For nearly a decade, Sammy’s Avenue Eatery has provided the North Minneapolis Community with much-needed healthy options. As his expansion plans continued to roll out, Sammy knew that he was at the point where his systems and structures needed more consistency. That’s where Daren Hawthorne, President of Restaurants at Golden Krust Caribbean Inc., along with Executive Chef, Ryan Cross come in. As Salesforce Trailblazers they are intimately familiar with utilizing Salesforce’s technology to streamline their structure and data. These processes have allowed them to quickly respond to the needs of ..read more

Elsa Rezene opened Elsa’s House of Sleep in St. Paul, MN in 1997. Nearly 25 years later, her son Tetra Constantino, carries on his mother’s legacy by treating customers and employees like family. Elsa’s has stood the test of time, despite heavy competition from big box retailers and trendy online brands.  The store made it through the pandemic in 2020 without letting a single employee go. To help this neighborhood pillar, Deluxe brought in Maurice Blanks, a furniture industry expert and the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Blu Dot, a Minneapolis-based modern home furnishing comp ..read more

Salesforce is passionate about supporting small businesses, and we are thrilled about the Salesforce Trailblazers who joined us this season to lend their expert advice. Justice Sikakane is a Trailblazer who’s committed to propelling the future of technology forward and giving back to his community. As the Director of IT at the Hennepin Theatre Trust, he understands the importance of utilizing data to better serve customers.  We couldn’t have found a better expert to pair with two business owners who needed technology advice to ensure that they operate at their full potential. Here are the ..read more

Charles and Kasara Carter did the impossible in 2020 by opening a successful restaurant in the middle of a pandemic. In less than a year, Taste of Rondo has become both a staple and a vital success story to the historic Rondo neighborhood. To keep the couple’s lifelong dream sustained and streamline operations, the Deluxe team brought in the CEO of Pizza Lucé, JJ Haywood. JJ oversees nine bustling pizza shops throughout Minnesota, which made her the perfect mentor to share the following advice: Double down on technology to streamline the ordering process Taste of Rondo specializes in homemad ..read more

In Season 6 of Small Business Revolution, we tapped into expertise from our partners at Salesforce, who recommended a handful of their own Salesforce Trailblazers to work side-by-side with our featured small business owners. As a Trailblazer, Shonnah Hughes—who’s intimately familiar with Salesforce through her work as Global Product Growth & Innovation Evangelist at GetFeedback—represents a group of Salesforce customers who are passionate about propelling the future of technology and giving back to their communities. That’s why we paired Shonnah with three business owners who needed techno ..read more

Tameka Jones knows about the power of lipstick and how it can help any person feel stronger about taking on the world. After 20 years as a makeup artist, she took the leap to start her own beauty line in 2020 with hopes to become an international retail brand. Business took off quickly, but even as customers have steadily increased, her sales are beginning to plateau. A beauty brand can grow in many ways:  selling traditionally via brick-and-mortar store, ecommerce, pursuing big retailers or partnering with local retailers. That’s why in Season 6 of Small Business Revolution, we brought i ..read more

Terrell Smith made his dreams of running his own barbershop a reality when he opened Gentlemen Cuts in 2018. For many small businesses, 2020 was a turbulent year, especially for barbershops. . Even after restrictions were lifted, appointments and walk-ins were not reaching pre-pandemic numbers. Insert Houston White, a multi-faceted entrepreneur whose barbershop has evolved into a vibrant, commercial hub in North Minneapolis. Here’s the advice he shared with Gentlemen Cuts: Set the tone for our customers before they walk in the door. Terrell has a staff of four barbers with each of them havi ..read more

With a mission of bringing fresh ideas to Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder’s (MSR) overall media strategy, Deluxe and the Small Business Revolution called on Dr. Frances “Toni” Draper, publisher, CEO and the fourth generation to run AFRO-American news in Baltimore, Maryland.  Toni understands the challenges unique to the MSR and her strategic moves in social media and creative resourcing have led to Afro.com’s doubling their online following and sales. After visiting the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder’s newsroom, Toni offered Tracey Williams-Dillard several pieces of advice to help her creativ ..read more

The Small Business Revolution and 3M have a shared value of helping businesses realize the power and potential of their brands. 3M’s Commercial Solutions Division is in a unique position to help businesses transform the spaces of our Season 6 business owners and elevate their customer experience using innovative graphic and decorative film solutions, applications, and design expertise. This season, 3M helped transform a handful of the featured businesses including Gentlemen Cuts, the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, and Sammy’s Avenue Eatery. Check out more on how 3M solutions helped each busines ..read more

As we turn the corner on summer and head into the holiday season, what’s top of mind for small businesses right now? For the past few years, Salesforce has released a research report focused on the trends that are shaping small and medium business (SMB). For 2021, the fifth edition of the “Small and Medium Business Trends” report looks at the challenges SMBs around the world face, how they move forward, and their visions for the future. Research for the report was conducted by The Harris Poll in June and July, and includes responses from more than 2,500 SMB owners and leaders across North ..read more