June 2026 BACC Virtual Expo Sessions
These are highlights from the casual session where local businesses record focused segments that will later become stand-alone Virtual Expo videos. Participating businesses receive media kits with social posts, and video highlights.
Summary: This Virtual Expo is not a live stream. It is a content-production process designed to help local businesses create focused, niche presentations that can live online long after the recording session ends.
Instead of broad, generic introductions, the goal is to produce useful, trust-building content that highlights expertise, local relevance, and the specific ways each business helps its customers.
The live recording session is the production environment. The finished Virtual Expo is the polished online experience that can be published on Chamber channels, reused on social media, and revisited by viewers over time.
➡️Audit Your Google Business Authority: 📊
A more focused presentation creates stronger authority signals, gives consumers more useful information, and produces content that keeps working for the business long after the day of the event.
What Is a Virtual Expo?
A virtual expo is an online event format that lets businesses, presenters, and viewers connect without being in the same room. Instead of a one-time in-person trade show, a virtual expo creates a digital experience that people can attend live and revisit on demand.
For a chamber of commerce or local business community, a virtual expo can become more than an event. It can be a searchable, reusable collection of business-specific presentations that help consumers discover local expertise and clearly understand what makes each participating business credible, useful, and distinct.
Production Session vs. Finished Expo
One of the most important ideas to explain at the beginning is that the live recording session is not the final expo itself. The live session is where we record each segment with the host and participants. The finished Virtual Expo is what gets edited, organized, and published afterward.
That distinction protects expectations for everyone. People logging in live might assume they are watching a polished final event, but in reality they are seeing the production process: where businesses record their segments, the moderator guides the conversation, and the content is captured for future publishing, clipping, optimization, and reuse.
Why Focused Presentations Work Better
Broad presentations usually sound safe, but they tend to be forgettable. A generic “about our business” talk often blends in with hundreds of similar introductions and doesn’t answer the specific questions real customers have.
A focused presentation, on the other hand, is built around one clear topic: a specific customer problem, a niche service, a local challenge, or a common misconception. That kind of content is more useful to viewers, easier to remember, and easier to find and share later on.
It also creates better long-term value. Instead of producing one vague overview, the business creates a piece of content that can answer a real question, show firsthand experience, and support trust over time.
How Experience and Authority Work in Local Content
Online, people are looking for signals that say, “These are real people who know what they’re doing.” For local businesses, that means showing:
- Experience: talking from direct customer work, real examples, and firsthand knowledge.
- Expertise: clearly explaining a specific issue and giving practical guidance instead of vague promises.
- Authority: consistently publishing useful content and being recognized in the local community.
- Trust: being transparent, easy to contact, and genuinely helpful, not just promotional.
A strong Virtual Expo segment touches all four. It feels like a conversation with a real local expert, not a scripted ad. That’s what builds confidence in the business and in the chamber as a trustworthy connector.
Recommended 7-Minute Presentation Format
A seven-minute segment is long enough to be useful and short enough to stay disciplined. To keep things consistent and focus on the most important customer searches, each presenter can use the same simple structure:
- Who you are and who you help (about 45 seconds): State your business name, who you are, where you serve, and who your ideal customer is.
- Your focused topic (about 45 seconds): Name one specific subject for this presentation — a service, a problem, a misconception, or a local need.
- The customer problem (about 1 minute): Describe the real-world problem customers are dealing with, in everyday language.
- What people often get wrong (about 1 minute): Explain a common mistake, myth, or bad shortcut you see all the time.
- Your expert guidance (about 2 minutes): Share two or three practical points or “dos and don’ts” that show your expertise.
- Why you are different or especially local (about 1 minute): Connect the topic to what sets your business apart or how you serve the local community.
- Call to action (about 30 seconds): End with one clear next step — how people can contact you or what they should do if this topic applies to them.
This structure keeps each presentation practical, focused, and easy to reuse later in other formats, including social clips, blog posts, and follow-up virtual expos on different topics.
The Role of the Host and Producer
The host and producer set the tone for the entire experience. The producer’s job is to frame the purpose of the session, explain that it is a recording and content-creation event, and keep the program on schedule. The producer also helps presenters understand that “good enough” for live recording can be polished later in editing.
The host’s role is to welcome everyone, lower the temperature for nervous speakers, and guide each segment. A good host asks clear opening questions, gently steers presenters back to the focused topic, and uses follow-up questions to pull out good stories, examples, and practical advice instead of generic slogans.
Benefits for Participating Businesses
Participating in a Virtual Expo gives local businesses several advantages:
- They leave with a focused, reusable video segment that can live on long after the recording day.
- They can receive highlight clips and social-ready assets that make it easier to promote their expertise without extra production work.
- They get guided practice speaking clearly about a specific niche or differentiator, instead of relying on the same old elevator pitch.
- They can return for future expos with new topics, gradually building a library of content that shows more and more of what they do best.
Benefits for Viewers and Chamber Audiences
Viewers also gain from this format, whether they attend live or watch the finished expo later:
- They can learn about local businesses in short, useful segments rather than sitting through long, unfocused presentations.
- They can find presentations that match specific needs or questions instead of digging through general advertising.
- They can replay or share individual segments that resonate with them, which gives the content a longer life and more reach.
- They see their chamber actively helping businesses share real expertise, which increases trust in the chamber and in the local business community.
Virtual Expo Process Step by Step
To make the whole experience clear and predictable, you can describe the process in a simple, step-by-step way:
- Invite and prepare participants. Each business chooses one focused topic instead of a broad company overview.
- Share the outline. Presenters receive the seven-minute format so they can plan their segment and avoid rambling.
- Open the session with a quick outline. The producer explains that this is a recording session and that the polished Virtual Expo will be published later.
- Record each segment with a host. The host introduces the business, guides the conversation, and keeps the timing on track.
- Edit and package the content. Presentations are cleaned up, clipped, and organized into a final online Virtual Expo with individual segments.
- Publish and promote. The chamber and participants share links, highlight clips, and related content so the expo continues working for everyone over time.
FAQ About the Virtual Expo Process
Is the live recording session the actual Virtual Expo?
No. The live session is the recording and content-creation phase. The finished Virtual Expo is the edited, organized version that lives on the chamber’s website, YouTube channel, or other platforms after production.
Why don’t businesses just give a broad overview of everything they do?
Because broad overviews are easy to forget and hard to reuse. A narrow topic lets a business answer real questions in depth, show specific expertise, and create a segment that has long-term value beyond the event itself.
What if I’m not comfortable on camera?
You are not expected to deliver a perfect performance. The host will guide you, and the session can be edited. The goal is to capture your real experience and insight, not to film a flawless commercial.
Do I need a script?
You do not need to memorize a word-for-word script. It is more important to know your topic, your key points, and a few stories or examples. The seven-minute outline is there to keep you on track and prevent rambling.
How long will my segment be?
The target is about seven minutes per business. That is long enough to be helpful and short enough to keep viewers engaged, and it fits well with clipping and repurposing for social media and websites.
Can I participate more than once?
Yes. In fact, this format works best when businesses come back with new focused topics over time. Each new segment becomes another piece of useful content that shows what you do and why people can trust you.
What do I get after the expo?
After editing, you can receive your social kit and potentially shorter highlight clips or social media assets. You can use those pieces on your website, in your own channels, and in future marketing, while the chamber features them as part of the overall Virtual Expo.
Tom the producer (00:00)
Welcome. This is the first go round of the Bridgeton Area Chamber of Commerce, Bridgeton Beacon Virtual Expo recording. This is not the virtual expo itself. That'll live on the Chamber of Commerce YouTube or website and social channels when we provide the finished product in a Dropbox folder to the Chamber, as well as each of the participants who will get their own media kit with social posts and highlight clips from their segments.
Any text content, transcription optimization, or social media content provided to the participants will be done by visible.info. This is a map of the Bridgeton, New Jersey area with about a hundred and sixty data points that show your friend and ours flying first class equestrian center in Bridgeton. We started working with them and ran their initial audit on May twentieth. So about
20 days ago. And for kids' horseback riding lessons, they were showing up a position of 20th or below in Google Maps. And so you can see from May 20th until June 9th, we've gone from an average ranking of 18.9 for kids' horseback riding lessons to an average ranking, which means phone number above the fold in maps, of 2.06. And it's the first.
Three spots that appear above the fold in Google Maps listings. So for the local service of kids' horseback riding lessons or roofing or you're a boutique, if you're a local business, this gets your phone number above the fold and demonstrates your authority in your niche. That's visible.info. See below for the link to run an audit on your business.
Meg Hoerner (01:44)
Welcome to the first Bridgeton Area Chamber of Commerce Virtual Expo. My name is Meg Horner. I'm the host and moderator today. I also host the Bridgeton Beacon and we're happy to to be joined by three folks who are going to tell us a little bit about each of their businesses. And we're hopeful that those in the audience that may have had cold feet will see that that this doesn't hurt at all, and we're going to have a lot of fun today. So
Just a few things. I'm I'm going to introduce first Laurie Latour from La La Beating Creations.
Laurie - LaLa Beading Creations (02:21)
Megan, good to see you again. We've done this a few times and it's been really, really a blast. So La La Beating is myself, Laurie Latour, along with my partner, Sandia Celta. And we started this about 14, 15 years ago. We were each doing beating separately and husbands said, Are we ever going to make any money doing this? And we said, let's try it. So we do, you know, do craft shows, we do orders, just have a lot of fun.
And that's one of our main missions was if we're not having fun, we're done.
Meg Hoerner (02:53)
Show show us one or two pieces that you're promoting here today.
Laurie - LaLa Beading Creations (02:57)
Okay, so in our last session we showed a little bit about what we're calling a magnifier and we're calling it the magnificent magnifier necklace. And you ever go into a restaurant and you see the menu and you just can't quite grasp the print or you're sitting at your desk and you can't see it. So to add a little bling to your neckline, if you want to call it, we created these necklaces.
That are both a necklace as well as a magnifier. So some of them, like this one, are hidden behind a little, this one's a little gold filigree. So you don't even know when you're wearing this necklace that it is a magnifying glass. You can put it on, you can put other jewelry with it. Some are simple and plain, and you can add jewelry. We also make some, like this red one back here. I'm gonna pull it up forward. This one is actually two necklaces in one.
So there's the magnifier underneath this pretty little red and gray. There's the magnifier. The necklace can come off. So you could wear this with something just plain or put another necklace that you like with it. This red one can also come off and be its own necklace, or you can wear them together. So you really have three necklaces kind of in one.
Meg Hoerner (04:18)
Love to have options.
Laurie - LaLa Beading Creations (04:19)
Absolutely.
And as we get a little older, sometimes our eyesight isn't quite what it was and you don't want to have the readers out. You just wanna wear a piece of jewelry that you can kinda flip up and nobody even realizes that what it is underneath there. So they're kind of new. Yeah.
Meg Hoerner (04:35)
I love it. I love it. you don't have to name any names, but a a customer problem or an issue that you were able to help a client figure out what it was that they were looking for and how did you tackle that?
Laurie - LaLa Beading Creations (04:48)
Products are 100% guaranteed. So it's probably a little bit overkill on our part, but we want them to be right. We want our customer to be happy. So every once in a while, somebody will come and say, the thread broke and we'll replace it. So, you know, just reach out to us by phone, by email, however, and we'll put it back together. The hard part is hopefully you had all the beads. They didn't go flying all over the place. Another way we would do that is we had a bride.
she had gone on to an online e-commerce store and found a pair of earrings that she liked. They were ninety dollars. She really didn't feel it was a v a good value for her to spend ninety dollars for a pair of earrings that she was gonna wear for maybe four or five hours. So she showed showed us a picture and I said, Let's try it. I never met her until the day I handed them to her in a parking lot in Rosenhaine.
She wore them, she took pictures, she looked beautiful, and they were just what she wanted. In addition to the earrings, we gave her a bracelet for half of the price that she was gonna pay for just the earrings. So that's kind of a way you can work together and make a person's dream come true on a wedding day.
Patricia Mooningham (05:55)
Okay.
Meg Hoerner (06:01)
I was looking for a piece of jewelry for my mother-in-law who has a lot of jewelry. And I had a particular idea in mind, but I really wasn't sure exactly what I wanted. And you were kind enough to really sit down with me to pull out the different beads, to look at the different colors, to talk through what I was looking for. And the finished product was beautiful. Would you like people to email you, text you, call you on the phone?
And how much lead time do you really like to have?
Laurie - LaLa Beading Creations (06:32)
Yeah. so depending on the size of the piece, the lead time, you know, obviously if we have to buy supplies, it could take a little bit. But generally we have examples of things that you can take a look at. whatever you're most comfortable with, we can meet up, we can show people, because sometimes they don't have the concept of how tiny these beads are. Or blue is not just blue. There's a hundred different kinds of blues, a hundred different kinds of greens.
Even the blacks are different, matte versus a glossy, you know, a shine. So we really like to sit down with somebody and talk it through of what are they looking for. Maybe they have an idea in mind and maybe they don't have a clue and they just need to see some some samples. So we'll do whatever they're they're most comfortable with. and we we figure, you know, you can take forever searching stores and looking around.
But when you can physically see it, touch it, try it on, make sure it fits you. These are one of a kind in a way. So we want to be unique and want you to feel very special when you're wearing it because it's you. You created it and you should have that pride that I made my own necklace.
Meg Hoerner (07:41)
based out of Vineland, but from the sounds of it, you really could ship wherever if you wanted. Have you ever done that? Have you ever shipped something away to someone out of the area?
Laurie - LaLa Beading Creations (07:53)
Yeah, I had a a woman she bought it from one of our shows. I've sold things to a guy from Massachusetts. He told me what he wanted. Talk about something unique. They're a little elastic that fits on your golf glove velcro. So you can keep track of your strokes. He wanted to give as a Christmas gift to his friends. So I found the example, made for him and sent to him.
Meg Hoerner (08:19)
A lot of folks who are listening or watching who may want to reach out to you to learn more about that. Mm-hmm. So I guess if anybody wants to reach out to you, how can they get a hold of you?
Laurie - LaLa Beading Creations (08:25)
Yep. Golf counter.
So our phone number, I use my cell number, which is six nine three eight one nine two two two. Or our email is La La L A L A beating creations at gmail dot com. So phone number six nine three eight one nine two two two.
Meg Hoerner (08:51)
Thank you very much, Laurie And so with that, I am going to turn it over to Patricia Mooningham, who is the Passion Professor. Yes. And I'm gonna ask Patricia, welcome.
Patricia Mooningham (09:06)
And I'm actually here today to talk about my new partnership that I'm entering into with the Chamber for our business growth accelerator program. So I'm head of the programs and events committee here at the chamber. And one of the things we've really tried to focus on is what are business needs and how can the chamber support that need. So it's been a big focus, and one of the things we looked at was
Education. AI is everywhere and not everybody knows how to use it, how to best to implement it, where do they get started? What tools, things like that. So we came up with this educational program where I'll be partnering with the chamber and I'll get to use all of those things, right? So it'll include a training component, it'll include group coaching. And then for those who want a little bit more than that, it will also include a mastermind that they can be a part of. So
But then we looked at how do we make this accessible, right? So we created different tiers for different businesses. One of the important parts of this is it is good for any size business. So large businesses can benefit from interacting with small businesses as part of this program. Obviously, solarpreneurs and entrepreneurs who maybe don't have a ton of employees but are looking to grow and scale their business can benefit from this program by interacting with those large businesses.
So there's been a we went through a couple of versions of this. And one I sat down with Randy Galan, who is our second vice president or vice president at the chamber, sorry. And she went through this as a small business owner and said, Hey, this is great, because I had things in there like communication and leadership and succession planning and and digital media, things like that. And she said, But you know, she told me about a program she was doing with AI.
How can we put some AI education into all those? So then I came up with just an AI program, but then talking to some folks, we still needed those foundational skills. What does it mean to have good communication skills for your employees, for yourself? What is it to do to s what does it really mean to strategically implement AI into a business? what about leadership? Where are those skills? Like so often I just had this conversation with someone.
We promote people on technical skills and realize that they can't lead other people. So how does that work for businesses? So and marketing. Where marketing's so different now than it was even ten years ago, as you know, communication tools and social media tools. I think I was just talking to somebody the other day about TikTok and not having TikTok and not realizing you can shop on TikTok TikTok. Not that I need another place to shop, but
Those are all things that I think businesses would like to learn from each other and learn about.
Meg Hoerner (11:52)
Is it going to be a training with a finite beginning and end? Is it one on one? Walk us through if somebody's listening, they're like, you know, I really could use that for either a business I want to start or an existing business. Tal talk to us about what that what that looks like.
Patricia Mooningham (12:10)
So this is a six month cohort. So you'll be learning with the same group of individuals for six months. For this first edition, we're gonna limit it to twenty people because we wanna kinda test out the concept, see how well it's might be able to measure our results. But again, it could be small businesses, larger businesses, and they would meet monthly. So they would have training and then they would do that coaching because regardless of the tier you're in, you'll get to do the training and the group co coaching.
And also you'll have access to videos. We'll videotape that training. You'll have access to that training for a year if you sign up for the program. So not just that day, but for a year. Because what happens? We go to a training and I think statistics say you retain about 30% of what you learn in a training. All right. And then you want to apply it, but maybe it's two later. They would be able to go back and access that later. So that's one of the benefits of the program. The coaching we will not videotape.
It is included for all three tiers. And then as you get to the second and third tier after the coaching, the group coaching, there'll be a mastermind that people can participate in. So you know the coaching might have a specific question that people are doing and then the mastermind will be driven by the group needs. So we will start this program in October. It'll run six months. So from October through March, it's gonna meet I right now we have it scheduled to meet the second Wednesday of the month.
We have to double check there's no chamber meetings in there for the chamber board that it'll it'll conflict with. So that is the plan to meet once a month. And I said that that doesn't take people away from their business too often, but it's a a regular cadence that you're meeting. We'll open registration in July and currently we're working on a scholarship program for small businesses to be funded by the Chamber Foundation. So businesses with less than ten employees will get
we're working on an amount that they could get as a scholarship to help offset their costs. There'll also be if you pay for the whole program, there'll be a discount if you pay for the whole program up front. If you're sending multiple people, there's another program and there'll be a monthly payment opportunity as well for small businesses that might need to be able to make a payment plan as opposed to to having a budget. Not everybody has a training budget.
The nice thing is for larger organizations who maybe get into the end of the year and they have some extra training budget left over, this is a nice end of the year opportunity. They go ahead and sign up for it and it'll go into the next year.
Meg Hoerner (14:39)
And speaking of cost, what what are the costs for the three different tiers?
Patricia Mooningham (14:44)
So the first tier is a really reasonable one forty-nine. So if you've been online to see an online training, this is a three-hour training, plus you get access to the video. That's a great, and that's a chamber member cost. So it will be $199 per session per month for non-chamber members. One of the things we really wanted to drive in this partnership is the benefits of joining the chamber. All right. So there is a member rate versus a non-member rate.
then as you go up to the next tiers, it is two these have to off the top of my head, right? So it's two ninety-nine for and that includes the mastermind and some other toolkits and some other opportunities for individual coaching at the mid-tier. And then the top tier is six ninety-nine and eight ninety-nine member versus non-member pricing. So if you're thinking about joining the pro if you need this program and you're not a chamber member, the idea is
the difference in the value chamber member versus non chamber member, it makes sense to just go ahead and join the chamber and get get all those other benefits. So that was one of the things as I worked with the chamber on how can we really add value to the chamber membership in addition to participating in this program.
Meg Hoerner (15:56)
Okay. And is that a monthly fee or is that for the whole six months? That's
Patricia Mooningham (16:00)
the
monthly fee. Yes, that's a monthly fig. So and again, if you pay for the whole six months up front, you get a discount. There's like a ten percent discount for for full payment up front, or we you do a a down payment and then we can create a payment plan for those folks that need it.
Meg Hoerner (16:15)
Okay. And are you gonna be leading the trainings?
Patricia Mooningham (16:18)
Yes, I'll be leading the trainings. I'll be doing leading the coaching sessions. Of course, the mastermind will be a combination of whoever is participating in it. but I also may be bringing in some guest speakers depending on the topic, because especially with AI as it it changes daily, even sometimes. So I have been actually sourcing some some folks that even if I bring them in virtually to the training, that they can give top tips.
you know, whether it's on co pilot or I just learned I just did a great training with the S B D C on agents in Chat GPT, you know, and I thought I was pretty fluent in Chat GPT and she did a whole thing on agents, which was brand new. So the technology is changing every day. So like so we have a framework, but those resources and what we update for those AI pieces may change as things go on.
Meg Hoerner (17:08)
Right. And I I think that's really important for any size business in today's day and age, to recognize how AI can be used at a minimum in in marketing businesses. and and I know that's some things that we've talked about here on the beacon. So it sounds very exciting. Have you had any folks that have signed has it is it open yet or no? It's not gonna open yet.
Patricia Mooningham (17:30)
Registration
will run in July. Again, we're working on that scholarship piece. So some approvals for that. And then we'll have registration. So people will be able to go to my website. They'll be signing up through the Passion Professor. So they'll go to the PassionProfessor.com and it'll say the Bridgeton Business Growth Accelerator Program. There'll be options for members versus non-members. And then we'll also include a link if you want to join today, you know, to do that again to help promote the chamber.
Certainly if people have questions, they can email me at patricia at the passionprofessor dot com and I'm happy to answer any questions about it. We will also be doing a free kickoff session for training, just about five things businesses need right now and that will kind of give people a taste of it. And we'll do that in September so they can kind of see my training style. And at the end of that, that training we'll talk a little bit about this program so they can see more of the details and things will be more finalized then.
It'll also be on the Chamber website once everything's there'll be a link there. So either way, like I said, I'm doing this in partnership with the chamber. That's why there's those special rates for chamber members. Great reason to join the Bridget Area Chamber of Commerce is to get this training in at a very like I said, it's a very reasonable rate for the for members of the Chamber.
Meg Hoerner (18:47)
Upcoming chamber events. And maybe now's a good time to do that before we conclude by by speaking with Tony. there is going to be a joint chamber event. It's going to be, and Lori can correct me if I'm wrong, but it's going to be the British area chamber of commerce and the Millville Chamber are hosting a county progress report, community luncheon on Wednesday.
June 17th at 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. There's going to be a luncheon. Sandra Taylor, commissioner, director of the Cumberland County Commissioners, is going to be the feature featured speaker and panel host. $30 early bird rate per person. and there are opportunities for event hosts at $250 per hosting table.
And so that's going to be held at Rowan College of South Jersey over at the Luciano Center. Beautiful venue to have this event at. Next, wanted to let everybody know, if you didn't know already, that we are going to have a designer bag bingo on June twenty-sixth, twenty twenty-six. doors are open at five PM. The games are going to start at six thirty.
That's going to be held at the Millville Elks Lodge at 1815 East Broad Street in Millville. If you want to learn more about how to how to get involved in that, I'm actually going to be there that night doing the bingo moderating, as they say. So I'm really looking forward to that. So again, Friday, June 26, 2026, designer bag bingo.
and Spirit Health is going to be sponsoring that event. And then finally, wanted to remind everyone of our annual dog days of summer. That's going to be on Wednesday, August 12th, 2026, from 5 to 7 PM. That is our annual fundraiser for the Sheriff's Canine unit. $40 per person gets you a glass of wine, a $10 food voucher, and you get to bring.
your dogs with you and the donations and the contributions are are shared and get promoted to the Sheriff's Canine unit.
Patricia Mooningham (21:18)
Put a shameless plug in there. It's the Bridgeton Business Growth Accelerator Program that is sponsoring the door prizes. And then you know I'm gonna do a shameless plug that Whiskey Sunset is the entertainment for this year's dog days of summer. So if you're a a follower of Whiskey Sunset, come out, donate to a good cause and have a great night of music. We usually are always blessed with great weather for that event. Awesome.
Laurie - LaLa Beading Creations (21:23)
That's right.
Meg Hoerner (21:42)
Yeah. Can't wait. All right. Thank you. So Tony Novak of Nantuxent, tell us about your business, who you are, and who you serve.
Tony Novak (21:51)
six years ago we moved to Millville and I restarted my CPA practice here. I introduced myself as a tax problem solver. That's really my background. You know, usually you want to try to solve the problem before you think about litigation. So that's really been my focus and coming from a planning approach rather than a check the boxes and and go into litigation. So that's really been my strength.
over the years and what I notice now business owners are having trouble keeping up with technology and so I find that most of my work is in the coaching aspects of looking at the problem, really pulling out what are the real issues, what are the real priorities, what are we trying to accomplish. And in many cases now, unfortunately, the IRS problem, we may want to solve the problem and we can't. Because we can't reach somebody. We can't reach somebody competent.
And it's it's it changes the ballgame. We have to look at things in a different way and come up with a different type of approach. And we notice specifically in this area, the background of business owners, small business owners is skewed very heavily to most of my clients are over age sixty-five. Most of them own a business and think they know what they're gonna do to end that business, sell it or get out of it.
But in reality, there's no there's no plan. The real problems come when there's actually a physical crisis, whether that's a health condition or a family crisis or sometimes a divorce. And and I'm finding out that that business planning, end of career business planning has become a big part of what's needed around here and something that I've been able to
step in and have some success stories. If somebody's wondering could that could Tony be any of any use to me, someone that has is stressed, they've received a a letter in the mouth from the house. That's really what they want. They want to pick up the phone. They want to call somebody like me. And most CPAs would say that's exactly the kind of call I don't want to take. But I I take the opposite approach. So so I really do encourage people that whatever if you think you have a problem, reach out and just have a conversation.
There's no there's no cost, there's no pressures, there's no obligation. We talk about what can be done and what can't be done and what your other options are. A specific type of case that I'm I'm getting a lot of right now, and that is the the the the self-employed, the business owner, where business has slowed down in whether it's tariffs, whether it's the economy, whether it's disposable income of customers, whatever. Business has slowed down. And
Very often, unfortunately, the first bill that doesn't get paid is often the tax bill. And if you're self employed, that's a self employment tax, fifteen percent of your net, it piles up in a hurry. And if you have employees, unfortunately it's often the what are called trust funds. Your employees, social security. That's serious when you don't pay that. You can be talking about the criminal situations and I I I
I'm I'm one of the relative few CPAs that does handle criminal cases. So it but it's important to step back and really look at the whole big picture of of your of your life, really. If you're in that type of situation, you have to look about look at how this problem may affect your your life. And I am working with a a trucker right now, the young guy in his thirties, built up he had forty trucks on the road, but when tariffs came down that he just started losing contracts and losing business.
And fuel prices went up and he was thinking about bankruptcy. As a matter of fact, the bankruptcy was our plan and we actually he mostly negotiated out of that. We talked it through. I handled the IRS, he handled his leasing truck leasing companies. And yeah, he's still in a world to hurt. There's no way around it. It's gonna affect his life. He's half a million dollars in in debt to the IRS. But there's some re heals some real estate which is hopefully going up in value and we can we can work
through those problems and we could talk about his priorities. And we talked about he had con confided with me that he actually started seeing a therapist, which was, you know, wonderful news. That's exactly what you need in that kind of situation. But the point is, what he thought was going to be disastrous, possible criminal risk, bankruptcy, we were able to s pretty much solve that. We're now we're talking civilly. We're going to f come up with a problem. The revenue agent is is willing to work with us because we've established credibility.
And we can work through and it's gonna take a couple of years. But the point is, again, that's the kind of service, that's the kind of story that I'm really happy to be proud of. And my bet is that he will be running another successful business within a f within a few years.
Meg Hoerner (26:50)
How do you prefer people to reach out to you and can you give us your contact information?
Tony Novak (26:54)
Nantuxant dot com is is my website, N-A-N-T-U-X-E-N-T dot com eight five six two three seven nine one nine nine. Again, that works better than a business number or than the office number, and I don't mind taking a call or a text.
Meg Hoerner (27:13)
Tony, very nice to meet you. Thank you so much for joining us here today at the Expo.
Tony Novak (27:18)
Thank you, Mike.
Tom the producer (27:19)
Certainly, there'll be a media kit folder for all the participants. If you post a seven-minute video about X, Y, or Z on your website, that is awesome. If you in teamwork throughout the year post on the local chamber website together, your videos will get deferential treatment. So we'll be providing a media kit that is something for the participants individually to use on their social posts.
The Bridget and Beacon will post individually about every participant, what's going on, what they're doing. And then we'll be giving the Bridgeton Area Chamber of Commerce the hub media kit to begin dissemination on the BACC YouTube. Or we're going to publish it on the Bridget and Beacon YouTube and we'll invite the Beacon as or the
chamber as a collaborator, which you can now do, and we'll just share audiences on all those videos because the beacon does pretty well and already gets AI inclusion on everything. So those are all the options. But each of you will get your own media kit link with highlights and written content and a finished a link to the finished product that will be fully produced.
Meg Hoerner (28:35)
And we would love to to see everyone come back. I'm Meg Horner. I am the founder and host, as Tom said, of the Bridgeton Beacon. Tom is our producer, Tom Ritter. And we started the Bridgeton Beacon five years ago. We just had our fifth anniversary to do just this: to promote people, places, and things, shine a spotlight on all the good things that are going on in the South Jersey area. We give
Preferential treatment to Brighton Area Chamber of Commerce members. and so if you have any questions about how we can help you promote your business, please feel free to reach out, Bridgnon Beacon dot com. I'm Meg Horner. My cell phone number is six nine eight nine two nine seven zero. And thank you again. Thank you, everyone, for joining.
Patricia Mooningham (29:07)
No