Building Community and Connection in Business with Ruth Ellen Elinski

**SPEAKER_1** (0:05)
The Bliss Business Podcast, the show about empathy, connection, and consciousness in business. Today's episode is brought to you by Zero Company, your paid search, social media, and programmatic ad experts.

**Stephen Sakach** (0:19)
Welcome back to the show, everyone. I'm Stephen Sakach here again with my co-host Tullio Siragusa, and our special guest who we'll introduce in a moment.
So small businesses are often described as the backbone of the economy, but behind every successful business, often a network of support relationships and community. And according to the US. Small Business Administration, small businesses account for 44 percent of US economic activity, highlighting their critical role in driving growth and innovation.
For entrepreneurs, especially those building in local communities or rural communities, connection is not just helpful, it is essential. And access to resources, mentorships, and strong networks can make the difference between struggling and thriving. So today we are exploring how community and connection shape business success and what leaders can do to strengthen the ecosystems around them. Tullio, introduce our special guest today.

**Tullio Siragusa** (1:20)
My pleasure. Our guest today is Ruth Ellen Elinski. She is the Associate State Director of the Arizona SBDC Network. Ruth Ellen is an entrepreneur who has launched multiple businesses and co-founded PinDrop Travel Trailers, an award-winning manufacturing company based in Miami, Arizona that was named one of America's top 100 small businesses by the US. Chamber of Commerce in 2024
Her experience spans business ownership, non-profit leadership, and economic development, including serving on a 20-member board of directors and contributing to statewide initiatives, such as Governor Hobbs Educator Retention Task Force and a returned Peace Corps volunteer and fellow of the Flynn Brown Leadership Academy. Ruth Ellen brings a deep commitment to community leadership and supportive entrepreneurs across Arizona, Ruth Ellen, welcome to The Bliss Business Podcast. We're excited to speak with you today.

**Ruth Ellen Elinski** (2:26)
Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here. I appreciate the invitation.

**Stephen Sakach** (2:31)
Yeah, it should be fun. So, Ruth Ellen, you've worked closely with entrepreneurs in small businesses across these different communities. From your perspective, what role does community play in the success of a business?
Sure.

**Ruth Ellen Elinski** (2:47)
This is a great lead-in question. I think that community is everything to small businesses.
I really have experienced this myself, but for sure in advising other small business owners in my role with the Small Business Development Center Network, it's so important for businesses to know what other small businesses are in their community, what other resources they have available, and how to tap into community leadership, as well as other business owners' expertise and mentorship. This just brings a whole other level of understanding of what entrepreneurship is about and how to be successful in your own community.

**Stephen Sakach** (3:41)
Yeah, so for the audience, can you describe a little bit about just some of the services and things that you provide in that role?

**Ruth Ellen Elinski** (3:50)
Oh, sure. I actually started as what we call in the network, a business advisor, and what's excellent about the Small Business Development Center Network is there's a network in every state. We are a federally funded program, but this program, the Small Business Development Center Networks, provide no cost, so absolutely free, confidential, expert, advising to businesses from anything from business planning to financial recording to things like preparing to pitch your idea to a panel of judges or investors. We have access to a lending community, so we can put you in touch with different resources to access capital.
So it's really just a big scale of resources and expert advising that can help any business in whatever stage they're in.

**Tullio Siragusa** (5:02)
Now, Ruth Ellen, you've built your own business in a rural community. What did that experience teach you about the importance of building connection and also, especially connection, like in the local ecosystem?

**Ruth Ellen Elinski** (5:19)
Sure. I think one of the things I always like to talk about is when you're specifically in rural, you know, there's different challenges in rural communities, as you can imagine.
There's fewer resources. You have longer distances between yourself and vendors over resources. And, you know, it's not for everyone. You know, it would be very easy or easier for some of these enterprises that are based in more rural communities to just move to an urban center.
And likely it would provide additional access and maybe be a little bit easier and provide the opportunity for long term sustainability. But when you choose to be in a rural community, you have to kind of accept the fact that those are the challenges that go along. And of course, entrepreneurs, right, they're up for anything typically. And so when you're picking a rural community, I think it does pose additional challenges that you might not expect. I think one of the most important ways to address those challenges, again, is to really understand the resources that are available and build a foundation of support and a customer base in your home community. And really be able to tell your story to those that are in the community so that you're building that personal connection with people who live and work alongside you. It's so important for entrepreneurs to have that, not only a system of support, but really be able to lean on the local community for regular income when there's other barriers to people coming into your community. So that's, I mean, number one is just, is really building that foundation of a customer base. So you don't have to rely on people coming into your community to be profitable.