Ashley Bodi and her father Robert have partnered on a number of business ventures, including Iammomandpop.com, a website designed to share the success stories of other small business owners. Provided photo
MANATEE -- Ashley Bodi was raised with a passion for small business. She takes it from her dad.
The Sarasota entrepreneur grew up watching her father Robert juggle the chaos that comes with running a small company, which has since branched into three.
That admiration drove the father-daughter duo to launch a new website last month dedicated to telling the success stories of other small business owners like themselves.
Iamamomandpop.com already has drawn global attention from small business owners who have shared tricks of their trade, motivational comments and inspirational photos.
The initiative is the latest spin-off from Bodi's Business Beware brand and the national TV show that's filmed from her Sarasota office.
"This is dear to our hearts," Bodi said. "With everything going on lately, small business has become such a big topic. We're the backbone of America, yet we don't always get the recognition we deserve."
Bodi's family moved to Sarasota in 2001. They operate companies that specialize in sports turf renovations, irrigation and fencing. She followed shortly after college in 2006.
But the Bodi team always had an itch to help others.
The first project they tackled was Business Beware, a website dedicated to helping small businesses collect dues as well as warning them of difficult customers -- almost like a reverse Better Business Bureau.
Companies can leverage against problem customers by reporting them on the site, which is shared with all of the other users.
"Customers nowadays have so many outlets for evaluating a business from Angie's List to the Better Business Bureau," Bodi said. "There
aren't any available for the business owners to evaluate customers."
Their next expansion was a local radio show, talking about not only problem customers, but also the success stories of small businesses and their importance to the economy.
That show has since converged to TV, where it's broadcast to national markets including Atlanta, Dallas and Denver on the Biz TV Network.
It is taped from a studio in Bodi's Sarasota office.
"This is just something that everyone got attached to, so we decided to keep it going," she said.
"You hear stories about mom and pop shops disappearing. Some are, but others are still thriving."
Bodi's latest creation, www.iamamomandpop.com, is another forum to share the stories of small businesses from across the nation.
It started as an outlet for friends and family and in one month has grown into a global network of users from all sectors of business.
On the site, Bodi shares a different success story each day. More than 30 now wait in the pipeline.
Area officials have long touted small business as the economic driver for Manatee County. They say any services that can help will go a long way.
"Small business makes up the majority of our county," said Bob Bartz, president of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce. "They don't have board of directors or large resources so anything that can help them get over hard times would be welcomed."
Josh Salman, Herald business writer, can be reached at 941-745-7095. Follow him on Twitter @JoshSalman
Source: http://www.bradenton.com/2012/08/11/4154107/sarasota-small-business-supporters.html
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