The End Of The Beginning: Bristol Reflects On The Catalyst Of Small Business Revolution

It has been a little over a year since it was announced that Bristol Borough won Deluxe Corporation’s Small Business Revolution. While the experts from the streaming series have left the borough, the businesses they helped have continued to thrive.

The process of being on the show and working with experts from the series that boosts small towns was a little different for each of the businesses. Some of the businesses needed physical renovations, while others needed help building websites and maintaining effective digital marketing strategies. For a few of the businesses, like Discover, Learn and Grow and the Keystone Boxing and MMA Gym, Deluxe Corporation built them websites. Polka Dot Parlor received some interior painting and Miguel’s Riverside Barbershop had an entire merchandise section added, while Annabella’s Italian Restaurant received new kitchen flooring and new awnings.

While Bristol was already on the upswing after years of stagnation, Small Business Revolution and the surrounding publicity pushed the riverfront community to the next level. Businesses are opening, new residents are moving in and attention from around the region is focused on Bristol.

“I don’t usually ask for help,” said Jose Tilapa, owner of Keystone Boxing and MMA Gym. Tilapa used the opportunity to take in a lot of information and try to heed advice about his business that sits just off Mill Street. Before the contest, Tilapa didn’t have time to build an adequate website and marketing plan for his business.

“It’s great to hear from people looking to give advice,” Tilapa said.

Megan Hems, one of the owners of Hems’ Truck and Auto, described the experience as a wake up call for her and her husband Roland. She explained that the entire experience helped her and Roland to understand what they could be doing better.

“We’re still coming off of the whirlwind of the whole thing,” said Megan Hems.

At Hems on Farragut Avenue, the owners are still working to implement all of the prescribed changes and are working to keep from falling back into old habits.

Even tiny pieces of advice like opening an Instagram account and getting verified on Google were huge boons, Megan said.

Robert Angelaccio, the owner of Annabella’s on Radcliffe Street, expressed a similar sentiment. He said the emphasis on social media and digital marketing, now executed by Angelaccio’s wife Alison and niece Beth Angelaccio, has been a huge help.

“I am seeing a lot more new customers on a daily basis,” Angelaccio said.

A slow day in early 2018 is still much busier than a slow day before the revolution, Angelaccio said.

“Just being a part of the Small business Revolution, people want to stop in,” said Miguel Velez, the owner of Miguel’s Riverside Barbershop on Market Street. “The experience was amazing.”

“Having the opportunity to talk with people that he would never have had a chance to talk with was a huge bonus.”

“They helped us create a website that clearly states our mission,” explained Ramona Jones, the owner of Discover, Learn and Grow, an early childcare center on Mill Street.

“Our biggest problem was letting the community know who we are and what we have to offer the community,” Jones explained.

Now, it is easy for prospective parents to go on the center’s website and see what services are offered, what they cost, learn about the staff and more.

“They were really there to help us better ourselves,” Jones said.

For Paulette Kirk Kasmer, the owner of Polka Dot Parlor on Mill Street, the biggest boons were the additions of email and social media marketing. Now, about a year on, Kasmer has invested a lot in the marketing aspect of her business.

“I guess it is just nice to be recognized as a growing business in town,” Kasmer said.

According to Kasmer, working with the experts from Deluxe was a taxing and in depth experience. Kasmer needed to break down her store and build it up quickly and have all sorts of financial information available so that the experts could more easily offer assistance.

“It really was a lot, but it made me a better business owner,” she said.

“They were the hardest working, nicest people that you would ever want to work with,” Angellacio said. “I can’t say enough about them.”

“When the cameras left, they didn’t just pack up and leave,” explained Megan Hems.

In most cases, the experts are still in close contact with the businesses they helped. The result is frequent text and email communication with the people who offered help in the first place and continue to do so.

“There was never a dull moment,” said Jones, who keeps her experts abreast of changing circumstances and continues to heed their advice.

For Tilapa, whose family lives in Mexico, the show allowed him to showcase his business to his family. His distant family does not normally get the opportunity to view him at work up close very often.

“It was amazing for them to tell our story,” he said.

At the end of the day, Tilapa recognizes that his business is ultimately his business. It is on him, and all of the owners, to follow the advice they were given to keep pushing for continued prosperity.

Between the six businesses chosen for the contest, a bond formed.

“It honestly became similar to a family bond,” said Velez.

Velez takes his car to Hems and eats at Annabella’s restaurant. Megan and Roland Hems take their child to Discover, Learn and Grow, while Kasmer works out with Tilapa. The list of support and camaraderie goes on.

“It has brought everyone closer together,” Angelaccio said.

As a business owner, Angelaccio was always tied up in his own business, too busy to really look around. The contest brought him closer to the other businesses and the town as a whole.

“The town has been closer together, the attitude is much better,” Angelaccio said.

In his own restaurant, at least, Angelaccio has noticed an evolution.

For the businesses, like Hems, the needle is pointing in the right direction. The owners just bought a new piece of equipment for the first time in their 10 years owning the auto repair ship, Megan explained.

The trend for the town is positive, though, not just those six business owners.

Megan Hems is a board member of the Bristol Borough Business Association and sees a positive trend all over town.

“I have noticed a very dramatic change in town,” said Bill Pezza, president of Bristol Borough: Raising the Bar.

Pezza and his team was instrumental in pulling the town together to win the contest. From visual upgrades to noticing more willingness to open a business in town, the change is in town, Pezza said.

“We can’t let the 2017 contest be the end; It needs to be the beginning,” Pezza went on.

A recent leadership meeting and a continued tight-knit community are more pieces of evidence that there is a thriving culture in town.

Pezza’s sentiment is expanded by Cameron Potts, Deluxe’s Vice President of Public Relations.

“Our main goal is to shine a spotlight on the businesses in a downtown community that are really the fabric of the area. While we only work with six businesses, the idea is to create a spark in the community to support one another, to share best practices and to have the community come together and support these small businesses. The $500,000 prize is a lot of money, but it can’t really revitalize an entire community. That is up to you. We hope to spark a revolution where everyone is supporting and celebrating their community and the small businesses that every day provide a great foundation,” Potts said in an email.

In Bristol Borough, things like facade renovations and physical improvements cost a bit more than they did in Wabash, due to Bristol’s proximity to Philadelphia.

Narrowing down businesses to accurately portray the town was a difficult task for the Deluxe team, Potts said.

In the end, the revolution product in Bristol Borough was incredible, Potts said.

“What we do now is entirely up to us and we are excited,” Pezza said.

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