Small Business Shoutout: Kaleidoscope Management Group
Once the pandemic was declared, I started reaching out to various business owners to see if they wanted to share their story. The story you and I don't know, but we should know. Being a business owner is stressful in itself, but then you have to shut down (in some way or another) because of a pandemic ... stress is understatement. I wanted to give these business owners a voice. The general public needs to know the inner workings of a small business. My hope is after reading some of the thoughts and stories from these business owners, a little more compassion will be had by everyone on the outside looking in.
Every Friday, I plan to feature a small business in a "Small Business Shoutout" feature. This Friday belongs to Cabanne Howard. I "met" Cabanne through social media. She actually played an intricate role in some of the changes I made to Season 4 of the podcast, Two Kids and A Career. You can hear how in Episode 44: Happy Hour and Coffee Date Conversations. In learning more about Cabanne, I found out she's also a female entrepreneur. She is the CEO of Kaleidoscope Management Group. In this week's "shoutout", Cabanne talks about how the pandemic affected her business:
The week of March 16, 2020 was characterized for the world — and for our small but mighty team — by a wide range of emotions, including fear and stress, anxiety and sadness, perseverance (just to name a few). As the dust began to settle, another emotion emerged: one of gratitude.
Apart But Together
Amidst the noise, a clear knowing emerged: a deepened sense of gratitude for our teammates and our clients. As news of business closures, social distance requirements and shelter-in-place mandates were being issued daily, varying by state, we swiftly found new ways to communicate. And communicate we did. More phone calls and emails were exchanged between team members and our clients than ever, words of praise and encouragement… a sense of togetherness grew with every passing day. All in the name of providing steadfast support for our clients.
“Practicing Gratitude Invites Joy Into Our Lives.” - Brene Brown
When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Communicating
This week also marked the 5th year anniversary for KMG. To commemorate this milestone, we commissioned a work of art by Noah McMillan. And while we never had a chance to share the artwork for our anniversary, it now represents a new phase of our growth & commitment — a resounding and triumphant declaration of our steadfast dedication to our clients and our community.
At this critical time, we are working overtime to deliver continued success to our clients and find ways to give back to our community. Never before has our mission to bring the complex into focus been stress-tested to this level. Our team has been living up to its reputation as part marketing partner and part thunder blanket, implementing swift ways of working remotely and placing a heightened focus on collaboration against a sea of uncertainty. To wit, KMG began working remotely on March 16 and several clients thought we were in the office the whole week since we did not skip a beat.
Against The Odds
Did you know that a flock of butterflies is called a kaleidoscope? We like to picture our team moving together in harmonious, beautiful motion against the odds. In this Nat Geo video clip, Go Into the Heart of a Kaleidoscope of Butterflies, the narrator says, "It is a really small animal... how it is able to go through so much..."
We are small and we go through so much but we, like butterflies, can transform and will adapt to what comes. So, too, will our world. There will be many lessons learned and new ways of doing things as a result of this crisis. We are grateful to be among those readying ourselves to emerge with a greater sense of togetherness and gratitude.
Now let’s go flatten that curve so we can let the learning begin.
Contact:
Kaleidoscope Management Group
CIC @ CET
20 South Sarah Street
St. Louis, MO 63108
Phone: (314) 518-7225
Email: info@kaleidoscopemg.com
Past "Small Business Shoutout"recipients: