37 Oaks Founder and CEO Terrand Smith

In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, host Matt Wagner sat down with the founder and CEO of 37 Oaks, Terrand Smith. Located in Chicago, Illinois, 37 Oaks is a commerce development and learning laboratory for entrepreneurs. The business is comprised of three platforms: 37 Oaks University, with over 30 courses that build retail, commerce, and distribution knowledge for product-based entrepreneurs; Sokoni, a commerce development learning lab that reduces risk of scaling into retail and online; and 37 Oaks Community, a community of people, tools, and resources that help entrepreneurs navigate business ownership. Within 37 Oaks, Terrand and her team have built a mechanism that guides entrepreneurs from the start-up phase into healthy and sustainable growth through learning, application, and personalized support. 

Before becoming an entrepreneur herself, Terrand worked as a national buyer in retail. She was responsible for connecting customers to products in a profitable way – both on the international stage and for regional retailers. She found that smaller businesses were creating amazing products, but were struggling when it came to retail, distribution, and commerce acumen. When she left her corporate position, she decided to use her experience and knowledge to help small business owners, to educate and prepare them for scalable growth. 

In addition to her work leading 37 Oaks, Terrand Smith is also the author of Prepare to Shift: Proven Ways to Shift Your Hobby into a Growing Business. This is a workbook that outlines proven principles to shift a business from the early start-up stage into growth. 

 

Background reading: Read about 37 Oaks | Learn about Illinois Main Street | Learn about Six Corners Association |  Learn about Prepare to Shift: Proven Ways to Shift Your Hobby into a Growing Business