportunities and access to new market channels for these entrepreneurs? On this episode of The Tidbit, Kim speaks with Philip Powell, Assistant Director of Local Affairs and Rural Development with The Arkansas Farm Bureau. He says the future of farming is in innovation. 

At the time of this recording Philip worked at ARFB, and has now stepped into a new role where he continues to serve rural communities in Arkansas.

Host: Kim Bryden

Producer: Gabriela Saldivia

Arkansas Farm Bureau: https://www.arfb.com

The Tidbit is back! Last season, The Tidbit went on a cross country roadtrip to see how small businesses were innovating and adapting during the COVID-19 public health emergency. The trip was transformative for Kim, and for Cureate, which now has a second hub of operations in Northwest Arkansas. The new season of The Tidbit is going to reflect that expansion, featuring guests from both the Heartland and Mid-Atlantic discussing entrepreneurship with a food and beverage lens. On this first episode, Kim speaks with Philip Adams, Executive Director of FORGE Inc, and entrepreneurship consultant Jeannette Balleza Collins, about building inclusive ecosystems in Northwest Arkansas and how this region is reimagining community based businesses.

Host: Kim Bryden

Producer: Gabriela Saldivia

Guests: 

FORGE, Inc: 

http://forgefund.org

Jeannette Balleza Collins: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeannetteballezacollins