Escambia County Business Journal SPEC I A L R EPORT
ADAPTABLE VISIONARY When the world slowed down, Quint Studer sought to strengthen emotional connections BY STEVE BORNHOFT
don’t know when things may go back to normal. Hopelessness is creeping in. It’s almost a definition of trauma.” Locating an entity’s or a person’s position on a stresstrauma continuum is important, Studer said, “because if you don’t assess a problem correctly, you can’t treat it correctly.” In Studer’s book, Building a Vibrant Community, published in 2018, he identified keys to creating a thriving downtown: a program of events that lead people to visit central business districts; restaurants and retail establishments; commercial real estate; and residential developments. The COVID-19 pandemic has had impacts on all four of those areas. On his 1-10 scale, with 1 being minimal stress and 10 being trauma of crisis proportions, Studer said downtowns are “probably an 8.” “Most downtowns are filled with locally owned businesses without the deep pockets of a franchise organization,” Studer noted. “Franchise restaurants tend to be on major thoroughfares, and most of them have drive-thrus. If you’re on busy streets, you can probably handle the COVID pandemic a little better.” To the extent that the pandemic has canceled events and diminished foot traffic, downtown businesses have suffered. “Retail is really taking a hit,” Studer said. “People are getting in the habit of ordering everything online. I read an interview in the Wall Street Journal with a man who, since COVID, has not gone to a grocery store. Everything he has purchased, he got online.” Or may have had delivered. Threatened by online shopping when it was new, retailers responded by improving customer service and the shopping experience.
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Businessman, entrepreneur, philanthropist, author and teacher Quint Studer says it’s important for businesses dealing with pandemic-induced downturns to maintain relationships with customers by reaching out and shoring up “emotional bank accounts.” That may be especially important for hard-hit retailers that rely on foot traffic in their battles with online merchants.
PHOTO COURTESY OF QUINT STUDER
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uint Studer is a community steward. And a visionary, entrepreneurial businessman who is good about sharing what he knows. To all that he does, he applies a knack for breaking down seemingly complex challenges, believing that there is a lot you can do if you “just reduce an issue to its essence.” He’s a great bullet-list maker. A Wisconsin native, he presents solutions to problems — with a voice that would not be out of place exiting a beer truck driver in Milwaukee — in a manner that is easily understood and retained. As a teacher — Studer is the entrepreneur-inresidence at the University of West Florida — he employs lots of anecdotes. Engage him in conversation for a time, and you are sure to come away with stories you will want to share with others. Of late, Studer has developed a 1-10 scale, patterned after the pain level scales given to hospital patients, that businesses may use in determining whether and to what extent they are experiencing stress or, worse, trauma. For Studer, trauma is more than extreme stress. It’s a different animal. Stress, he said, tends to be short-term. A person, business or organization may ride it out and snap back, achieving a return to normalcy. In cases of trauma, “normalcy” may not be recoverable. Roles may have changed irretrievably. Jobs may have been lost permanently. Market niches may have evaporated. Consider university faculty, Studer suggested. “Their students don’t report to classrooms like they used to,” Studer said in December. “Instruction is virtual and involves new technology. Enrollment is declining and school revenue is going down. They
