On Wednesday, December 4, the Square Community gathered to raise a virtual glass to all the incredible moments and achievements that have made the community shine in 2024. Thank you to everyone who joined us and made it a magical occasion, including our special guest, Square Champion and Beta tester extraordinaire, @ryanwanner ✨
Missed the event live? Watch the recording here:
Square Community Awards 🏆
The Square Community Awards recognize and celebrate outstanding members whose contributions have had a positive impact on the community.
This year we celebrated ⭐ 10 top contributors ⭐ whose expertise and support have enriched our community in 2024.
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Member of the Year: @TheRealChipA It gives us great pleasure to share that @TheRealChipA is our Member of the Year. Chip, who owns Piper’s Ice Cream Bar, is an amazing Community member who inspires others with his knowledge, support, and positivity. Thank you for answering countless questions and being instrumental in fostering a welcoming environment for all members! |
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Rising Star: @BrianaJo This award recognizes new members who have made an outstanding impact in their first year in the community. We are thrilled to announce that @BrianaJo is our Rising Star. Briana, owner of Random’s Coffee, joined the Community this past year, and has already started over 24 insightful conversations, received 14+ badges, and is a part of the Square Readers Book Club. Her fresh perspectives and enthusiasm have truly enriched our community! |
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The Bookworm: @CareyJo and @bonny This award celebrates the most engaged Square Readers Book Club members who have attended the most number of discussions and who have commented the most in the group. Thank you to our winners, @CareyJo, who runs Arctic Heat with her husband, and @bonny, an artist and illustrator. Both Carey and Bonny are always ready to share their insights both in the live discussions and in the groups. It has been inspiring to see how they apply the learnings from the books to how they run their businesses. |
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The Tester: @IntermissionArc and @sacredheart926 This award recognizes members who have been actively involved in and shared feedback on the most number of betas in 2024. Thank you to our winners, @IntermissionArc, owner of Intermission Beer Company and @sacredheart926, who runs Sacred Heart Gifts & Apparels. Both are always up to sharing their feedback with our team and supporting other sellers within their test groups. We would not have been able to run successful betas without their involvement and dedication. |
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The Specialists: @Bronze_Palms and @doc_choc This award celebrates members who have contributed the most in our online industry discussion groups, the spaces dedicated for sellers to connect with peers within their industries, from Food & Beverage to Beauty & Wellness. Thank you to our winners, @Bronze_Palms, owner of Bronze Palm Spray Tans and @doc_choc, who runs Coco Chemistry. 🎉 Emily and Richard have been generous in sharing their knowledge with other members who are starting out on their journeys or who are facing challenges in their businesses. Their engagement has made a positive impact in the community. |
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The Responder: @DinaLRosenberg and @VanKalkerFarms This award honors sellers who have replied to the most Question of the Week and In the News posts. Thank you to our winners, @DinaLRosenberg, owner of Amityville Apothecary and @VanKalkerFarms, who runs Van Kalker Farms and Rise’n Roll Bakery. 🎉 Dina and Bob have actively participated in all the Question of the Week discussions. They have also started conversations on their own, providing useful, actionable advice to businesses. |
Thank you again to our award winners for their contributions this year. They have helped make the community such a wonderful, supportive space. We invite you to celebrate them in the comments by replying to this post. 👏
A Special Shoutout: Trivia Winners 🥇
In addition to our Square Community Award winners, we want to give a shoutout to our Cheers to You Trivia Champions, congratulations @lucky5s, @thecedar and @EMstudioWA 🎉
Beta Community Reaches New Height 🚀
Whether you are new to the Square Community or are a seasoned pro, you have probably read about the Square Beta programs or participated in a test yourself. Members of the Beta Community play an important part in shaping the future of our products and roadmap by testing new features and sharing thoughtful feedback.
The Beta Community is made up of just over 30,000 participants worldwide and is growing rapidly due to an amazing team of beta specialists and managers who help lead the way. If you know of a friend who could benefit from testing, send them our way.
If you’ve been active in beta this year, you may be familiar with our three most popular tests from 2024: Next Generation for Square for Restaurants, Square Kiosk, and Bar Tabs. Thanks to all who participated and gave feedback to help shape these features.
Other popular launches in 2024 include the new Square Dashboard app, Square Card UK, and Remote Device Management. Another big thank you to those who helped test these features to get them ready for the entire Square population.
Square Innovator Spotlight: @ryanwanner 🎤
Our Beta Community Manager, @nika, sat down with our Square Innovator and Beta tester extraordinaire, @ryanwanner to talk about his experience with the Square Beta program and tips for business owners who want to get involved.
You can listen to their conversation here, from 29:33 to 36:50.
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Ryan Wanner (@ryanwanner) owns and runs Golden Pine Coffee Roasters, based in Colorado Springs, CO. Ryan has been in the food service industry almost his entire working life. While studying in Greeley he helped open a coffee bar. That bar used illy Espresso, and it just so happened a representative of illy was available to give the opening crew of that coffee bar formal Italian espresso training. Ryan was hooked on the coffee world instantly, and his career path steered headlong into coffee. Roasting always intrigued him, and he learned the craft through research and hands-on training. Now, with over 16 years of practical roasting experience, he’s pleased to offer you his results in the craft of coffee roasting. |
Ryan’s Golden Rule for Being a Beta Tester:
🟦 Go for it! “The joy of beta is every now and then, you will fire up your point of sale and go, what the heck happened here? But in the grand scheme of things, if it’s going through beta it means it has gone through more internal testings and the randomness is mostly weeded out. But the biggest thing that I love about being part of the Beta Community is that Square as a multi-national corporation is willing to listen to these itty-bitty restaurants and sellers and hair stylists and everybody who are in on this. We get the chance to shape future products and that blows my mind everyday.” — @ryanwanner
Your Wins for 2024 🥳
We asked our Square Community members to share their biggest wins of 2024. From hitting new revenue milestones to expanding their businesses and winning awards, it has been a big year for many of our members.
Join in to celebrate fellow members’ accomplishments and to add your own wins in this thread.
Looking Ahead at 2025 📝
As we wind down from the rush of the holiday season, it’s a perfect to look ahead to next year.
Sellers are showing that 2025 is shaping up to be a year of bold moves and exciting transformations, whether they continue to expand their businesses, to launch a mobile location, or to revamp their entire operations.
Read what other members are working to achieve in 2025 and share your own goal. 🥅
Learn with Square Reader Book Club 📚
The Book Club is a group within the Square Community. We read business books filled with strategies and lessons that are tailored to business owners like you, from understanding cash management solutions to learning how to enhance brand developments and beat competition.
Looking back at this past year, we reached out to a few members and asked them to share the biggest lessons they learned from the books we read. You can hear from them here, from 40:00 to 43:00. Thank you @BrianaJo @Doran @Smellthis1919 @CareyJo and @rtfulk for sharing your learningd with us 🤓
Take a look at the full list of books our members read this year, along with additional suggestions here. If you are interested, definitely come say hi and join the club.
Continues the Conversation
Let’s keep the conversation and inspiration going inside the Community. As we look towards to the year ahead, let us know:
WHAT'S ONE BIG RISK YOU ARE CONSIDERING TAKING IN 2025?
Share your thoughts in the thread. You might be able to connect with other members who are taking on similar challenges or who’ve faced them before. Together we can exchange actionable tips, advice, and encouragement.
Thank you for being part of our Square Community, for sharing your experiences, and for helping others when you have been busy running your businesses. You are the reason we have a community, and we appreciate you all. ✨
