Delve into 12: Brian Volner

LAKEWOOD RANCH — In many ways, Brian Volner feels like he’s found his sweet spot.

As a the retail sales manager at Community Bank and the new president of the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance, Volner’s work and spare time both are dedicated to helping small businesses improve and succeed.

“It’s just fun,” Volner said, smiling.

As Volner leads the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance into 2012, Volner admits much of his agenda is keeping the organization running smoothly, improving the quality of programs and meeting the needs of the Alliance’s existing members.

“I want to continue what’s begun through previous leadership,” Volner said. “My No. 1 objective is to ensure we are representing our members and we continue that member-focus mentality.”

LENDING A VOICE
A metal figure on Volner’s desk serves as a constant reminder of his goal to help businesses improve and find innovative ways to approach challenges. It depicts a stick man dangling over the edge outside a box.

“Risk is in everything,” Volner said. “But, if you can mitigate that risk, then you have a huge competitive advantage.”

And that, Volner said, is what the Alliance aims to help businesses accomplish. Because the organization doesn’t measure success by the number of members it has — although that number is growing — it remains focused on helping its existing member businesses succeed by providing them the right tools to forge ahead, through programming and other offerings.

Organization leaders are working to see how they can improve already-successful events, such as the Breakfast of Champions educational series and others, rather than simply adding more events for members, for example. The goal, Volner said, is to offer quality programming over quantity. Providing quality opportunities to meet and engage with other business owners also is a top priority, he said.
“It’s not just about getting (business) cards,” Volner said. “We prefer that folks engage in meaningful conversations. It’s a relational networking organization.”

New this year, however, will be the Alliance’s push in the political realm. The Alliance’s board of directors, with the help of the Governmental Affairs Committee, will continue making recommendations for the upcoming state and local elections. Then, Alliance’s separate Committee of Continuous Existence will host fundraisers and show support for the Alliance’s preferred candidates. The CCE is its own entity, with its own board of directors, although it is guided by the Alliance.

“One of the reasons the (Alliance) was founded in 2005 was to give the businesses in our area a voice,” Volner said, noting Alliance recommendations support candidates it feels are most pro-business. “It goes back to what is best, in our opinion, for our community. We really want to be that organization that is willing to take a position.”

OPERATIONAL SUCCESS
Volner first was introduced to the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance in late 2007, after hearing a “buzz” about the organization.

“It just started with going to a networking event just to check it out,” Volner said. “When I got out of my car (at that first meeting), there was no parking. (After that first event), I was sold.”

Volner joined in 2008 and immediately got involved, serving on various committees.

“We’re a member-driven organization,” Volner said. “The members volunteer their time on a committee and volunteer their skill sets on those and determine our success as an organization.”

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].

RECOVERY BEGINS LOCALLY
Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance President Brian Volner said he also hopes the Alliance also can help attract new businesses to the area, over the long-term, while also encouraging its members to do business with fellow Alliance members. In the years ahead, the concept likely will include some sort of partnership with local economic development groups to work toward that goal.

“I believe economic recovery begins locally,” he said. “The more quality businesses we have in this community, the more successful the community is going to be. It’s off to a great start.”

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