We’ve thrown our hat in the ring for a Chase Mission Main Street℠ Grant, and we would love your support. VOTE HERE. Or read more to learn more.
What is Mission Main Street℠ Grants? Mission Main Street℠ Grants is a program by Chase that awards 12 small businesses grants of $250,000 to help grow their businesses. The program is sponsored by Chase, Google and a diverse group of organizations.
To apply, each small business must create a business profile and answer five questions about their business that will be reviewed by panelists to determine the winners. Tell Your Story has created a profile, which can be viewed here. We also answered questions – in 500 characters or less – about Tell Your Story. It’s sometimes hard answering questions in 500 characters, but I think we did a good job. If you agree, we would love your vote.
Tell us about your business. What inspired you to start your business? How is your business successful? What makes it unique?
Tell Your Story is a nimble and flexible brand communications agency with a unique purpose: we make things happen so organizations can be successful and its people happy. We achieve this by telling stories through communications of all kinds, from traditional PR to social media, advertising to trade shows and all forms in between. We are growing, but want to stay flexible. We thrive on helping companies who need high level thinking and talent but don’t want to hire a big ad agency or PR firm.
How is your business involved with the community you serve?
Founder George Rafeedie is on the board of directors of the Business Marketing Association. He has been involved with the BMA for 15+ years, helping the BMA achieve its purpose-to help people advance careers, make connections and educate themselves in the field of B2B marketing. An adjunct faculty member of Northwestern and DePaul Universities, he loves helping students find their path and understand how PR skills can advance their careers. George also volunteers where he lives in Wilmette as a soccer coach and is spearheading a local office sharing and networking venture.
What would a $250,000 grant mean to your business and how will you utilize the funds to ensure long-term growth and stability?
We would invest in talent development both for our existing team and network of contractors we employ. We would also invest in additional team members to get smarter and bring more capabilities to our great clients. We would also look seriously into small acquisitions of companies that would complement our skills. In the communications agency world, talent and passion combine for doing great work and investing in that talent leads to better work and relationships with our clients.
What challenges can you identify for your business, and how do you plan to overcome them?
We want to grow but stay nimble and flexible. It’s hard to do both, but this is a good problem. We value face-to-face collaboration but also feel work can get done anywhere with the right team and culture. We pride ourselves on not having to go into the office if our schedule allows us to work from home, a coffee shop, etc. On the other hand, we like to collaborate and have a place to call our own. The challenge is to grow while keeping our nimble, flexible work culture, attitude and perspective.
Describe the talent and skill of your employees, and how they contribute to a successful business.
Enthusiasm and skill in telling great stories through both traditional and new channels is key to our success, and our team exhibits this each day. We are developing a new breed of team in the brand communications space. Our Social PR team members understand and love traditional and new forms of communication. They embrace ever-evolving channels, but are grounded in strategic thinking and tried and true methods. Our team is enthusiastic and wants to develop and tell great stories with a purpose.
Tell Your Story must get a minimum of 250 votes by November 15th to be considered for a grant. Who can vote? Anyone – colleagues, clients, friends, family. Simply visit our profile and login with your Facebook account to vote. Or you can go to the Mission Main Street℠ Grants website and search for Tell Your Story.
Thank you in advance for your support!