by Dustin Cardon
On Dec. 21, 2017, Mantle. founder Christopher Lomax met with Susan Farris, marketing manager for the Mangia Bene Restaurant Management Group at Sal & Mookie's New York Pizza & Ice Cream Joint. They were discussing a partnership to grow Mantle's Sandbox program, in which members can use a card to receive discounts at local stores, gyms and restaurants, including Sal & Mookie's. During the meeting, Lomax and Farris came up with the idea to launch a series of events and networking opportunities for local business people called Entrepreneur Quarterly.
Photo courtesy Entrepreneur Quarterly "Sal & Mookie's has been looking into entrepreneur groups and co-working spaces to set up partnerships with, so we found that we had a shared interest in doing something that was larger than just our two businesses," Farris says.
Entrepreneur Quarterly's mission statement is "find your niche; grow your reach," because, Farris says, "this isn't going to be just another meetup where you pass out business cards." She says that they want to see people exchanging ideas, making new friends and getting outside their comfort zone.
"We want everyone who comes out to see the scope of what EQ is going to be and to discover how vibrant the Jackson business community is," Farris says.
Entrepreneur Quarterly's mission statement is "find your niche; grow your reach," because, Farris says, "this isn't going to be just another meetup where you pass out business cards." She says that they want to see people exchanging ideas, making new friends and getting outside their comfort zone.
"We want everyone who comes out to see the scope of what EQ is going to be and to discover how vibrant the Jackson business community is," Farris says.
Photo courtesy Entrepreneur Quarterly The first EQ event will begin with an opportunity for visitors to mingle and network, followed by a series of panels in which representatives of Jackson entrepreneurial groups will introduce their businesses before opening the floor for questions. Topics of future meetings will vary between speakers and panels based on participants' interests and needs.
"After the first meeting, we hope to have local community leaders such as (businessman/lawmaker) Joel Bomgar or (cartoonist and media figure) Marshall Ramsey come out as guest speakers, though we're still considering who to invite at this point," Farris says. "We want this to be loose, interactive and organic, and to engage with participants to determine their interests and what people are talking about. If we find that local entrepreneurs need help with marketing, or developing a financial plan, or finding starter funds, we want to address those specific issues and mold EQ to suit the community's needs."
"After the first meeting, we hope to have local community leaders such as (businessman/lawmaker) Joel Bomgar or (cartoonist and media figure) Marshall Ramsey come out as guest speakers, though we're still considering who to invite at this point," Farris says. "We want this to be loose, interactive and organic, and to engage with participants to determine their interests and what people are talking about. If we find that local entrepreneurs need help with marketing, or developing a financial plan, or finding starter funds, we want to address those specific issues and mold EQ to suit the community's needs."
Photo courtesy Entrepreneur Quarterly All EQ events will take place inside Sal & Mookie's from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and will be free to attend. Each event will also feature free pizza and discounted bar drinks for visitors. The first events for 2018 was on March 1. The other dates are June 7, Sept. 6 and Dec. 6.
Farris says that some local web developers and tech entrepreneurs might not realize that there are other groups out there besides the ones they already know.
"Meeting them can help them view the world differently and mutually generate new ideas," Farris says. "Developing new skills is something that's greatly helped by meeting fresh faces, talking to new people and stretching yourself out."
For more information, visit mantlesandbox.com/eq-jxn, call Susan Farris at 601-982-4443 ext. 17 or find Entrepreneur Quarterly on Facebook.
Farris says that some local web developers and tech entrepreneurs might not realize that there are other groups out there besides the ones they already know.
"Meeting them can help them view the world differently and mutually generate new ideas," Farris says. "Developing new skills is something that's greatly helped by meeting fresh faces, talking to new people and stretching yourself out."
For more information, visit mantlesandbox.com/eq-jxn, call Susan Farris at 601-982-4443 ext. 17 or find Entrepreneur Quarterly on Facebook.
RSS Feed