Networking from 8:30 to 9:00 AM EDT

WHAT THIS WORKSHOP DELIVERS

Most small business owners are running their operations without a written strategic direction, not because they lack ambition, but because they have never had a structured opportunity to step back and think clearly about priorities.

This workshop gives them that opportunity. In 60 minutes, each participant works through an honest situational scan, identifies their single highest-leverage priority for the next 90 days, and begins building a one-page strategic plan they can actually use. They leave with a committed next action, a named date, and a peer accountability partner from the room.

The session is interactive throughout, and anonymous live polling via Mentimeter surfaces the room’s collective thinking on screen; a group scenario exercise warms up the diagnostic muscle before anyone has to look at their own situation, and questions are welcome at every transition rather than saved for a dead zone at the end.

Speaker: Trent Richardson, Founder & Principal, Hard Knox Life Advisory

Dr. Trent Richardson founded Hard Knox Life Advisory, where he helps small business owners move past guesswork and find their highest-leverage move. Before starting the firm, he built a federal career in high-consequence leadership, working through the Department of the Interior’s reorganization after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. He later led the U.S. Geological Survey’s natural hazards portfolio, including the launch of ShakeAlert, the nation’s earthquake early-warning system now serving more than 50 million people across the West Coast. He holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Policy, and he believes good thinking beats a thick binder every time.

Offered by: TSBDC and Stephen W. Williams, Director of Workforce & Economic Development, Roane State Community College