RESET IMAGINES A WORLD BEYOND BUSINESS AS USUAL
LEARN HOW THE ONE DAY SUMMIT IS HELPING ENTREPRENEURS BUILD A RESILIENT FUTURE
The path to entrepreneurship is sometimes paved with cement and concrete or duct tape and energy drinks. However you choose to forge your path, the road to building a business requires resilience. On May 7, reSET will present, Beyond Business As Usual, a one day summit designed to help business owners scale resilient entrepreneurship.
This past year has delivered a myriad of obstacles for small business owners — from tariffs and inflation to immigration and politics. No matter if you’re a seasoned small business owner or an emerging entrepreneur, it can be tough navigating this rocky terrain on your own. Even if small business ownership feels like a solo mission, building community is a necessary part of the journey.
Beyond Business As Usual 2026 brings together entrepreneurs, funders, policymakers and ecosystem leaders from across Connecticut for a day of connection. This summit will provide insight and action by including engaging panel discussions with audience Q&A, interactive roundtables and plenty of opportunities to explore innovative approaches to funding, policy and business growth. Attendees will also have the opportunity to learn directly from experts and peers to tackle real challenges facing small businesses today, from accessing capital to navigating regulatory systems and scaling sustainably. While being a small business owner requires you to master all trades, resilience is the most important skill you can have in your arsenal. “No matter how you find your way into entrepreneurship, you have to suspend disbelief and be willing to just keep going. The value of a supportive network of peers and community is so important.”
Cafeteria sits down with Executive Director Sarah Bodley to discuss what attendees can expect from Beyond Business As Usual. Continue scrolling to learn more.
CAFETERIA MEDIA: WHAT IS THE MISSION OF BEYOND BUSINESS AS USUAL?
Sarah Bodley: Beyond Business As Usual has been a staple for reSET for a long time. Our first summit was in 2010 and each year, we choose a theme. This year, we've leaned into the theme of Scaling Resilient Entrepreneurship. When we started planning this event in the middle of last year, we were really grappling with and still are, this uncertain and ever-changing moment that we're in. We really wanted to make sure that we are focusing on the more positive side of things – what is Connecticut doing to make sure that we are set up for businesses’ growth and success, regardless of the chaos that is happening at the federal level.
We also want to hold space for setting intentions around how we are advocating for good change as well. We purposely chose a broad theme because we wanted to allow folks to come in and be a part of the conversation. Our mission at reSET is to support social entrepreneurship, so there is a focus throughout the summit around supporting businesses that are both financially stable and viable, but that are also prioritizing having a positive impact in their communities. The trends are proving that people really want to have more conversations about building a more resilient and sustainable future. Beyond Business As Usual offers us a chance to get together and think about what’s on the horizon, especially as it relates to how we're all doing this kind of work because it's still evolving and adapting in so many ways to the needs of the world and to our own communities.
CAFETERIA: HOW DOES THE SUMMIT HELP BUSINESS OWNERS AND ENTREPRENEURS WHO ARE NEWER TO THE SCENE AND MAY NOT KNOW WHERE TO START?
SB: We work with entrepreneurs who are in the beginning of their journeys so this is definitely a great event to attend. We’ll have lots of networking opportunities throughout the summit so that’ll be helpful for everyone. The topics we’re focusing on will take two directions. The first will be centered around policy and understanding what's happening at the state level and some of the initiatives and programs that Connecticut has in place. We’re thinking about the future that entrepreneurs should be aware of and can tap into.
The summit is valuable for both seasoned small business owners and for those who may not be aware of the latest initiatives. If you're early on in your career and you’re just trying to get the lay of the land, this will be a great chance to learn about resources that are available to entrepreneurs. The first panel of the day is “Envisioning Connecticut's Resilient Future.” In addition to looking at it through the state lens, we'll also have a national partner who's talking about what it means to be a sustainable business. Camilla Taylor, the director of the American Sustainable Business Network, spends most of her time making the case for sustainability. I think it'll be interesting to understand what folks are doing all over the country and what are some of the issue areas that they're focused on.
The second panel is called “Breaking Barriers: Regulatory Reform for Small Businesses” and it's very tactical. It’s a great fit for someone who's already running a business and wants to figure out how to participate in advocacy in a smart and strategic way that's aligned with their own values. It’s helpful if you're starting out in your business and you don't know about some of these regulations, as well as the network that supports navigating them. This will be a great panel to unpack that in a more tactical way. We have an entrepreneur featured, Caroline Tanbee Smith, who's on the Board of Alders in New Haven, as well as a fellow from CBIA Foundation, who's speaking directly with entrepreneurs to understand what matters to them. The third topic is called “Funding the Future Beyond Traditional Capital”. This is really more about accessing loans in particular. We'll be diving into the gap where folks might know about the micro loans and the opportunities available when you're just getting started. Most of us know about banks, but there's also a lot of challenges that come along with getting to the point of acquiring a regular bank loan. The panel will go over what happens in between those two steps and what other options exist. We’ll talk about how founders are thinking creatively.
CAFETERIA: HOW DOES BEYOND BUSINESS HELP BREAK DOWN BARRIERS TO ACCESS AND MAKE ENTREPRENEURSHIP MORE ACCESSIBLE?
A lot of folks start businesses because they have to – they feel like it's the only option to make a life that will work for them. A lot of people want to be their own boss and make their own mark in the world. There are certainly a lot of folks who have a vision and want to offer a way to make things better.
No matter how you find your way into entrepreneurship, you have to suspend disbelief and be willing to just keep going. The value of a supportive network of peers and community is so important. The entrepreneurs that we engage with tell us about the incredible value of having a community. It’s crucial to be able to share what you’re working on and get feedback in real time, as well as get inspiration from other people who you may not have met otherwise.
Building community is definitely one of the themes of this event. It's one of the reasons why we have so many networking opportunities. We are big believers in collaboration and partnership so when you come to this event, you’ll see a whole community of support organizations that have signed on as partners that are helping promote this summit to their own networks. They will also be present that day so participants can actually meet and hear from them as well.
One really cool thing we're doing for the first time ever is a breakout session called the Trading Post. It's an interactive, small group mastermind format. There will be different tables with specific topics and we’ll have a facilitator present at each table who specializes in that topic. The groups will rotate, giving everyone a chance to explore and learn about different issue areas. You'll be able to sit down in a small group of six to eight people with an expert and ask any questions you might have. It is a rapid format, so it won’t be an hour long coaching call, but you’ll get an up close and personal interaction with thought leaders. We're really excited to experiment with this because it’s important to spark some connection and inspiration.
For example, AI is a really hot topic right now, so we've got someone who will be facilitating a table on that. There’s also a table on digital marketing and there will be a banker in the mix. There’s another table on how to pay yourself and our friends at the Women's Business Development Council have a whole workshop series, but they’re going to condense it in a short format. It'll be an exciting way to dig into more topics that may not be covered in a panel.
CAFETERIA: IT FEELS LIKE BEYOND BUSINESS ITSELF IS A GOOD MODEL FOR BALANCING STRATEGIC BUSINESS-MAKING DECISIONS WHILE ALSO HAVING A POSITIVE SOCIAL IMPACT.
SB: I would be remiss not to mention that terms like impact and social enterprise are phrases that not everyone wants to adopt and that's okay. Beyond Business As Usual is really here to support everyone’s unique journey. What does being a business leader look like for you? What are your values? What is the mark you want to make on the world? We’re here to help you figure out how to do that in a way that works for you. That can look like community programs or events or perhaps, it’s just your actual product or service that is generating impact. There is more than one way to be a sustainable and strategic business owner. We aren’t going to tell you what your business model should be, but we want to challenge you to think outside of the box of how that can happen. We also recognize that it takes time. It may not work right out of the gate and that’s okay. Optimism is a part of resilience and sometimes, you just have to keep trying and adapting to find new solutions.
CAFETERIA: HOW CAN BEYOND BUSINESS ATTENDEES CONTINUE TO BENEFIT FROM THE SUMMIT BEYOND THE EVENT DAY? HOW CAN THEY CONTINUE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE INFORMATION THAT THEY’VE BEEN GIVEN AS WELL AS THE NETWORKS THAT THEY’RE EXPOSED TO?
SB: We always try to have helpful takeaways so attendees will certainly receive very handy materials throughout the day. We're working on little take-home gifts as well, but more tactically, we have all of these amazing partners at the table, so there will certainly be lots of opportunities to make sure that they're getting our partners’ contact information and staying in touch directly with them.
We're also committed to making sure that we have a follow up post event. We'll have a digital program that attendees can come back and access links so they can do a deeper dive beyond the day of the summit. One of our relentless commitments is if you come to this event and there's something that you want out of it, we always also provide feedback forms afterwards. If you want to be involved in the next summit or if you want to plug a program, we’ll make all of those kinds of opportunities available right after the event, along with panel summaries and take homes because it is a long day. We understand if you’re only able to come for half of the day, so we’ll make sure to have handouts of all the great content so that attendees can refer back to our resources and take advantage of any actionable items that may emerge from the day. will capture all of that and, and try to publish some take-aways afterward.
CAFETERIA: HOW CAN ATTENDEES BEST PREPARE THEMSELVES FOR THE DAY?
SB: If these topics resonate with you, come prepared with questions, especially for the interactive Trading Post. We’ll also have Q&As following our panels. If you have a burning question, be ready because there will be plenty of opportunities to ask.
Besides that, bring a business card and be ready to network the heck out of this day because some of our especially esteemed panelists are folks that are sometimes hard to reach otherwise. We definitely encourage attendees to make the most of networking opportunities. There will be moments during breakfast and lunch specifically designated for connecting with fellow attendees and panelists. Sparks emerge from these moments so we’ll do anything in our power to support that continued connection beyond the summit, but we also rely on our attendees to be a part of that next phase as well.