Over the past year, persistent inflation has posed major challenges for small business owners across all industries. With economic uncertainty expected to continue into 2024, we’ll bring together top experts and fellow entrepreneurs to devise strategies to strengthen your business and successfully scale obstacles, while identifying hidden opportunities to help you succeed in the new year and beyond.
For CNBC Small Business Playbook editorial coverage, stories and video, visit www.cnbc.com/small-business-playbook/.
Elena Delle Donne is one of the most dynamic professional basketball players in the history of women’s basketball. On the court, she shines with her confidence and complete game. Off the court, Elena is a family woman, dedicated wife, philanthropist, and outdoor lover.
Born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware, Elena has always held a strong sense of herself and possessed a spirited love for her family. Growing up, she played a variety of sports but ultimately found a love for basketball. She chose to play at the University of Delaware to stay close to home. In her freshman season at Delaware, she was named the Colonial Athletic Associations’ Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year.
Her brilliance continued as Elena was drafted 2nd overall by the Chicago Sky in the 2013 WNBA Draft. After an explosive first season, she was crowned the 2013 Rookie of the Year. She continued her dominance and is a six-time WNBA All-Star (2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019), WNBA Scoring Campion (2015), a two-time Most Valuable Player (2015, 2019), and a WNBA Champion with the Washington Mystics (2019).
Off-court, Elena is one of the most marketable women’s athletes. Her key partnerships include Nike and Gatorade. After headlining the Nike’s inclusive and adaptive FlyEase series of shoes, she launched her own series of signature shoes, the Nike Air Deldon. She is also the founder of Deldon Designs, a woodworking business.
Elena’s attentiveness to her philanthropic efforts is what sets her apart. Her sister, Lizzie, was born blind and deaf, while also having cerebral palsy and autism. Additionally, during Elena’s time in college, she discovered she was suffering from Lyme disease and has made an effort throughout her career to find a cure. Her experiences led to Elena founding The Elena Delle Donne Charitable Foundation. The foundation aims to raise funds for and awareness of Lyme Disease research and special needs programs. Through her philanthropic dedication, Elena was named a Special Olympics Global Ambassador in 2014.
Barbara Corcoran’s credits include straight D’s in high school and college and 20 jobs by the time she turned 23. It was her next job that would make her one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the country: She borrowed $1,000 and quit her job as a waitress to start a tiny real estate company in New York City. Over the next 25 years Barbara would parlay that $1,000 loan into a $5 billion real estate business, building the largest and best-known brand in the business.
Corcoran is the author of the best seller “Shark Tales: How I Turned $1,000 into a Billion Dollar Business!” and host of top podcasts “Business Unusual with Barbara Corcoran”.
Corcoran is a motivational and inspirational speaker. She is a frequent small business and real estate contributor on every major network. Corcoran has been an investor/Shark for the past twelve seasons on ABC’s four-time Emmy award winning show, Shark Tank, investing in over 80 businesses to date. Follow Barbara on Twitter and Instagram @BarbaraCorcoran.
Dr. Marcus Collins is an award-winning marketer and cultural translator with one foot in the world of practice—formerly serving as the Head of Strategy at Wieden+Kennedy, New York—and one foot in the world of academia—as a marketing professor at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan.
His deep understanding of brand strategy and consumer behavior has helped him bridge the academic-practitioner gap for blue-chip brands and startups alike. He is a recipient of Advertising Age's 40 Under 40 award and Crain's Business' 40 Under 40 award, and an inductee into the American Advertising Federation’s Advertising Hall of Achievement. Most recently, he was recognized by Thinkers50 with the Radar Distinguished Achievement Award for the idea most likely to shape the future of business management. He has also served as a jury for the Cannes Lion International Festival of Creativity.
Before joining Wieden+Kennedy, he served as the Chief Consumer Connections Officer at Doner Advertising and led Social Engagement at Steve Stoute’s advertising agency, Translation. Over the course of his career, Marcus has developed a practice for creating culturally contagious ideas that inspire people to take action. His strategies and creative contributions have led to the launch and success of Google’s “Real Tone” technology, the “Made In America” music festival, the Brooklyn Nets, and State Farm’s “Cliff Paul” campaign – among others.
Prior to his advertising tenure, Marcus began his career in music and tech with a startup he co-founded before working on iTunes + Nike sport music initiatives at Apple and running digital strategy for Beyoncé.
Marcus’ work centers squarely on the impact of culture and the power that comes from having great cultural proximity. His best-selling book, For The Culture: The Power Behind What We Buy, What We Do, and Who We Want to Be, examines the influence of culture on consumption and unpacks how everyone from marketers to activists can leverage culture to get people to take action. Throughout the book, he relies on literature, case studies, his work with brands, and academic data to illustrate the “whys” and the “hows” so that readers will be empowered to successfully apply these learnings in their own pursuits.
Marcus holds a doctorate in marketing from Temple University where he studied cultural contagion and meaning-making. He received an MBA with an emphasis on strategic brand marketing from the University of Michigan, where he also earned his undergraduate degree in Material Science Engineering. He is a Forbes columnist and a trusted voice among CMOs and business leaders. But most importantly, he is a proud Detroit native, a devoted husband, and a loving father to Georgia and Ivy.
Dr. Kory Kantenga is a Senior Economist for LinkedIn and a member of its Economic Graph Research and Insights Team. His work focuses on surfacing insights on labor markets and the macroeconomy at large. Kantenga’s areas of expertise include employment and wages, skills and technology, job search and matching, and competition and innovation. His insights and commentary have been featured in Bloomberg, The Financial Times, Fortune, and The Washington Post. Prior to joining LinkedIn, Kory worked in economic consulting, focusing on antitrust and intellectual property matters, and served as a postdoctoral fellow at the European University Institute. He holds a Masters of Sciences in economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Doctorate in economics from the University of Pennsylvania.
1:00pm ET
1:05pm
After a turbulent 2023, dominated by persistent inflation, high interest rates, and worker shortages, what will the new year bring? We’ll examine the economic outlook for 2024 and what that will mean for your business.
Kory Kantenga, LinkedIn Senior Economist
Holly Wade, National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Executive Director
Moderator: Emily Wilkins, CNBC DC Correspondent
1:20pm
An ice cream shop owner in San Francisco became the latest victim of a suspected antisemitic hate crime recently, leaving her business severely vandalized and her heart shattered. She’ll share her story of how she has transformed her feelings of sadness and fear into strength and her new playbook on how she’s moving forward with love.
Robyn Sue Fisher, Smitten Ice Cream Founder & CEO
Interviewer: Sara Eisen, CNBC Co-Anchor, “Squawk on the Street” & “Money Movers”
1:35pm
Businesses have become increasingly vocal when it comes to speaking out on hot button political and social issues. But with that comes the risk of scrutiny and backlash from stakeholders. We’ll examine risk vs reward, and how to develop a framework to determine when to speak out, and how.
Marcus Collins, Author, University of Michigan Asst. Professor of Marketing
Interviewer: Sara Eisen, CNBC Co-Anchor, “Squawk on the Street” & “Money Movers”
1:45pm
Employees are the lifeblood of every organization, yet recruiting and retaining top talent continues to be a major challenge for small businesses. A performance specialist will draw on his work with championship caliber pro sports teams to offer key strategies to increase trust, collaboration, commitment, and productivity to create a higher-performing workplace and culture in 2024.
Justin Su’a, Organizational Performance Specialist
Interviewer: Tyler Mathisen, CNBC “Power Lunch” Co-Anchor & Vice President, Events Strategy
1:55pm
To become a WNBA all-star and Olympic gold medalist, it takes grit, preparation, goal setting, and the ability to embrace competition while overcoming adversity. Now, this 2-time MVP will share her playbook on applying those same skills to entrepreneurship, and how she’s turned two off-the-court passion projects into full-fledged businesses.
Elena Delle Donne, WNBA’s Washington Mystics & Entrepreneur
Interviewer: Deirdre Bosa, CNBC “TechCheck” Anchor
2:05pm
Sponsored and Programmed by Oracle NetSuite
Businesses have traditionally been asked to do more with less, but today’s environment is taking it to a whole new level. Small businesses especially are feeling the squeeze. In this discussion, we’ll talk about ways small businesses are leveraging technology, allowing them to gain a competitive advantage and bolster profitability.
Michael Levy, Undercover Snacks Co-Owner & Chairman
Sam Levy, Oracle NetSuite SVP Growth and Operations
Moderator: Shibani Joshi, CNBC Events Contributor
2:15pm
For fifteen seasons, she’s helped entrepreneurs take their businesses to the next level on “Shark Tank”. Now, this shark, who built her own small business into a billion-dollar corporation, joins us to talk tips on how you can set your business up to succeed in the new year, and answer your questions.
Barbara Corcoran, The Corcoran Group Founder and “Shark Tank” Shark
Interviewer: Kristina Partsinevelos, CNBC NASDAQ Reporter
2:30pm
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Comcast Business offers Ethernet, Internet, Wi-Fi, Voice, TV and Managed Enterprise Solutions to help organizations of all sizes transform their business. Powered by an advanced network, and backed by 24/7 customer support, Comcast Business is one of the largest contributors to the growth of Comcast Cable. Comcast Business is the nation’s largest cable provider to small and mid-size businesses and has emerged as a force in the Enterprise market, having been recognized over the last two years by leading industry associations as one of the fastest growing providers of Ethernet services. Visit business.comcast.com/.
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For more information please visit https://intuit.com/intuitassist
For more than 25 years, Oracle NetSuite has helped organizations grow, scale, and adapt to change. NetSuite provides an integrated system that includes financials / Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), inventory management, HR, professional services automation and omnichannel commerce, used by more than 37,000 customers in 219 countries and dependent territories.
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