Student helps to develop family business
By Tyler Daron
Special to the Knightly News
tyler.daron@mymail.centralpenn.edu
According to a 2024 report by the United States Small Business Association’s Office of Advocacy, over a quarter (27.3 percent) of all businesses were family-owned in 2021.
For my term project in COM420: Projects in Corporate Communication, I worked with a small business called Daron Motorsports. Daron Motorsports is a small, family-run racing team that travels all around the East Coast, where the team competes against the nation’s best in the 270 Micro Sprint Division. As you may notice by my last name, this is my family’s business, and its success is essential not only to me but to every person in my family.
During this project, I completed numerous tasks. First, I consulted with the person in charge of social media pages for the business, helping create a four-month content calendar for future events. At the beginning of the project, I noticed that one thing the team could do was to have more of a plan when it came to their social media-content creation, so this was a key component of the project that didn’t cost the team anything.
The content calendar I created for this business consisted of a plan for September through December. Of course, this calendar can be changed, depending on race cancellations or other issues. I explained some of the strategies used for the content calendar and some tips for handling Daron Motorsports’ different social media pages, much of which came from my previous coursework in social management.
Also, part of my position included photographing the race car (in stills and action photos), the driver and the race team. The photographs that I took consisted of many different aspects. I took pictures of the car, the driver and the team, and sometimes, the team would take some pictures of me when I put the camera down to help. I also took some photos of the car racing on the track. But, as with any family business, there were other times when I was asked to get my hands dirty, pitching in to help on the car when it was needed.
As I finished my experience, I quickly realized how my skills might significantly help my family’s business. Because we are family-run, everyone must bring something of value to the table. My marketing skills, paired with the team’s desire to move up in class in future seasons, could lead to the massive growth of Daron Motorsports in 2025 and beyond. It means the world to me that I have the opportunity to be such an integral part of what my family stands for.
I take pride in this project because I am helping a small family business to get off the ground and grow from my contributions to the team. Because the family members I’ve worked with do not have a background in marketing, they may not understand some of the concepts needed to grow on social media and as a brand in general. So, by now understanding more of these concepts, I am confident that this team will be able to apply this to their understanding and knowledge of social media.
I hope that all members of this business can take the information I gave them and continue to grow with this new knowledge. Even if this business does not use the content calendar that I have made, at least people in the business know how to plan their future events and plan in advance, which is usually the step that most small businesses seem to skip. However, I am just thankful to have been given the opportunity to work with this incredible team, and I wish eveyrone on the team the best of luck in the future.
I encourage you to check out our Facebook page to keep up with everything the team is doing. It has been a pleasure to be a part of my family’s business and I hope to continue this involvement in the future. Keep an eye out for big things coming in 2025!
Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a series about Central Penn College students participating in philanthropic initiatives in the region during the summer term as part of the COM420 Projects in Corporate Communication course.
Comment or story idea? Contact KnightlyEditors@CentralPenn.Edu.
Edited by media-club co-advisers Professor Paul Mller and Professor Michael Lear-Olimpi.
