Who are Ambassadors:
The Ambassadors are community stakeholders who are committed to helping their local small businesses. They are to helping their local small businesses come back stronger after COVID-19 economic devastations. These volunteers understand the critical roles local small businesses play their community from job creation to supporting the kids’ soccer/baseball and all other neighborhood /community events. These volunteers also understand that their small businesses are part of the community identity and should be preserved. It takes special individuals to step-up to the task of volunteering as a Community Overseer.
What Ambassadors do:
The Ambassadors are responsible for to initiating a request to iBStrong to establish a specified region/community sub-portal. The iBStrong services will not be available in the community until the Community Ambassadors request for it. Three (3) Ambassadors are required to initiate the request. There are no ceilings on the number of ambassadors. The community needs as many volunteers to help focus on the different local small business awareness efforts.
The Ambassadors – Shop Local Businesses are responsible for creating awareness in their respective communities and recruiting volunteers to join the effort. The process for setting up a board to oversee the initiative is ongoing.
- A registration of at least three (3) ambassadors activates a request for iBStrong to establish a specified region/community sub-portal.
- iBStrong reviews and approves request to ensure legitimacy and compliance with the sub-portal requirements.
- iBStrong creates a sub-portal for the requested region/community.
- Create awareness and promote Community/Regional Business Registry and encourage local small business to register
- Create awareness and promote “Search & Go Shop Local Businesses”. (Search Community/Regional Business Registry).
- This will enable the following:
- Establishment of Regional/Community Business Registry
- Establishment of Regional/Community Certification for various disadvantaged small businesses including MBE/WBE, VBE, LSBE, etc. (Local board makes this recommendation).
- Publication of the contact information of the Regional/Community Ambassadors on the site
Who Ambassadors serve:
The Community/Regional Ambassadors serve the local small businesses in their community by encouraging /promoting the “Search & Go Shop Local Businesses” initiative. It is important to understand what this means.
- Search: The local small businesses are registered on the community/regional registry listing their offerings. This provides the community one spot to search for businesses in their community and to look-up all the offerings in the community with one spot.
- Go Shop Local Businesses: The search only look at the local businesses within the community. The search results would simplify the process of knowing products/services within the community. Then, go shop THEM!
- The iBStrong portal provides some tools to support the Overseers efforts, among which are:
- Direct and targeted communication with local small businesses on the Community/Regional Business Registry.
- Coordinated/Grouping of destination shopping promotional community events
- Publish best practices from around the nation from other communities/regions (knowledge-share)
The benefits of having a viablie local businesses go beyond the well-being of the businesses. It impacts the entire local economic eco-system and public services that depends on tax revenues: schools, road/bridges, safety and health services. Therefore, it is in the interest of the community that our local small businesses thrive as our collective lives depends on it.
How to Volunteer as Ambassador:
There is registration process for volunteers who want to become Amabassadors. It is a simple and straight forward process. The registration asks for some basic information: name, address, contact information, etc. The registration is online : www.ibstrong.org. The Ambassadors have a great impact on the success or failure of the initiative in their given community/region. They direct the affairs of their respective community/region as may be required occasionally. If you enjoy doing something bigger than themselves, this could be a legacy defining opportunity, helping save America’s job creaters, our local small businesses. The most important point is that you will be making a difference!