FAQ

The Heart of Business Challenge is a 12-week national campaign by Dear Business Banquet that helps small business owners grow their audience through authentic storytelling—and invites the public to support them with simple, joyful acts of kindness.

It’s where marketing meets meaning. Businesses share their heart; communities rally around them.

The Heart of Business Challenge -

A Social Enterprise With Purpose

The Heart of Business Challenge is a mission-driven social enterprise created by Dear Business Banquet in collaboration with Opine Productions.

Our purpose is simple: to help small businesses grow through storytelling, visibility, and community support — without burnout, high costs, or red tape.

We are not a nonprofit organization, but we operate with the same heart:

our goal is impact, not profit. Every dollar is reinvested into campaigns, media coverage, creative production, and community rewards that directly benefit participating small businesses.

Our structure allows us to move quickly, stay creative, and build sustainable tools that keep helping entrepreneurs long after the 12-week challenge ends.

• Small Business Owners — Any entrepreneur, creative, or service provider who wants more visibility, customers, and heart-centered growth. Any small business — service-based, retail, creative, or nonprofit. If you bring value to your community, you belong here.

• Supporters — Everyday people who love uplifting local shops, family-owned restaurants, makers, and creators.

Examples: barbers, bakers, coffee shops, crafters, coaches, boutique owners, designers, photographers, baristas, tech founders, and teachers with side hustles.

Yes!

Supporters and voters participate 100% free. You can browse businesses, vote daily, share stories, and complete weekly “Acts of Heart” without spending a dime.

For small business owners, there’s a one-time $7.45 Founding Member fee to receive your personalized Heart Page—a digital home that showcases your story, photos, links, and GlowTag referral link.

That small fee helps us fund:

• Media coverage to promote participating businesses

• Creative production and video storytelling (in collaboration with Opine Productions)

• Platform improvements and new visibility tools
  

💡 The best way to support this movement?

• Find and shop with businesses participating in the Challenge

• Share their pages with your community

• Encourage your favorite local entrepreneurs to sign up for their own Heart Page and tell the world how great they are

Goal: to make it effortless for everyday people to become ambassadors for small business love.

Because small businesses are the heart of our economy. They employ most Americans, fuel communities, and deserve attention without burnout.

We built this challenge to:

1. Help business owners tell their stories easily.

2. Give communities feel-good ways to show support.

3. Rebuild local economies through generosity and storytelling.

It’s simple and low-pressure:

1. Businesses sign up for their free or founding-rate Heart Page.

2. Each week, one new themed challenge goes live (e.g., Gift Forward, Gratitude Chain, JoyDrop Day).

3. Supporters join in, sharing acts of heart online and tagging their favorite small businesses.

4. Every act counts — your JoyDrops add up in leaderboards and stories across the nation.

A Heart Page is your business’s digital home inside the challenge.

It includes your story, links, photos, and a GlowTag (your unique share link) that lets people tag, nominate, and support you.

Think of it as your own public “love letter” to your business.

The Challenge is a collaboration between Dear Business Banquet (DBB) and Opine Productions.

Dear Business Banquet (DBB)

A strategy and storytelling platform founded by Nilvia Brinkley, DBB helps small business owners grow with heart—not burnout. We design tools, systems, and campaigns that make marketing feel human again.

Opine Productions

Founded by Jennifer Okyere, Opine Productions is a full-service creative agency specializing in video production, social content, and visual storytelling.

They create affordable, scalable, high-quality video that captures what makes each small business special—whether that’s faceless, brand-led content or guest-inclusive storytelling.

Their mission:

“To transform ideas into visually stunning stories that connect, inspire, and convert.”

Opine’s portfolio includes:

• Creative, high-quality video production tailored to your brand

• Faceless or guest-inclusive content options

• Fast turnaround for social and web platforms

• Scalable packages for small businesses and nonprofits

Together, DBB and Opine are amplifying local stories and giving small businesses a stage they deserve.

To make it easy—and joyful—for communities to lift up small businesses.

Each week, we drop one low-lift prompt that sparks storytelling, applause, and visibility.

Our mission is to help owners grow momentum without burnout and remind the public how powerful small acts of support can be.

You’ll receive:

• A Heart Page — your digital home for storytelling, links, and offers

• A GlowTag link — your unique, shareable referral link

• Weekly prompts — content ideas for social media and community engagement

• Visibility tools — featured placement on our directory and leaderboard

• Access to press coverage and creative spotlight opportunities

• Join weekly challenges: Take part in joy-filled acts like gifting forward, leaving reviews, or tagging local heroes.

• Vote and applaud: Visit the site daily to vote for small businesses.

• Shop local: Buy from participating businesses or book their services.

• Share GlowTags: Copy and post a business’s share link to help them trend.

• Encourage others: Tell your friends, family, and coworkers about the challenge.
  

Every share, click, or purchase becomes a JoyDrop—a tracked act of kindness that helps small businesses rise through the ranks.

Simply use the Nominate a Business form on our website . Share their social handle with the hashtag #HeartOfBusinessChallenge. We’ll reach out to them directly to invite them in.

https://vocalvideo.com/c/HeartBeat-Heart-Of-Business-Challenge

We welcome partnerships with brands, credit unions, and community organizations who want to celebrate small business impact.

Sponsors can:

• Fund local spotlights and Neighborhood Activations

• Co-brand weekly challenges

• Contribute prizes, tools, or services

• Help us scale media coverage and state leaderboards

email: request@heartofbusinesschallenge.org

Submit a sponsorship inquiry

Every week, applause is earned.

• Businesses earn points from JoyDrops.

• Supporters can vote once per day per business.

• Leaderboards showcase the most loved and active participants nationwide.

It’s not about who’s “best”—it’s about celebrating consistent heart and participation.

We use AI ethically to:

• Recommend small businesses to new supporters

• Personalize storytelling prompts

• Track community impact (JoyDrops)

• Identify inspiring stories for media coverage

• Help creators and businesses post smarter, not harder
  

We never sell or misuse personal data—our tools are built for empowerment, not extraction.

• 10,000+ small business signups

• 1 million JoyDrops shared

• Press coverage in every state

• Verified community impact (jobs, foot traffic, revenue uplift)

Because spots fill fast — and this movement’s energy is contagious.

Every early signup gets:

✅ A Founding Member badge

✅ Priority listing in our directory

✅ Exclusive press exposure

✅ Early partner invites

Each week focuses on joy and generosity:

1. Find the Heart

2. Gift Forward

3. Everyday Hero

4. Review Love

5. Family First

6. Swap & Support

7. Gratitude Chain

8. JoyDrop Day

9. Shop Small Weekend

10. Heart Hero Nomination

11. Youth & Family Makers

12. The Big Celebration

Find the weekly challenges at https://www.dearbusinessbanquet.com/challenges

• Free marketing and storytelling templates

• Exposure through national press + social campaigns

• Featured in our directory + map

• Emotional connection with local audiences

• Referral traffic through GlowTags

• A chance to win awards and partnerships

Go to HeartofBusinessChallenge.org → Click “Claim My Heart Page” → Fill out your info → Upload photos → Submit.

You’ll get an instant GlowTag link to start sharing.

No. We’re a social enterprise — a mission-driven business using creative tools to uplift small businesses. We measure success in impact, not revenue.

Free movements fade when resources run out.

By keeping participation low-cost and mission-focused, we ensure stability, fairness, and longevity — so the heart of business keeps beating long after launch week.

What makes this a social enterprise?

We exist to solve a community problem — the visibility gap for small businesses — using entrepreneurial tools.

Our profit motive is impact; our product is hope with structure.

Yes. The Heart of Business Challenge is open globally through digital participation.

International businesses can register, share their story, and connect with supporters anywhere.

Your acts of heart count just the same — kindness travels fast online.