Small Businesses Make for Great Partnerships

Small Businesses Make for Great Partnerships

small business, small business partnership, Jacksonville Icemen, Lizard Kings, Hockey

Running a small business is a fantastic opportunity to build relationships within your local community. Whether you offer products or services, have a brick and mortar or do everything online. One thing remains true, we cannot do it alone. Forging relationships within the community is vital to small business success. We at HeartWired have found that other small businesses make for great partnerships.

Partnerships come in all shapes and sizes. For us we partner with local business owners quite often. Sometimes not so local in order to provide the services our clients expect and trust. In doing so we also are able to remain nimble and relatively affordable in providing the solutions that we offer. HeartWired is excited to announce that we have decided to expand our local commitment and partnerships in Jacksonville. We are one of the newest small business partners with our local hockey team, the Jacksonville Icemen.

Okay, we realize that you might be scratching your head. Why a marketing agency like ours would see hockey as a opportunity to develop relationships in our community? Let us share a bit about how that journey unfolded.

Many may or may not recall that Jacksonville as a city has a history with hockey teams.

I am sure many are thinking of if not the current team, the Lizard Kings (1995-2000). Or perhaps the Jacksonville Barracudas (2002-2008). There is actually some hockey history that dates back even further. Dating back to a league that no longer exists the Eastern Hockey League. The first true professional hockey team was the Jacksonville Rockets (1964-1972). They played both in Jacksonville as well as shared space in St. Petersburg, Florida. Little did we know until we were discussing the opportunity to partner with the Icemen, that our owner’s grandfather was a part in bringing hockey to town back in the 60’s. We would be remiss if we did not also mention the Cleveland Barons that moved to Jacksonville only to shut down operations a year later. Unknowingly besides being a fan of the game for many years, our owner has some local hockey history as well.

With all of that history, we are thankful that hockey is back in Jacksonville!

Which brings us to the 2021-2022 hockey season. A season that kicks off its first home game to a sell out crowd at the Jacksonville Vystar Veterans Arena. We announced the partnership briefly when we first signed up a few weeks ago. We like many other Icemen fans are looking forward to a fantastic All-Star season ahead. What better way to come together as a community than to cheer on our local team. Sure other sports teams have draw power, but local sports teams represent the community. A community we at HeartWired are proud to call our home.

Partnering with a small business within our own community to build relationships on and off the ice

If you take a moment and look at the Jacksonville Icemen website. You will see how involved they are right here in Jacksonville. Also you can see the other great small businesses that have decided to come alongside their local team. Many of these are small business owners just like us that see the value of being a part of something bigger than ourselves. Having the opportunity to not only cheer on the Icemen on the ice. Building relationships with other like-minded fans and business owners in the stands. As well as other moments off the ice during the season at various events sponsored by the Icemen.

We are looking forward to the drop of the puck and all the goals this year with the Icemen. If you would like to experience a game first hand, we would love to possibly have you as our guest, or put you in contact with one of the great team members at the Icemen. One advantage of doing business with a local team is they are able to cater more to your specific needs and budget. Joining the Jacksonville Icemen is a win win for everyone involved as we cheer on and support one another in our community.

See you on the ice!

The Next Big Thing, Five Years and Counting

The Next Big Thing, Five Years and Counting

The-Next-Big-Thing-Five-Years-and-Counting

September 16, 2016 will mark a day that I will personally remember forever. It was the day I filed official paperwork for our business to do business in the beautiful State of Florida. It was the day that our first fictitious name was filed. It marks the day our original and still existent domain name was purchased from GoDaddy. Five years ago today so many milestones were only ideas, and with the help of our HeartWired family they have become a reality.

As a small business that works with other small businesses and nonprofits, we realize the importance of recognizing the small achievements we have made along the way. We are well aware (sometimes a little more than we care for) that we cannot succeed alone. Today we celebrate us being supported by you. Whether you are a client, a friend, a business partner or a passerby… Thank you for supporting us!

Five years feels like forever ago and yesterday at the same time.

Things we would like to recognize that we have experienced over the last five years (this list is only part our/your story)

We have also had the pleasure to serve many local and global clients throughout our journey. Some of the clients only came to us for a season, while others have been here since the beginning. Whether you still receive services from us, or moved on for one reason or another. Once a client, always a friend and part of the HeartWired family. We are thankful every single day for the trust that people put in us to serve their business or organization.

On this special even of our anniversary, we want you to know that your trust and support has always been the biggest drivers for our continued growth!

So what does the next five hold in store?

Currently we are expanding our staff as well as resources. We just brought on new contractors who will be helping provide the level of service you have grown to expect. We are exploring new partnerships in order to be able to serve our clients better. We envision becoming a household name in the local Jacksonville community and beyond for providing purpose driven design and marketing for years to come. We look to the next five years as we did the last five years, with bold dreams, wide-eyed inspiration and the desire to do more to help others.

If you would like to become a part of our mission minded journey to become an agency that makes a difference reach out to us, we are always looking for great (preferably local) talent. If you know someone who can use our services, we love referrals, they are and always will be our favorite kind of marketing. If you would like to discuss your business or organizations goals and develop a strategy to help reach them, let’s talk, our discovery sessions are complimentary. Lastly if you have been positively impacted by us over the past five years we would love to hear about it. Lastly if you would like your voice to be heard, we love Google and Facebook reviews.

May the past five years be a drop in the bucket on the lessons learned, skills achieved and difference we have made. We are truly blessed and look to the future with anticipation on the joys and triumphs it will bring for you all!

Reflection on JAX Bridges Program from 2020 Small Business Leaders of the Year

Reflection on JAX Bridges Program from 2020 Small Business Leaders of the Year

Charles Johnston, founder of HWDS, was named one of Jax Chamber’s 2020 Small Business Leaders of the Year. Johnston, along with twelve other finalists, were invited to participate in Jax Bridges business development program. Here is what Charles said about his experience:

 “I never thought about my business the way the program teaches you to. It was beyond what I thought, especially because it opened my eyes when I realized how much I have to offer.”

Click here to read the full article.

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