July 14, 2025

This piece is sponsored by Sioux Metro Growth Alliance.

An upcoming conference in Tea is designed to help small businesses connect and share best practices.

Hosted by the Tea Chamber for Development, the Momentum 25 conference will be from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 28 at Embrace Church, 300 N. Heritage Parkway. The venue has been changed since the event originally was announced.

“We really wanted to create something for small-businesses owners and founders — something smaller that they would feel more comfortable attending,” said Linda Kokenge, vice chair of the Tea Chamber.

“It’s not always easy to be the small fish in a big room. The larger events are more expensive too, and most small businesses can’t afford that expense. Our Tea Chamber has worked so hard to grow and genuinely focus on our local business community.”

The morning programming will focus on founders, owners and top executives. In the afternoon, additional team members are invited to join for lunch and high-energy speakers.

The program includes:

• Lisa Brouwer: “Rocket Fuel: What Your Business Needs To Build and Sustain Momentum.”
• Jon Gordon: “The Power of Positive Leadership.”
• Steve Larson: “Your Point of No Return.”
• Jesse Cole: “Transforming Customers Into Raving Fans.”

While the Tea Chamber is hosting, the event is open to members and nonmembers.

“Tea has been growing and evolving in incredible ways. But the majority of our businesses still remain smaller and locally owned — which is great, but it’s a struggle, and we want to help support them,” Kokenge said.

“I’m biased, and I don’t know the numbers on this, but I feel like our Tea Chamber is one of the fastest-growing chambers in our regional area. We have a great group that has been working so hard, but unfortunately it’s all volunteer base, so that can be hard at times to do everything we want to do.”

The community of Tea increasingly is working with Sioux Metro Growth Alliance to address its economic development and business-attraction needs.

“There’s so much opportunity to capture in Tea, which is both an opportunity and a challenge,” SMGA CEO Tyler Tordsen said.

“We’re excited to take a more active role in supporting the needs of this community. Tea is positioned for historic growth in the years ahead, but planning to ensure it’s the right kind of strategic growth that matches Tea’s history, identity and future is key. An event like this that empowers small businesses to succeed is valuable not just for Tea but for so many of our other metro-area communities experiencing similar dynamics.”

Tickets are $75 for the full day or $25 for the afternoon session and can be purchased here. There also are opportunities for business sponsorships, ranging from $500 to $2,500. For information, email info@teasdchamber.com or visit here.