involved in the community. From winning the Holly Hill Corporate Citizen of the Year award to serving on various boards in community groups, he helped to weave a tight knit connection around the county.
Getting to know the people you serve and being a part of the community strengthens the bonds, creates loyal customers, and helps you keep a pulse on what the people want and need.
in Daytona Beach, knows all too well how important being able to change and adapt is to business sustainability. The company, started in 1945, has always focused on technology. They started out producing coin operated chairside radios for hotel chains across the country. As times changed, so too did their offerings. If they hadn’ t stayed ahead of the curve, they would still be making AM radios. Dawson, who found the transition to taking over the family business to be smooth, did something that may surprise many – he hired a president to run the daily operations of the family business.
Brian Dawson, Chief Executive Officer of SilverSphere
Sheryl Cook, Owner of Tom Cook Jeweler
“ Our emphasis is on customer service as well as involvement in the community,” explains Sheryl Cook, owner of Tom Cook Jeweler in Daytona Beach.“ Our family has continued to believe that customer service is key to being a successful business and that you give of your time, talents and treasures to the community that supports you.”
Tom Cook Jeweler has been in business for 125 years. They were also one of the businesses that received major damage during Hurricane Irma, and despite that challenge, they keep going strong.
“ The best part of being 125 is growing with our customers, and evolving to meet the needs of the new generations,” added Cook.“ Being a multi-generational company has helped us to maintain classic styles with modern sensibilities in fitting with our customers’ tastes.”
“ People give me a lot of credit for making a bold decision on that, but honestly it wasn’ t planned,” he says, referring to his decision to hire Tom Hurlburt, current president of SilverSphere.“ When the opportunity presented itself, I was smart enough to recognize that Tom was exactly what our company needed to take us to the next level. I knew Tom had the skills and talents that I didn’ t.”
Even though he felt the move was the right decision to sustain the company, he still wrestled internally with his choice. He questioned having an outsider run the family business, and he worried about resistance from his employees, some of which had been with the company over 20 years. Yet what he found was that there was zero resistance to the change and everything he had been concerned about turned out to be a non-issue.
“ There are three things that are the secret to long term success,” shares Dawson.“ Great employees, creating an entrepreneurship culture, so the CEO is not the only one continually thinking about what’ s next, and just enough luck to keep you humble.”
GOING WITH THE FLOW
Brian Dawson, chief executive officer of SilverSphere, located
Sources: https:// www. sba. gov / sites / default / files / advocacy / SB-FAQ-2017-WEB. pdf; John S. Anderson Chapter Chair / Certified Mentor; Sheryl Cook Tom Cook Jeweler; Sylvain Daudel Director Family Enterprise Center; Brian Dawson Silvershphere; Stacy Cunningham Welch, president, Patricia Culler, owner, Cunningham Oil
Jacqueline Bodnar is a Volusia County-based writer, who has a master’ s degree in professional writing, has had over 3,000 articles published around the world, has written seven books, completed thousands of copywriting projects, and owns several blogs. She can be reached at: www. JacquelineBodnar. com.
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