The article reviews practical strategies for planning, marketing, and customer engagement to support sustainable small business growth.

SUMMERVILLE, S.C., Aug. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — How can small business owners take the next step after starting their venture? A HelloNation article answers this question with a clear set of strategies designed to guide entrepreneurs through the growth process. Featuring insights from Insurance Expert Tony Pope of Summerville, SC, the feature highlights planning, customer focus, marketing, and partnerships as essential tools for success.

The HelloNation article begins by stressing the importance of a business plan. A growth plan serves as a roadmap, setting clear, achievable goals and outlining how to achieve them. Whether aiming to increase sales, launch new products, or enter different markets, business owners benefit from a written plan they can review and update regularly. Insurance agent Tony Pope notes that a structured approach provides entrepreneurs with direction and confidence as they work toward expansion.

Market research also plays a key role. The HelloNation feature explains that understanding industry trends, competitors, and customer expectations provides a foundation for wise decisions. By using recent and reliable data, small business owners can position themselves strategically rather than guessing at what might work.

Equally important is understanding customer needs. Business owners who listen to feedback, track purchasing habits, and anticipate future demand are better able to tailor their products and services. The HelloNation article suggests loyalty programs, discounts, and incentives as ways to strengthen relationships. Meeting customer expectations helps businesses build repeat sales while attracting new clients.

Customer service is another priority. A positive experience at every touchpoint creates satisfied customers who are more likely to return and recommend a business to others. The article emphasizes communication, ease of purchase, and active social media engagement as simple yet powerful ways to improve service.

Marketing strategy evaluation is also essential. The HelloNation article recommends that business owners review their current approach to ensure it is delivering results. By combining traditional methods, such as flyers, with digital tools like social media and email campaigns, businesses can expand their reach. Consistency in branding and clarity in messaging help keep a business top of mind with customers.

A strong online presence is now considered mandatory. The HelloNation article notes that professional websites, social media platforms, and tools like Google Business Profiles increase visibility. Search engine optimization (SEO) further boosts exposure by making businesses easier to find online. Adding e-commerce options also allows small businesses to reach customers beyond their immediate area.

Networking remains another key factor in business growth. Attending conferences, joining forums, and engaging with industry peers can lead to partnerships and mentorship opportunities. The HelloNation article explains that networking not only provides support but can also open doors to new markets and ideas.

Corporate social responsibility is also highlighted. Customers are often drawn to businesses that give back to their communities. Whether through sustainable practices, volunteering, or charitable contributions, these actions strengthen a company’s reputation and build customer loyalty.

The article also touches on influencer marketing. Collaborating with influencers whose followers match a business’s target audience can expand brand recognition and drive sales. Strategic partnerships with complementary companies provide another avenue for growth, spreading risk and costs while creating new opportunities.

Exploring new markets can be a game-changer for small business growth. Expanding into different regions, moving into online sales, or even considering franchising are ways to broaden reach. The HelloNation article cautions that careful research is necessary to ensure demand before entering new markets.

To measure progress, businesses should analyze their performance using tools such as Google Analytics or customer relationship management systems. Tracking sales, customer interactions, and marketing outcomes helps identify what is working and where improvements are needed.

The HelloNation feature concludes by reminding business owners that growth requires patience, planning, and flexibility. While progress does not happen overnight, consistent effort leads to long-term results. Tony Pope of Summerville, SC, emphasizes that protecting a growing business with the right insurance coverage is also essential. From liability protection to specialized policies, coverage helps safeguard the investment entrepreneurs work so hard to build.

The full article, titled “How to grow your small business”, provides a detailed overview of these strategies. The HelloNation piece, featuring Tony Pope, Insurance Expert in Summerville, SC, equips small business owners with tools and insights to expand with confidence.

About HelloNation
HelloNation is America’s Good News Network, a premier media platform built on the idea that good news travels faster when real people tell real stories. Through its community-focused publications and innovative “edvertising” approach, HelloNation delivers content that informs, inspires, and spotlights the leaders making a meaningful impact in their communities.

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SOURCE HelloNation

The move to Duck Creek’s core insurance platform provides the foundations for future growth and operational excellence

SYDNEY, Aug. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Duck Creek Technologies, the intelligent core of insurance, today announced that Capricorn Mutual has successfully gone live on Duck Creek’s core insurance platform, marking a significant milestone in the mutual insurer’s technology modernisation journey. Capricorn Mutual selected Duck Creek to replace its legacy insurance platform and support its long-term strategy of delivering enhanced experiences and value to its members, 32,000 small automotive businesses across Australia and New Zealand.

The implementation, delivered in partnership with Aggne, brought together Duck Creek Policy, Rating, Billing, Claims and Clarity (data and insights) on Duck Creek OnDemand, providing Capricorn Mutual with a connected, cloud-native foundation that supports automation, stronger governance, improved data quality, greater operational efficiency, and future innovation.

“This is an important step forward for Capricorn Mutual and reflects our ongoing commitment to investing in the future of our Members,” said Damon de Nooyer, Chief Financial Services Officer, Mutual Management. “By modernising our core systems, we’re building a stronger, more resilient business that can continue to deliver the protection, service and support our Members rely on.”

Enabled by Duck Creek’s open APIs, the implementation integrated the new core with several other critical systems including banking, vehicle and property intelligence, financial management, and other proprietary technology, helping create a more connected ecosystem across Capricorn Mutual’s operations.

“Capricorn Mutual had a clear vision for how technology could support its members and strengthen its business for the future,” said Christian Erickson, General Manager, APAC, Duck Creek Technologies. “We are delighted to celebrate this successful delivery and to see Capricorn Mutual already realising benefits. This reflects the strong collaboration between Capricorn Mutual, Aggne and Duck Creek.”

The successful deployment demonstrates Duck Creek’s continued momentum across the APAC region, where insurers and mutuals are increasingly modernising their core operations to improve agility today while preparing for the next generation of data-driven and AI-enabled capabilities.

About Capricorn Mutual
Capricorn Mutual Limited (CML) is Capricorn’s member-owned risk protection organisation, established to provide Capricorn Members with an alternative to traditional insurance. Since 2003, it has delivered risk protection solutions tailored to the automotive industry, helping Members protect their businesses, assets and livelihoods. As a mutual, Capricorn Mutual is owned by its Members and exists solely to serve their interests, with a focus on long-term support, value and sustainability.

About Duck Creek
Duck Creek is the intelligent core that leading insurers choose to build on. Purpose-built for property and casualty (P&C) and general insurance, Duck Creek unifies the full insurance lifecycle on a single platform with one data foundation. As an agentic platform, it connects intelligence across underwriting, policy, billing, claims, reinsurance, and payment workflows where decisions are made and compliance is non-negotiable. Duck Creek enables carriers to launch products faster, adapt quickly to change, and grow with precision and confidence. Solutions are available individually or as a full suite via Duck Creek OnDemand. Visit www.duckcreek.com and follow Duck Creek on LinkedIn and X. 

Media Contacts: 

Marianne Dempsey / Tara Stred 

duckcreek@threeringsinc.com 

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SOURCE Duck Creek

Cloud- and AI-native platform moves beyond standalone leak alerts, helping insurance carriers, plumbing contractors, other home-services companies and multi-location operators reduce water-loss risk through connected response

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Aug. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Notation Labs, Inc., developer of LeakSecure®, today announced the launch of LeakSecure® Platform 3.0, a cloud- and AI-native leak detection and prevention platform designed to move beyond standalone leak alerts by connecting real-time water data with coordinated action that helps prevent water damage before it escalates. The platform gives insurance carriers, plumbing contractors, other home-services companies and multi-location operators a more connected and measurable way to reduce water-loss risk, coordinate response and manage protection across entire portfolios.

LeakSecure® Platform 3.0 connects professionally installed devices in homes and businesses with a suite of customer and professional tools. These include mobile applications that can carry the LeakSecure® brand or be white-labeled for individual partners, the LeakSecure® Pro app for plumbing technicians and installers, and the LeakSecure® Pro Dashboard for dispatchers, contractors and business owners. Behind these tools, a single-source, multi-tenant AI Cloud manages the connected device fleet and supports AI agents and commercial application programming interfaces, creating one connected system for tracking each property, device, alert and response.

From Detection to Documented Action

A central advancement in LeakSecure® Platform 3.0 is closed-loop alert response. When the platform issues an alert, it can register what happened next, whether the customer opened the app, closed the valve, initiated a Leak Test or took no action, and then use that information to guide the next step. Depending on the event and configured settings, the platform can escalate notifications, initiate protective shutoff or close the event once the issue has been resolved.

The result is more than a one-time alert. LeakSecure® Platform 3.0 creates a documented timeline connecting the conditions detected at the property with the customer response and any protective action taken. This gives insurance carriers and professional service partners greater visibility into not only what occurred, but how the event was addressed.

“An alert alone does not prevent damage. The value begins when verified information reaches the right person and leads to the right action,” said Jeff Stebbins, Vice President of Operations at Notation Labs. “LeakSecure® Platform 3.0 creates a connected and documented path from detection to customer response to professional intervention. That helps our partners act faster, understand what happened and remain connected with the customer long after installation.”

Creating Value Across the Water-Risk Ecosystem

For insurance carriers and program partners, LeakSecure® Platform 3.0 provides continuous property-level data and a documented history of system events and responses. That information can support proof of installation, monitoring summaries, event documentation, risk-mitigation programs and portfolio-level analysis. Developing conditions such as abnormal water flow, sustained changes in line pressure or emerging freeze risk may become visible before they escalate into a significant water-loss event.

Continuous temperature, flow and pressure data can also support weather-related risk management. Freeze warnings can help protect an individual property, while portfolio-level insights can help carriers and program partners identify at-risk locations, coordinate proactive outreach and document system activity before, during and after a severe-weather event.

For plumbing contractors and other home-services companies, LeakSecure® Platform 3.0 transforms connected water data into actionable customer service. Through its native integration with ServiceTitan, the platform fits directly into existing contractor workflows, allowing technicians, dispatchers and business leaders to monitor connected devices, coordinate service and respond proactively when issues arise. By extending the customer relationship beyond the initial installation, LeakSecure® Platform 3.0 helps contractors create recurring service opportunities while delivering measurable value long after the job is complete.

“Because LeakSecure® integrates with ServiceTitan, our team can see what’s happening with the systems we’ve installed, receive alerts and reach out when something needs attention,” said Craig Ferguson, Plumbing Manager of Rite Way Heating, Cooling & Plumbing, an Arizona-based home-services company. “The biggest thing is getting in front of a leak before it causes damage, but it also changes the relationship with the customer. We can stay connected after the installation, help protect their home and be the plumbing company they know is looking out for them.”

For private equity groups and other multi-location operators, the multi-tenant architecture, white-label customer applications and commercial APIs provide a common platform that can be deployed across multiple operating companies. Portfolio owners can standardize installation, alert handling, service workflows and reporting while allowing each local company to preserve its own brand and customer relationships.

“Water-loss prevention is only part of the opportunity,” said Rod Cullum, Founder and Chairman of Cullum Homes, a luxury custom home building and design firm in Arizona. “The same data that helps an insurance carrier better understand risk can help a home-services company identify customer needs, coordinate service and build recurring value. For owners of multiple businesses, LeakSecure® Platform 3.0 creates a repeatable operating model that can be deployed and measured across an entire portfolio without erasing the local brands customers already know.”

Applying AI to Real Operational Needs

Notation Labs is applying artificial intelligence and machine learning to identify meaningful patterns in device telemetry, support customer-service workflows, create consistent event documentation and make portfolio data easier for authorized partners to use. The architecture also supports secure, permissioned workflows through commercial APIs and Model Context Protocol extensions, allowing approved data and actions to connect with partner systems.

Through a commercial deployment of Claude from Anthropic, Notation Labs is using AI to support telemetry analysis, customer-service processes, standardized documentation and partner enablement. Planned capabilities include predictive risk signals, natural-language access to portfolio data, automated post-event timelines and API data feeds that can deliver verified device data and summaries into partner systems. Future capabilities remain subject to development and change.

LeakSecure® Platform 3.0 was developed in collaboration with Modularis, Notation Labs’ software development partner, which has worked alongside the company throughout the platform’s evolution.

“We believe in Notation Labs: the people, the product, the strategy and the market opportunity. We’ve walked this path before as a strategic partner and recognize what it takes to build a scalable technology platform. We see the same dynamics here, and we are fully committed to the continued success of LeakSecure®,” said A.J. Singh, Founder and CEO of Modularis.

Core technology within the platform is supported by U.S. Patent No. 12,584,876 for a Continuous Whole-Home Water Quality Analyzer and U.S. Patent No. 12,584,774 for a Non-Obstructive High-Sensitivity Flowmeter.

About LeakSecure®
LeakSecure® is a professionally installed water-monitoring and automatic shutoff platform developed by Notation Labs, Inc. Available through professional plumbing channels and leading wholesale distributors nationwide, LeakSecure® combines ultrasonic flow measurement, continuous water-quality analysis and real-time environmental sensing with customer applications, the LeakSecure® Pro app and the LeakSecure® Pro Dashboard. Together, these tools give property owners, plumbing professionals and insurance partners a connected view of water conditions, system activity, alerts and response.

Learn more at leaksecure.com.

About Notation Labs, Inc.
Notation Labs, Inc. is a Scottsdale, Arizona-based technology company developing connected water-management solutions for homes and businesses. Notation Labs works with plumbing professionals, wholesale distributors, insurance carriers and other industry partners to identify water-related conditions earlier, coordinate response and reduce the risk of costly property damage.

Claude is a product of Anthropic, PBC. This announcement is made by Notation Labs, Inc. and does not imply a partnership with or endorsement by Anthropic. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Statements regarding planned or future product capabilities are forward-looking and subject to change.

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SOURCE LeakSecure