Shumaker Chamber University: Want Sales? Stop Trying To Grow Your Biz! Presented by J-Ryze & Cyn Fonceca
In Sarasota’s business culture, growth is often treated as the ultimate virtue: more clients, more visibility, more revenue, more.
By Edit Sarasota Staff
In Sarasota’s business culture, growth is often treated as the ultimate virtue: more clients, more visibility, more revenue, more. But what if the pursuit of expansion is quietly getting in the way of the sale itself? That is the question at the heart of “Want Sales? Stop Trying To Grow Your Biz!,” an upcoming Shumaker Chamber University program presented by J-Ryze and Cyn Fonceca.
The title has the appealing bluntness of a good piece of advice—the kind that interrupts a familiar conversation and makes everyone reconsider the premise. For entrepreneurs, independent professionals, and small-business owners, “growth” can become an all-purpose strategy, even when the immediate need is more focused: to communicate value clearly, build trust, and create a meaningful reason for a customer to say yes.
That distinction matters in Sarasota, where a diverse and increasingly connected business community brings together longtime local operators, creative enterprises, professional firms, hospitality leaders, and newcomers building their first ventures. In a market shaped by relationships, reputation, and repeat business, sales is rarely just a transaction. It is an act of translation: understanding what people need and showing, without excess noise, how an offering meets that need.
J-Ryze and Cyn Fonceca will lead the conversation, bringing the session’s central provocation into practical territory. Rather than treating sales as a byproduct of scale, the program suggests a closer look at the habits and assumptions that can obscure the work of winning business. The premise should resonate with anyone who has spent too much time polishing a brand, chasing reach, or adding complexity when a clearer conversation might have been more productive.
The program is part of Shumaker Chamber University, a forum designed to connect Sarasota-area professionals with ideas that can be put to work beyond the event room. Its value lies not only in instruction but in the shared experience of a local business community thinking through common challenges together—an especially useful counterweight to the isolation that can accompany entrepreneurship.
“Want Sales? Stop Trying To Grow Your Biz!” takes place Wednesday, October 28, 2026. Presented by J-Ryze and Cyn Fonceca through Shumaker Chamber University, the session will be held at the announced event venue; attendees should consult the organizers for the location, schedule, and registration details before making plans.