During a Small Business Revolution-Main Street luncheon inside the Pearl Room of the Westin Hotel in Times Square, Roland Hems told me he and his business partner/wife Megan Hems were born under the Pisces sign.
It made perfect sense because the Pisces symbol is two fish tied together by an H-shaped cosmic cord swimming in opposite directions resisting old habits and embracing new, improved ones. The fishes’ cyclical motion and H-shaped cord form the logo for Hems Truck and Auto. Roland and Megan are swimming into new waters.
The luncheon consisted of a screening of Episode 1 of the Season 2 of the online series Small Business Revolution-Main Street, as well as a Q&A. Deluxe Corporation created the Small Business Revolution to showcase 100 small businesses through videos and photo essays. SBR turned into an online series for Season 1 that awarded a small town $500,000 to revitalize their small businesses.
For Season 2 of the eight-part online series, Deluxe Corporation’s Amanda Brinkman and Shark Tank investor Robert Herjavec worked with five small business owners in the town of Bristol Borough, Pennsylvania. Episode 1 and 2 of the series premieres on Sept. 28
Featured on the Episode 1 of Small Business Revolution-Main Street, Roland and Megan Hems made a surprise appearance at the luncheon and participated in the Q&A that followed the screening. It was a surreal experience to see the Hems take a seat next to me at the banquet table watching them watch themselves. It was the first time the Hems saw their episode. As Megan got teary-eyed in the episode inside the dark Pearl Room, I watched Roland embrace a teary-eyed Megan sitting a foot away from me.
As the people at the luncheon ate potato salad, pasta and cheesecake from Juniors Bakery, they looked on at Roland, Megan, Amanda Brinkman and Robert Herjavec sitting on stools during the Q&A. The Hems were dressed in their new uniforms--black button-down short-sleeve shirts with their new Pisces-inspired logo embroidered in scarlet-red thread.
Watch the video below to hear what these business people have to say about entrepreneurship.