As a business owner, I’m always interested in opportunities to ensure my business is growing and evolving to keep on pace with the latest trends.  Thrive opened in the midst of the 2008 economic melt-down and while many restaurants were hurting for business, mine has experienced unprecedented growth.  Having started the business with extremely limited financial resources, and given the growing pains we have been experiencing, I’ve been eager to find a way to accomplish some of the initiatives that I think are important for our growth and sustainability.  Because restaurants are a very risky business proposition for banks, especially given the financial climate we are in, the banks have not been eager to help, to say the least.

I recently learned about a company called BizXchange, that works to save companies cash, bring them new business, and increase their purchasing power.  After learning about BizX, I signed Thrive up to become a member, hoping that we’d be able to get some things accomplished that would not be possible with our limited cash flow and financial resources.  BizX has exceeded expectations.  Since joining a month ago, not only has BizX has helped Thrive generate over $1,000 in new sales, but we’ve been able to put these funds to use to tackle important projects that were tragically on the back burner.  With summer coming and a broken A/C system, I’ve been extremely concerned about losing business due to the heat like we did last summer, and I’ve been concerned about the well-being of my employees.  Thanks to BizX and King’s Heating and Air Conditioning, I was able to get our A/C system restored within days.  The Thrive Headquarters office, which has been busting at the seams with employees, files, and random odds-and-ends, was also able to get a facelift with functional, recycled office furniture and filing systems from Prospera Office Interiors.  And personally, I was able to win some points with an out-of-town guest by taking her to the Teatro ZinZanni dinner show, which I paid for using BizX dollars.

I’m grateful for BizX and the opportunities it has, and will continue to provide and I’m excited to see what’s possible for continued to growth and business success!  Next up: recreating our storefront with awesome BiX signage so that more customers can find us.  Stay tuned.  And if you own a business or know someone who does, talk to me about joining BizX!  I love BizX so much I became a BizX Account Executive and do that in all my “spare” time.  You won’t regret it, and new things will become possible that you haven’t yet dreamed of.