Every week, I open a new Basket. I call it the Brag Basket, but it's not really about bragging. It's about sharing. I started this so you can introduce yourself, share some good news, or congratulate a friend.
The basket is open all weekend, from April 30-May 2, 2010.
Speak up and add yourself or another deserving soul in the comments. We all cheer, and everyone feels great. It lets you meet each other a bit. Reading each others' stories brings us a bit closer to being a community.
How does it work? You write a comment on this post, email me, tweet me, or comment on this note on Facebook. You tell something great about your week, or you give applause to someone who did good stuff this week. Or you celebrate something wonderful that you tried that failed.
This is not an ad. (I delete the ads.) It's a conversation with friends. So jump in. And remember to cheer for each other.
New here? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Subscribe.
White House economic report focuses on rural America
[This arrived by email from the National Rural Assembly. I didn't think I could improve on it, so I asked for permission to reprint it here, which they have kindly granted. I added photos from the White House blog. -Becky]
A new report from the White House Council of Economic Advisors examines the rural economy and lays out steps designed to "ensure the prosperity and vitality of rural America." The report, released Tuesday, coincides with the president's two-day tour of rural communities in the Midwest, which concluded Wednesday. Read a copy here-on the Rural Assembly website.
The rural economic report strikes a tone that will be familiar to anyone who pays attention to rural issues. Alongside the usual litany of rural difficulties (higher poverty rates, lower wages, less educational attainment, an aging workforce, etc.), there is a list of opportunities (renewable energy production, small business development, recreation and tourism, agricultural innovation, and building new infrastructure).
The 42-page document summarizes current federal programs that the Council of Economic Advisors thinks are helping in rural America. And it identifies possible additional policy initiatives. Most of the discussion focuses on rural aspects of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 in areas such as business development, clean energy investment, education, public land conservation, and infrastructure improvements such as new water systems.
From the National Rural Assembly, www.ruralassembly.org
 |
| President Barack Obama tours MogoOrganic in Mt. Pleasant, Ia., with with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Morgan Honnig, April 27, 2010. |
A new report from the White House Council of Economic Advisors examines the rural economy and lays out steps designed to "ensure the prosperity and vitality of rural America." The report, released Tuesday, coincides with the president's two-day tour of rural communities in the Midwest, which concluded Wednesday. Read a copy here-on the Rural Assembly website.
The rural economic report strikes a tone that will be familiar to anyone who pays attention to rural issues. Alongside the usual litany of rural difficulties (higher poverty rates, lower wages, less educational attainment, an aging workforce, etc.), there is a list of opportunities (renewable energy production, small business development, recreation and tourism, agricultural innovation, and building new infrastructure).
The 42-page document summarizes current federal programs that the Council of Economic Advisors thinks are helping in rural America. And it identifies possible additional policy initiatives. Most of the discussion focuses on rural aspects of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 in areas such as business development, clean energy investment, education, public land conservation, and infrastructure improvements such as new water systems.
Among the list of future proposals are the following:
 |
| President Barack Obama with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack tours the POET Biorefining Plant in Macon, Mo., April 28, 2010. |
- The Rural Innovation Initiative, a regional economic planning effort of federal, state, and local agencies, led by the Department of Agriculture.
- Promotion of "regional innovation clusters" through the Small Business Administration and the Economic Development Administration.
- Increased funding for renewable energy research, which will complement new federal investments in biofuels and wind energy production that the report says will benefit rural areas. Enforcing limits on greenhouse gas emissions will also spur renewable energy development in rural areas, the report states.
- Continued support of forest restoration, fire suppression, and other conservation programs on public and private lands.
- More than $1 billion in loans and grants for telecommunications improvements and "to help transition rural economies into the modern information economy."
- Opening markets for agricultural exports through the administration's National Export Initiative.
- Reforming federal agriculture supports to move support away from "the wealthiest farmers" to less affluent farmers.
- Promoting local and regional food systems.
More on the report and the president's tour of the rural Midwest is available at the White House website.
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Official White House Photos by Lawrence Jackson, used under Public Domain.
Categories:
economic development,
news,
rural
How selling a small town business is like selling a home Part 6
If you have ever sold a home, you can sell your business
Owning a business in a small town has many benefits, but one of the drawbacks is the difficulty of finding a buyer for your business when you decide its time to move on. The pool of potential acquirers is smaller and capital for buyers is harder to find. But if you understand the process of selling a business, then you can take steps to minimize the barriers to selling your company.
Selling a home and selling a business are remarkably similar tasks. If you’ve ever felt intimidated or confused about the process of selling your company, just think of the transaction in the same way you would if you were selling your home. This is the third in a multi-part series. Start reading with Part 1 now.
When you agree to an offer to buy your home, it is often contingent on a home inspection. A home inspector will come to your home and examine every inch of it—the shingles on your roof, the wiring in your electrical panel, your furnace, your plumbing…. You can expect that a home inspector will find that mold you tried to hide behind a shelving unit in the basement and the leak in the skylight on the third floor. His or her job is to find any and all of the problems in your house so that the buyers can either be assured that they are not purchasing a lemon of a house or at least have fair warning about issues that may arise.
When you agree to an offer to buy your business, the buyer will need to complete his or her form of inspection, known as “due diligence,” before the offer is finalized. The buyer will send in a team of people whose job it is to validate the claims you made in the management presentations and your marketing materials and to uncover any inconsistencies between them and reality.
Home inspectors are usually engineers. Due diligence folks are MBA-types who have a passion for detail and an insatiable appetite for data. You probably won’t like them—after all, their job is to expose your business and its faults. They will ask for all of your customer records and history, your financials, your budgets and business plan. They’ll want to pore over your employee records and review your marketing collateral. Every nook of your business will be dusted and inspected for cracks while the MBAs look for details that don’t add up.
Just like a home inspector will find things, the MBAs will discover information or facts that may not show your business in the best light. Relax. Every business has warts, and assuming you did not lie in any of your offer materials or presentations, it’s natural for the buyer’s diligence team to find them.
The buyer may ask for a discount based on what the MBAs discover during due diligence—just like the home buyer asks you to fix a leaky roof or pay for it to be fixed if the home inspector finds one. It will be up to you either to accept the discounted price or to start the process over again.
I spoke to Brad Bottoset the owner of Reno-based business brokerage The Liberty Group of Nevada. Brad’s firm often represents sellers from small towns and agreed on the importance of being honest during the diligence process: “If something has been misrepresented by the seller, even if the error is not intentional, it can kill the deal.”
If you get through diligence without incident, the buyer will schedule a closing meeting at which you will need to sign a number of documents (typically at the buyer’s lawyer’s office). Once all the documents are signed, the deal is done!
If selling your business seems daunting, don’t be intimidated. The process is very similar to selling a house and can be much more rewarding.
John Warrillow is the author of Built To Sell: Turn Your Business Into One You Can Sell. Find out if you have a sellable business – and what you could get for it – by taking the 10 question Sellability Index Quiz at www.BuiltToSell.com.
[John, thank you for a truly outstanding series. We appreciate you sharing your expertise. - Becky]
New here? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Subscribe.
Owning a business in a small town has many benefits, but one of the drawbacks is the difficulty of finding a buyer for your business when you decide its time to move on. The pool of potential acquirers is smaller and capital for buyers is harder to find. But if you understand the process of selling a business, then you can take steps to minimize the barriers to selling your company. Selling a home and selling a business are remarkably similar tasks. If you’ve ever felt intimidated or confused about the process of selling your company, just think of the transaction in the same way you would if you were selling your home. This is the third in a multi-part series. Start reading with Part 1 now.
Step 6: The inspection
When you agree to an offer to buy your home, it is often contingent on a home inspection. A home inspector will come to your home and examine every inch of it—the shingles on your roof, the wiring in your electrical panel, your furnace, your plumbing…. You can expect that a home inspector will find that mold you tried to hide behind a shelving unit in the basement and the leak in the skylight on the third floor. His or her job is to find any and all of the problems in your house so that the buyers can either be assured that they are not purchasing a lemon of a house or at least have fair warning about issues that may arise.
When you agree to an offer to buy your business, the buyer will need to complete his or her form of inspection, known as “due diligence,” before the offer is finalized. The buyer will send in a team of people whose job it is to validate the claims you made in the management presentations and your marketing materials and to uncover any inconsistencies between them and reality.
Home inspectors are usually engineers. Due diligence folks are MBA-types who have a passion for detail and an insatiable appetite for data. You probably won’t like them—after all, their job is to expose your business and its faults. They will ask for all of your customer records and history, your financials, your budgets and business plan. They’ll want to pore over your employee records and review your marketing collateral. Every nook of your business will be dusted and inspected for cracks while the MBAs look for details that don’t add up.
Just like a home inspector will find things, the MBAs will discover information or facts that may not show your business in the best light. Relax. Every business has warts, and assuming you did not lie in any of your offer materials or presentations, it’s natural for the buyer’s diligence team to find them.
The buyer may ask for a discount based on what the MBAs discover during due diligence—just like the home buyer asks you to fix a leaky roof or pay for it to be fixed if the home inspector finds one. It will be up to you either to accept the discounted price or to start the process over again.
I spoke to Brad Bottoset the owner of Reno-based business brokerage The Liberty Group of Nevada. Brad’s firm often represents sellers from small towns and agreed on the importance of being honest during the diligence process: “If something has been misrepresented by the seller, even if the error is not intentional, it can kill the deal.”
If you get through diligence without incident, the buyer will schedule a closing meeting at which you will need to sign a number of documents (typically at the buyer’s lawyer’s office). Once all the documents are signed, the deal is done!
If selling your business seems daunting, don’t be intimidated. The process is very similar to selling a house and can be much more rewarding.
John Warrillow is the author of Built To Sell: Turn Your Business Into One You Can Sell. Find out if you have a sellable business – and what you could get for it – by taking the 10 question Sellability Index Quiz at www.BuiltToSell.com.
[John, thank you for a truly outstanding series. We appreciate you sharing your expertise. - Becky]
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Categories:
entrepreneurship
Tourism gems from things you take for granted
You have local traditions and things you take for granted; things that your visitors would love to be part of.
Here's an example from outside Nassau, Bahamas, that could have been from your small town. In the evening, locals come out to the beach along Arawack Cay. They stroll, they feed the gulls, they sit in their cars and watch the ocean, and the old men play dominoes. I didn't find this in any guide book. No one told me about it. We just happened to stroll into it, and felt the local small town feeling. It gave me a tiny insight into the real people who live there.
There's an equivalent in your town. Something great that no one thinks about. Where do your locals get together? Think about walks in the park, kids sports where people still sit on blankets on the grass, concerts downtown, and the place where the old men play dominoes.
Here's why it matters: if you can let your visitors be part of that local feeling, they will be better connected to your place. They will leave happier, and they are more likely to want to return.
Discussion question: what is your local version, and how can you help visitors feel a part of it?
Here's an example from outside Nassau, Bahamas, that could have been from your small town. In the evening, locals come out to the beach along Arawack Cay. They stroll, they feed the gulls, they sit in their cars and watch the ocean, and the old men play dominoes. I didn't find this in any guide book. No one told me about it. We just happened to stroll into it, and felt the local small town feeling. It gave me a tiny insight into the real people who live there. Here's why it matters: if you can let your visitors be part of that local feeling, they will be better connected to your place. They will leave happier, and they are more likely to want to return.
Discussion question: what is your local version, and how can you help visitors feel a part of it?
Photos by Becky McCray.
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Categories:
tourism
Paul Chaney is The Social Media Handyman
Paul Chaney knows small business and social media. We met in 2008 when Zane Safrit introduced us at BlogWorld Expo. When Paul told me he was launching his own consulting firm, I invited him for an interview. We talk about Paul's small town connections, his experiences leading up to writing The Digital Handshake, and his new business consulting with small businesses. We also discuss multiple streams of income and turning freebies into paying clients.
Download the audio here.
You can find Paul at:
his book site: The Digital Handshake
his blog: The Social Media Handyman
on Twitter: @pchaney
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Categories:
entrepreneurship,
podcast,
rural,
social media
Share your rural entrepreneur story
It's no secret that I'm a supporter of small town businesses. But it's not all that well known that I'm working on a book with Barry Moltz. Our idea is that rural entrepreneurs have some valuable lessons for other businesses.
Now, I know a lot of small town business stories, but they are centered around Oklahoma. That's why we're asking for a few more stories. If you would be willing to share your story on one of the topics we're seeking, please stop by our Share Your Rural Entrepreneur Story page.
We won't be able to use every story, but we will read them all!
Thanks!
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Now, I know a lot of small town business stories, but they are centered around Oklahoma. That's why we're asking for a few more stories. If you would be willing to share your story on one of the topics we're seeking, please stop by our Share Your Rural Entrepreneur Story page. We won't be able to use every story, but we will read them all!
Thanks!
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Categories:
entrepreneurship,
rural
Fly your flag in the brag basket
Every week, I open a new Basket. I call it the Brag Basket, but it's not really about bragging. It's about sharing.
I started this so you can introduce yourself, share some good news, or congratulate a friend. Or just fly your freak flag, as Deb suggested.
The basket is open all weekend, from April 23-25, 2010.
Speak up and add yourself or another deserving soul in the comments. We all cheer, and everyone feels great. It lets you meet each other a bit. Reading each others' stories brings us a bit closer to being a community.
How does it work? You write a comment on this post, email me, tweet me, or comment on this note on Facebook. You tell something great about your week, or you give applause to someone who did good stuff this week. Or you celebrate something wonderful that you tried that failed.
This is not an ad. (I delete the ads.) It's a conversation with friends. So jump in. And remember to cheer for each other.
New here? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Subscribe.
I started this so you can introduce yourself, share some good news, or congratulate a friend. Or just fly your freak flag, as Deb suggested.
The basket is open all weekend, from April 23-25, 2010.
Speak up and add yourself or another deserving soul in the comments. We all cheer, and everyone feels great. It lets you meet each other a bit. Reading each others' stories brings us a bit closer to being a community.
How does it work? You write a comment on this post, email me, tweet me, or comment on this note on Facebook. You tell something great about your week, or you give applause to someone who did good stuff this week. Or you celebrate something wonderful that you tried that failed.
This is not an ad. (I delete the ads.) It's a conversation with friends. So jump in. And remember to cheer for each other.
New here? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Subscribe.
Categories:
brag basket
How selling a small town business is like selling a home Part 5
If you have ever sold a home, you can sell your business
Owning a business in a small town has many benefits, but one of the drawbacks is the difficulty of finding a buyer for your business when you decide its time to move on. The pool of potential acquirers is smaller and capital for buyers is harder to find. But if you understand the process of selling a business, then you can take steps to minimize the barriers to selling your company.
Selling a home and selling a business are remarkably similar tasks. If you’ve ever felt intimidated or confused about the process of selling your company, just think of the transaction in the same way you would if you were selling your home. This is the third in a multi-part series. Start reading with Part 1 now.
Once your real estate agent has shown your home to a number of potential buyers, you start entertaining offers. Your agent does what he or she can to drum up more than one offer to create some competitive tension in your deal and, possibly, a bidding war. You review each offer and negotiate the finer points.
When selling your business, your management presentations will (you hope) be followed by an offer(s) in the form of a non-binding letter of intent (LOI). The LOI will include the price the buyer is willing to pay for your business (both the cash portion and any earn-out calculation) along with a request for a period of exclusivity to perform “due diligence” so the buyer’s team of professionals can verify the various claims you made in the management presentations and in your marketing materials.
Due diligence is the equivalent of a home inspection in a real estate transaction. Most offers to buy a home or business have conditions, and when you accept the offer with conditions, you’re essentially taking your house off the market while the buyer inspects your claims. Just like when selling a house, you have to take a calculated gamble that the offer was made in good faith and that the buyer will follow through on his or her stated intention to buy. However, taking your property off the market is a risk, and if upon closer inspection, the buyer sees something of concern, then you might find the offered price reduced (very common) or the buyer walking away entirely.
Due diligence is a two-way street. I spoke to Brad Bottoset the owner of Reno-based business brokerage The Liberty Group of Nevada. Brad’s firm often represents sellers from small towns, “as a seller, make sure the offer gives you an opportunity to complete some due diligence on the buyer. You’ll want to thoroughly review the buyer’s credit history, their personal financial situation, and their business experience to make sure you’re comfortable selling them your business.”
Next Wednesday, we’ll look at step 6 in selling a house or a business: the inspection.
John Warrillow is the author of Built To Sell: Turn Your Business Into One You Can Sell. Find out if you have a sellable business – and what you could get for it – by taking the 10 question Sellability Index Quiz at www.BuiltToSell.com.
New here? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Subscribe.
Owning a business in a small town has many benefits, but one of the drawbacks is the difficulty of finding a buyer for your business when you decide its time to move on. The pool of potential acquirers is smaller and capital for buyers is harder to find. But if you understand the process of selling a business, then you can take steps to minimize the barriers to selling your company. Selling a home and selling a business are remarkably similar tasks. If you’ve ever felt intimidated or confused about the process of selling your company, just think of the transaction in the same way you would if you were selling your home. This is the third in a multi-part series. Start reading with Part 1 now.
Step 5: The offer
Once your real estate agent has shown your home to a number of potential buyers, you start entertaining offers. Your agent does what he or she can to drum up more than one offer to create some competitive tension in your deal and, possibly, a bidding war. You review each offer and negotiate the finer points.
When selling your business, your management presentations will (you hope) be followed by an offer(s) in the form of a non-binding letter of intent (LOI). The LOI will include the price the buyer is willing to pay for your business (both the cash portion and any earn-out calculation) along with a request for a period of exclusivity to perform “due diligence” so the buyer’s team of professionals can verify the various claims you made in the management presentations and in your marketing materials.
Due diligence is the equivalent of a home inspection in a real estate transaction. Most offers to buy a home or business have conditions, and when you accept the offer with conditions, you’re essentially taking your house off the market while the buyer inspects your claims. Just like when selling a house, you have to take a calculated gamble that the offer was made in good faith and that the buyer will follow through on his or her stated intention to buy. However, taking your property off the market is a risk, and if upon closer inspection, the buyer sees something of concern, then you might find the offered price reduced (very common) or the buyer walking away entirely.
Due diligence is a two-way street. I spoke to Brad Bottoset the owner of Reno-based business brokerage The Liberty Group of Nevada. Brad’s firm often represents sellers from small towns, “as a seller, make sure the offer gives you an opportunity to complete some due diligence on the buyer. You’ll want to thoroughly review the buyer’s credit history, their personal financial situation, and their business experience to make sure you’re comfortable selling them your business.”
Next Wednesday, we’ll look at step 6 in selling a house or a business: the inspection.
John Warrillow is the author of Built To Sell: Turn Your Business Into One You Can Sell. Find out if you have a sellable business – and what you could get for it – by taking the 10 question Sellability Index Quiz at www.BuiltToSell.com.
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Categories:
entrepreneurship
Video from your visitors
Right now, people are visiting your area, and they are shooting video of your best events and attractions. They may upload it to their own account, share it on Facebook, or let it languish on their hard drive. How can you turn that into a big asset?
In the April 8 Tourism Chat, the topic was all things video for tourism. The talk turned to encouraging your visitors to upload their videos.
@Decillis mentioned Discover Ohio's My Ohio, collecting photos and videos from travelers.
@GathanDBorden mentioned The Share Louisville Project.
My own home county, Woods County, Oklahoma, just launched their new site, and I'm proud to see a section for Videos Sent To Us. Go, Woods County!
How are you getting involved in video for tourism?
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 |
| Video cameras are getting smaller all the time! |
@Decillis mentioned Discover Ohio's My Ohio, collecting photos and videos from travelers.
@GathanDBorden mentioned The Share Louisville Project.
My own home county, Woods County, Oklahoma, just launched their new site, and I'm proud to see a section for Videos Sent To Us. Go, Woods County!
How are you getting involved in video for tourism?
New here? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Subscribe.
Help your customers with a predictive question
Predictive questions are questions that can lead to better recommendations. By asking your customers the right question, you can more easily connect them with the right product or the right service. The two questions might not even seem to be related.
The predictive question, "Do you like to dance?" correlates with, "should you switch to a Mac?" I heard that example in a session at SXSW. I think it was Making Content Relevant.
At the liquor store we ask, "Do you sweeten your tea?" to find out what type of wine customers might like.
Because the predictive question seems unrelated to the purchase decision, it can feel less intimidating to the customer, and easier to answer.
What seemingly unrelated questions might lead you to better answers for your customers?
The predictive question, "Do you like to dance?" correlates with, "should you switch to a Mac?" I heard that example in a session at SXSW. I think it was Making Content Relevant.
At the liquor store we ask, "Do you sweeten your tea?" to find out what type of wine customers might like.
Because the predictive question seems unrelated to the purchase decision, it can feel less intimidating to the customer, and easier to answer.
What seemingly unrelated questions might lead you to better answers for your customers?
Photo by Becky McCray
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Categories:
customer service,
entrepreneurship
Every week, I open a new Basket. I call it the Brag Basket, but it's not really about bragging. It's about sharing. I started this so you can introduce yourself, share some good news, or congratulate a friend.
The basket is open all weekend, from April 16-18, 2010. I'll be out of town this weekend, so I hope you will cheer for each other.
Speak up and add yourself or another deserving soul in the comments. We all cheer, and everyone feels great. It lets you meet each other a bit. Reading each others' stories brings us a bit closer to being a community.
How does it work? You write a comment on this post, email me, tweet me, or comment on this note on Facebook. You tell something great about your week, or you give applause to someone who did good stuff this week. Or you celebrate something wonderful that you tried that failed.
This is not an ad. (I delete the ads.) It's a conversation with friends. So jump in. And remember to cheer for each other.
New here? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Subscribe.
The basket is open all weekend, from April 16-18, 2010. I'll be out of town this weekend, so I hope you will cheer for each other.
Speak up and add yourself or another deserving soul in the comments. We all cheer, and everyone feels great. It lets you meet each other a bit. Reading each others' stories brings us a bit closer to being a community.
How does it work? You write a comment on this post, email me, tweet me, or comment on this note on Facebook. You tell something great about your week, or you give applause to someone who did good stuff this week. Or you celebrate something wonderful that you tried that failed.
This is not an ad. (I delete the ads.) It's a conversation with friends. So jump in. And remember to cheer for each other.
New here? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Subscribe.
Categories:
brag basket
Working together towards broadband
[We've been known to rant about broadband access, so I was more than happy to bring you this guest post from the Broadband for America Coalition. -Becky]
By the Broadband for America Coalition
Not so long ago, broadband access to the Internet was reserved for the largest corporations, the most expensive colleges and universities, and the government. Since then broadband has gone from “can’t have” to “nice to have” to “must have.”
In urban areas, broadband is easily obtained from a variety of sources. For many people, they can choose between a high speed connection from their cable company or from the phone company though a fiber connection.
For those in a rural area the choices may be … zero, and too often are.
We all understand the economics of cable service. If you live out of town, it is likely that the population density is too low to make stringing a cable to your home economically feasible. If you live on a farm, you might not even have cellular service until you get closer to town, so even mobile access to the internet is not possible.
In today’s world of high-intensity graphics on websites – photos, drawings, and videos – a dial-up connection is simply not a good option. If your children need to use the internet to do research for school, they are at a disadvantage to their peers in town who have a high-speed connection. First of all, dial-up access makes page loading frustratingly slow; second, if you have more than one child, then you already know the unpleasantness which can result from one “hogging” the telephone line, whether for the Internet or for talking with friends.
The Federal Communications Commission recently published its long-awaited National Broadband Plan. The central theory of that plan is that broadband should be available to every household and every business in America.
Just saying broadband “should be available” is not the whole story. The rest of that goal is that broadband should be available to every home and business in the United States at an affordable price.
Early in the 20th century, it was decided that electricity was so important, that power companies would be subsidized to bring service to areas which were otherwise unprofitable. The same thought brought about telephone service to every household – even if, earlier in the century, the best service available was a “party line.” Try to explain that concept to your kids some day.
Rural communities have a willing ear in their State capitals and in Washington in bringing broadband service to their residents. But a willing ear has to hear a plausible request.
Local Chambers of Commerce have begun to work together to urge better broadband availability. If you are in agribusiness, then your local farm organization is probably looking at the same issues.
Every business has an association. These are generally hierarchical – a local or county organization is associated with a state organization which is affiliated with a national group.
If broadband access to the Internet is important to your business – and it is – you need to get involved with the appropriate organizations and lend your voice, your pen, and your checkbook to making certain that in 2010 no community is forced to function with the technology of 1930.
Broadband for America is a coalition made up of over 200 organizations ranging from independent consumer advocacy groups, to content and application providers, to the companies which build and maintain the internet. Their mission is to make broadband access to the Internet available to every household in the nation; to provide data transfer speeds to make that broadband experience valuable to users; and to provide the bandwidth necessary for content providers to continue to make the Internet a cultural, societal, and economic engine for growth.
New here? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Subscribe.
By the Broadband for America Coalition
Not so long ago, broadband access to the Internet was reserved for the largest corporations, the most expensive colleges and universities, and the government. Since then broadband has gone from “can’t have” to “nice to have” to “must have.”
In urban areas, broadband is easily obtained from a variety of sources. For many people, they can choose between a high speed connection from their cable company or from the phone company though a fiber connection.For those in a rural area the choices may be … zero, and too often are.
We all understand the economics of cable service. If you live out of town, it is likely that the population density is too low to make stringing a cable to your home economically feasible. If you live on a farm, you might not even have cellular service until you get closer to town, so even mobile access to the internet is not possible.
In today’s world of high-intensity graphics on websites – photos, drawings, and videos – a dial-up connection is simply not a good option. If your children need to use the internet to do research for school, they are at a disadvantage to their peers in town who have a high-speed connection. First of all, dial-up access makes page loading frustratingly slow; second, if you have more than one child, then you already know the unpleasantness which can result from one “hogging” the telephone line, whether for the Internet or for talking with friends.
The Federal Communications Commission recently published its long-awaited National Broadband Plan. The central theory of that plan is that broadband should be available to every household and every business in America.
Just saying broadband “should be available” is not the whole story. The rest of that goal is that broadband should be available to every home and business in the United States at an affordable price.
Early in the 20th century, it was decided that electricity was so important, that power companies would be subsidized to bring service to areas which were otherwise unprofitable. The same thought brought about telephone service to every household – even if, earlier in the century, the best service available was a “party line.” Try to explain that concept to your kids some day.
Rural communities have a willing ear in their State capitals and in Washington in bringing broadband service to their residents. But a willing ear has to hear a plausible request.
Local Chambers of Commerce have begun to work together to urge better broadband availability. If you are in agribusiness, then your local farm organization is probably looking at the same issues.
Every business has an association. These are generally hierarchical – a local or county organization is associated with a state organization which is affiliated with a national group.
If broadband access to the Internet is important to your business – and it is – you need to get involved with the appropriate organizations and lend your voice, your pen, and your checkbook to making certain that in 2010 no community is forced to function with the technology of 1930.
Broadband for America is a coalition made up of over 200 organizations ranging from independent consumer advocacy groups, to content and application providers, to the companies which build and maintain the internet. Their mission is to make broadband access to the Internet available to every household in the nation; to provide data transfer speeds to make that broadband experience valuable to users; and to provide the bandwidth necessary for content providers to continue to make the Internet a cultural, societal, and economic engine for growth.
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How selling a small town business is like selling a home Part 4
If you have ever sold a home, you can sell your business
Owning a business in a small town has many benefits, but one of the drawbacks is the difficulty of finding a buyer for your business when you decide its time to move on. The pool of potential acquirers is smaller and capital for buyers is harder to find. But if you understand the process of selling a business, then you can take steps to minimize the barriers to selling your company.
Selling a home and selling a business are remarkably similar tasks. If you’ve ever felt intimidated or confused about the process of selling your company, just think of the transaction in the same way you would if you were selling your home. This is the third in a multi-part series. Start reading with Part 1 now.
Once your agent puts the sign on the lawn, he or she starts scheduling showings. Potential buyers and their agents walk through your home and have a chance to see first-hand what you’re selling.
When selling your business, potential acquirers will want to schedule a showing—called a “management presentation” in Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) parlance. The management presentation is your chance to paint a picture of what you have built and the future you see for your business and industry. It’s also a chance for the potential buyer to meet you.
Just as a stranger walking through your home will generally be gracious and avoid making negative comments about your choice of decor, the potential buyer of your business typically asks only polite questions at the management presentation, steering clear of saying anything you might take personal offense to (those comments and questions are usually saved for due diligence).
You’ll get one trick question during the management presentations:
“Why do you want to sell your business?”
It may be tempting to explain how tired you are and how much you need a vacation, but don’t. The prospective buyer wants to know you plan to stay on for a while to help them run your business. Stick with an answer like “I’m at a stage of my life where I’d like to create some liquidity for the value I’ve created so far and find a way to participate in our next stage of growth”.
Nail the trick question and you’ll probably get to step 5: “the offer”, which will be the subject of next Wednesday’s post.
John Warrillow is the author of Built To Sell: Turn Your Business Into One You Can Sell. Find out if you have a sellable business – and what you could get for it – by taking the 10 question Sellability Index Quiz at www.BuiltToSell.com.
New here? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Subscribe.
Owning a business in a small town has many benefits, but one of the drawbacks is the difficulty of finding a buyer for your business when you decide its time to move on. The pool of potential acquirers is smaller and capital for buyers is harder to find. But if you understand the process of selling a business, then you can take steps to minimize the barriers to selling your company. Selling a home and selling a business are remarkably similar tasks. If you’ve ever felt intimidated or confused about the process of selling your company, just think of the transaction in the same way you would if you were selling your home. This is the third in a multi-part series. Start reading with Part 1 now.
Step 4: The showing
Once your agent puts the sign on the lawn, he or she starts scheduling showings. Potential buyers and their agents walk through your home and have a chance to see first-hand what you’re selling.
When selling your business, potential acquirers will want to schedule a showing—called a “management presentation” in Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) parlance. The management presentation is your chance to paint a picture of what you have built and the future you see for your business and industry. It’s also a chance for the potential buyer to meet you.
Just as a stranger walking through your home will generally be gracious and avoid making negative comments about your choice of decor, the potential buyer of your business typically asks only polite questions at the management presentation, steering clear of saying anything you might take personal offense to (those comments and questions are usually saved for due diligence).
You’ll get one trick question during the management presentations:
“Why do you want to sell your business?”
It may be tempting to explain how tired you are and how much you need a vacation, but don’t. The prospective buyer wants to know you plan to stay on for a while to help them run your business. Stick with an answer like “I’m at a stage of my life where I’d like to create some liquidity for the value I’ve created so far and find a way to participate in our next stage of growth”.
Nail the trick question and you’ll probably get to step 5: “the offer”, which will be the subject of next Wednesday’s post.
John Warrillow is the author of Built To Sell: Turn Your Business Into One You Can Sell. Find out if you have a sellable business – and what you could get for it – by taking the 10 question Sellability Index Quiz at www.BuiltToSell.com.
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Categories:
entrepreneurship
Talking social media and tourism
Tourism is one of our favorite topics here, especially how to use online tools to reach more visitors.
During South by Southwest, Sheila Scarborough and I sat down with Jennifer Navarrete and Luis Sandoval, Jr. of the Tech in Twenty show to talk about how social media can help tourism organizations tell the stories of their destinations.
(Yes, I know it looks like Sheila is chewing gum. That was actually cough drops, trying to keep her from coughing through the entire interview.)
The direct link to the show is here if you can’t see the box below. Thank you to Tech in Twenty for having us join them, and to Albert Maruggi for being the videographer for this episode.
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During South by Southwest, Sheila Scarborough and I sat down with Jennifer Navarrete and Luis Sandoval, Jr. of the Tech in Twenty show to talk about how social media can help tourism organizations tell the stories of their destinations.(Yes, I know it looks like Sheila is chewing gum. That was actually cough drops, trying to keep her from coughing through the entire interview.)
The direct link to the show is here if you can’t see the box below. Thank you to Tech in Twenty for having us join them, and to Albert Maruggi for being the videographer for this episode.
New here? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Subscribe.
Categories:
social media,
tourism,
video
Build a technology company without a tech cofounder
You don't have to be the geek to start a technology-based company. Plenty of high tech companies have been started by people from all walks of life, without having an advanced programming certification.
At South by Southwest, this was the subject of "How to Run a Startup Without a Tech Cofounder." Suzanne Xie, founder of Weardrobe, and Sahadeva Hammari, founder of several start ups, shared their experiences at having the passion without the coding skills.
Because this was a Core Conversation, there was a lot of audience participation. Based on the discussion, here are the top three sources for tech help.
1. Students
You can use computer science students from a local university for programming. Another audience member offered a caution. Students do not yet have real-world experience. Their code probably reflects that. Don't expect elegant, simple code from people who are still learning.
2. Community
If you have a compelling enough vision, you can build an online community to assist with development. Basically, you are asking people to volunteer to help with your coding.
3. Freelancers
Several people suggested online sites where you can search for freelance tech help. E-lance, oDesk, Guru.com, crowdSPRING, and 99 designs were all mentioned.
Check their work
No matter where you get your tech help, have a qualified programmer review their work. From the audience, my friend Erica Douglass, offered her perspective as both an entrepreneur and an expert level PHP coder. She said you can't do an adequate job of being both. However, she does have an advantage because she knows how to check the product of coders working for her. You may have to try two or three freelancers to find a good one.
In a different presentation, Ross Kimbarovsky of crowdSPRING said they made a mistake by not learning what they needed to know to supervise code development. At least find the right advisors, who could help you. Look for your local programming groups. Don't assume that because you are working with someone who *should* know what they are doing, that they do know what they are doing.
Alternatives
If you want to take a different approach, the group had two suggestions.
1. Design your site as an app first. Distill the idea down.
2. Do the idea without using a website. Think of other ways to make it work.
Finally, don't try to make your idea perfect before seeking your programming help. You'll probably have to adjust your idea to fit what's possible.
At South by Southwest, this was the subject of "How to Run a Startup Without a Tech Cofounder." Suzanne Xie, founder of Weardrobe, and Sahadeva Hammari, founder of several start ups, shared their experiences at having the passion without the coding skills. Because this was a Core Conversation, there was a lot of audience participation. Based on the discussion, here are the top three sources for tech help.
1. Students
You can use computer science students from a local university for programming. Another audience member offered a caution. Students do not yet have real-world experience. Their code probably reflects that. Don't expect elegant, simple code from people who are still learning.
2. Community
If you have a compelling enough vision, you can build an online community to assist with development. Basically, you are asking people to volunteer to help with your coding.
3. Freelancers
Several people suggested online sites where you can search for freelance tech help. E-lance, oDesk, Guru.com, crowdSPRING, and 99 designs were all mentioned.
Check their work
No matter where you get your tech help, have a qualified programmer review their work. From the audience, my friend Erica Douglass, offered her perspective as both an entrepreneur and an expert level PHP coder. She said you can't do an adequate job of being both. However, she does have an advantage because she knows how to check the product of coders working for her. You may have to try two or three freelancers to find a good one. In a different presentation, Ross Kimbarovsky of crowdSPRING said they made a mistake by not learning what they needed to know to supervise code development. At least find the right advisors, who could help you. Look for your local programming groups. Don't assume that because you are working with someone who *should* know what they are doing, that they do know what they are doing.
Alternatives
If you want to take a different approach, the group had two suggestions.
1. Design your site as an app first. Distill the idea down.
2. Do the idea without using a website. Think of other ways to make it work.
Finally, don't try to make your idea perfect before seeking your programming help. You'll probably have to adjust your idea to fit what's possible.
Photos by Becky McCray.
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Categories:
entrepreneurship
Stir something up in the Brag Basket
Every week, I open a new Basket. I call it the Brag Basket, but it's not really about bragging. It's about sharing. I started this so you can introduce yourself, share some good news, or congratulate a friend.
The basket is open all weekend, from April 9-11, 2010. And since I've been stirring up trouble all week, I think we'll make that a theme for this one. What trouble have you stirred up, in a good way? Tell us about it!
Of course, regular brags and shares are still welcome. Speak up and add yourself or another deserving soul in the comments. We all cheer, and everyone feels great. It lets you meet each other a bit. Reading each others' stories brings us a bit closer to being a community.
How does it work? You write a comment on this post, email me, tweet me, or comment on this note on Facebook. You tell something great about your week, or you give applause to someone who did good stuff this week. Or you celebrate something wonderful that you tried that failed.
This is not an ad. (I delete the ads.) It's a conversation with friends. So jump in. And remember to cheer for each other.
New here? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Subscribe.
The basket is open all weekend, from April 9-11, 2010. And since I've been stirring up trouble all week, I think we'll make that a theme for this one. What trouble have you stirred up, in a good way? Tell us about it!
Of course, regular brags and shares are still welcome. Speak up and add yourself or another deserving soul in the comments. We all cheer, and everyone feels great. It lets you meet each other a bit. Reading each others' stories brings us a bit closer to being a community.
How does it work? You write a comment on this post, email me, tweet me, or comment on this note on Facebook. You tell something great about your week, or you give applause to someone who did good stuff this week. Or you celebrate something wonderful that you tried that failed.
This is not an ad. (I delete the ads.) It's a conversation with friends. So jump in. And remember to cheer for each other.
New here? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Subscribe.
Categories:
brag basket
A community of small businesses
Here's an entrepreneurial idea for any small town. Build "a community of small businesses" like 1440 Main Street in Ferdinand, Indiana.
via @ahoffman50 on Twitter.
Each business can support the others in promotions, in sharing customers, in splitting expenses. Each entrepreneur can benefit from brainstorming and networking with the others. Everyone can learn something from each other. Of course it won't work perfectly; nothing does. But I see lots of potential here.
How can you build on this idea?
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via @ahoffman50 on Twitter.
Each business can support the others in promotions, in sharing customers, in splitting expenses. Each entrepreneur can benefit from brainstorming and networking with the others. Everyone can learn something from each other. Of course it won't work perfectly; nothing does. But I see lots of potential here.
How can you build on this idea?
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Categories:
economic development,
entrepreneurship,
rural
How selling a small town business is like selling a home Part 3
If you have ever sold a home, you can sell your business
Owning a business in a small town has many benefits, but one of the drawbacks is the difficulty of finding a buyer for your business when you decide its time to move on. The pool of potential acquirers is smaller and capital for buyers is harder to find. But if you understand the process of selling a business, then you can take steps to minimize the barriers to selling your company.
Selling a home and selling a business are remarkably similar tasks. If you’ve ever felt intimidated or confused about the process of selling your company, just think of the transaction in the same way you would if you were selling your home. This is the third in a multi-part series. Start reading with part 1 now.
Once you have selected a real estate agent to represent you in the sale of your home, the next step is to create the marketing materials he or she will use to promote your property.
The offer sheet typically includes a picture(s) of your home along with key statistics like the number of bedrooms, lot size, and so on. Your agent may also take an ad out in the local paper. These materials are designed to persuade consumers to invest more time in your house by booking a showing or attending an open house.
When selling your business, your representative will create a “teaser” document designed to entice prospective buyers to invest some time to get to know your business. The teaser is usually a one- or two-page document that includes a few key stats on your company, such as your current revenue and profit and your projections for the future. Your company name is usually disguised to minimize the chances of key customers and employees hearing about it being on the market.
The importance of disguising the teaser is paramount when it comes to selling a business in a small town. I spoke to Brad Bottoset the owner of Reno-based business brokerage The Liberty Group of Nevada. Brad’s firm often represents sellers from small towns and one of his latest listing is in Fallon, Nevada (population: 7536).
“In a small town, there is often only one or two businesses in a certain industry. If I was representing a Ford dealership in Los Angeles, I’d describe it as a car dealership in the teaser. If I was selling a Ford dealership in a small town, I’d describe it as 'a retailer.' You need to be vague in a describing a small town business in a teaser to avoid the entire town finding out a business is for sale.”
Just as a real estate agent would, your broker will then work his or her Rolodex and send this teaser to a list of people who might buy your business. Some brokers may list your business on one of the Multiple Listing Service (MLS)-like listing services for businesses (e.g., www.bizbuysell.com) to draw interest from outside of your area
Make sure your broker includes some of the benefits of living in your town in the teaser. There are a lot of people who work in corporate jobs in the city that dream about buying a small business in a small town and enjoying life at a slower pace. Paint a picture of the lifestyle benefits of living in your area.
If a potential buyer wants to know more about your business, then your representative will ask that person to sign a nondisclosure agreement (NDA), after which he or she will get a comprehensive summary of your business performance and your business plan.
You want to ensure your teaser has just enough information to lure a buyer to get as far as signing an NDA.
Next Wednesday, we’ll look at step 4 in selling a house or a business: the showing.
John Warrillow is the author of Built To Sell: Turn Your Business Into One You Can Sell. Find out if you have a sellable business – and what you could get for it – by taking the 10 question Sellability Index Quiz at www.BuiltToSell.com.
New here? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Subscribe.
Owning a business in a small town has many benefits, but one of the drawbacks is the difficulty of finding a buyer for your business when you decide its time to move on. The pool of potential acquirers is smaller and capital for buyers is harder to find. But if you understand the process of selling a business, then you can take steps to minimize the barriers to selling your company. Selling a home and selling a business are remarkably similar tasks. If you’ve ever felt intimidated or confused about the process of selling your company, just think of the transaction in the same way you would if you were selling your home. This is the third in a multi-part series. Start reading with part 1 now.
Step 3: Create the marketing material
Once you have selected a real estate agent to represent you in the sale of your home, the next step is to create the marketing materials he or she will use to promote your property.
The offer sheet typically includes a picture(s) of your home along with key statistics like the number of bedrooms, lot size, and so on. Your agent may also take an ad out in the local paper. These materials are designed to persuade consumers to invest more time in your house by booking a showing or attending an open house.
When selling your business, your representative will create a “teaser” document designed to entice prospective buyers to invest some time to get to know your business. The teaser is usually a one- or two-page document that includes a few key stats on your company, such as your current revenue and profit and your projections for the future. Your company name is usually disguised to minimize the chances of key customers and employees hearing about it being on the market.
The importance of disguising the teaser is paramount when it comes to selling a business in a small town. I spoke to Brad Bottoset the owner of Reno-based business brokerage The Liberty Group of Nevada. Brad’s firm often represents sellers from small towns and one of his latest listing is in Fallon, Nevada (population: 7536).
“In a small town, there is often only one or two businesses in a certain industry. If I was representing a Ford dealership in Los Angeles, I’d describe it as a car dealership in the teaser. If I was selling a Ford dealership in a small town, I’d describe it as 'a retailer.' You need to be vague in a describing a small town business in a teaser to avoid the entire town finding out a business is for sale.”
Just as a real estate agent would, your broker will then work his or her Rolodex and send this teaser to a list of people who might buy your business. Some brokers may list your business on one of the Multiple Listing Service (MLS)-like listing services for businesses (e.g., www.bizbuysell.com) to draw interest from outside of your area
Make sure your broker includes some of the benefits of living in your town in the teaser. There are a lot of people who work in corporate jobs in the city that dream about buying a small business in a small town and enjoying life at a slower pace. Paint a picture of the lifestyle benefits of living in your area.
If a potential buyer wants to know more about your business, then your representative will ask that person to sign a nondisclosure agreement (NDA), after which he or she will get a comprehensive summary of your business performance and your business plan.
You want to ensure your teaser has just enough information to lure a buyer to get as far as signing an NDA.
Next Wednesday, we’ll look at step 4 in selling a house or a business: the showing.
John Warrillow is the author of Built To Sell: Turn Your Business Into One You Can Sell. Find out if you have a sellable business – and what you could get for it – by taking the 10 question Sellability Index Quiz at www.BuiltToSell.com.
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Categories:
entrepreneurship
How do you make FourSquare relevant for small towns
Location based games and applications like FourSquare and Gowalla are hot topics right now.
Players use their mobile phones to check in at various locations to share recommendations with each other, to find friends who happen to be nearby, and to compete with each other.
To get a real sense of how mobile and local technologies can converge for urban folks, read Jeff Jarvis' Mobile=local.
 |
| Checking in on Gowalla |
To get a real sense of how mobile and local technologies can converge for urban folks, read Jeff Jarvis' Mobile=local.
Categories:
Best of,
rural,
social media,
tourism
Whatever it takes
When I was a little kid, my mom and dad owned their own trucking business. One winter, things weren't going great. In fact, things looked pretty bad.
They went home to visit their parents in Alva, and cut a big load of firewood while they were there. Then they headed back to Oklahoma City, where we lived. They put the firewood out for sale at convenience stores.
That wasn't part of their plan. They weren't going into the firewood business. But they did have a "whatever it takes" attitude.
How did it turn out? The firewood sales helped to keep our family and the business going through the winter. The trucking business became a success, the first of many for my parents.
I think about this story every so often, when someone tells me about some relatively small obstacle that is keeping them from starting a business or some problem that has them declaring defeat. And even when I complain about a setback. Where is my "whatever it takes" attitude?
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They went home to visit their parents in Alva, and cut a big load of firewood while they were there. Then they headed back to Oklahoma City, where we lived. They put the firewood out for sale at convenience stores. That wasn't part of their plan. They weren't going into the firewood business. But they did have a "whatever it takes" attitude.
How did it turn out? The firewood sales helped to keep our family and the business going through the winter. The trucking business became a success, the first of many for my parents.
I think about this story every so often, when someone tells me about some relatively small obstacle that is keeping them from starting a business or some problem that has them declaring defeat. And even when I complain about a setback. Where is my "whatever it takes" attitude?
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Categories:
entrepreneurship,
Small Biz 100,
survivors
Building entrepreneurial communities: April 8
If you are trying to make your community more friendly for entrepreneurs, make time on your calendar for the eXtension Entrepreneurship Webinar this Thursday:
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On Thursday, April 8, 2010 at 2 p.m. EDT (1 p.m. CDT; 12 noon MDT; 11 a.m. PDT) eXtension will offer a webinar that will feature Deb Markley sharing insights drawn from the RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship's Energizing Entrepreneurs (e2) approach to thinking about entrepreneurship-focused economic development and Greg Clary sharing how the Texas Center for Rural Entrepreneurship (TCRE) prepares communities for certification as an Entrepreneur Ready Community. Greg Wise from the University of Wisconsin-Extension Center for Community and Economic Development will moderate this program. You'll come away from this webinar with a greater understanding about what communities can do to energize entrepreneurship and how to support entrepreneurs in your community - and why the future of your economy might just depend on how well you can do that.Found in the RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship e-newsletter.
All eXtension webinars are one hour long and free and open to everyone. The Web meeting room opens 10 minutes before the start time. Go to connect.extension.iastate.edu/ecop to view. Newcomers to online learning are welcome.
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Categories:
events
Come share with us
Every week, I open a new Basket. I call it the Brag Basket, but it's not really about bragging. It's about sharing. I started this so you can introduce yourself, share some good news, or congratulate a friend.
The basket is open all weekend, from April 2-4, 2010.
Speak up and add yourself or another deserving soul in the comments. We all cheer, and everyone feels great. It lets you meet each other a bit. Reading each others' stories brings us a bit closer to being a community.
How does it work? You write a comment on this post, email me, tweet me, or comment on this note on Facebook. You tell something great about your week, or you give applause to someone who did good stuff this week. Or you celebrate something wonderful that you tried that failed.
This is not an ad. (I delete the ads.) It's a conversation with friends. So jump in. And remember to cheer for each other.
New here? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Subscribe.
UPDATE: Amy emailed me this wonderful story from Dublin, Texas:
I just have to brag about the community of Dublin, Texas and our terrific St. Patrick's Day small business promotion this past week (March 17th, of course.) While we always have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day festival on a weekend before, after or on St. Pat's., this year, the Chamber of Commerce www.dublintxchamber.com decided to take advantage of immense small-town tourism on the actual weekday to benefit our small businesses. Here's how it worked.
We heard from our CofC member, Lori Dodd, of Dublin Dr Pepper that St. Patrick's Day week is the second busiest time for Old Doc's Soda Shop www.olddocs.com and the Dr Pepper bottling plant (they're the original bottlers, oldest bottling plant that has always produced the original recipe Dr Pepper with pure cane sugar.) The point is, other than Dr Pepper birthday, this St. Patrick's and spring break traffic is their biggest week, resulting in thousands coming through their doors. So, Chamber of Commerce knew that in addition to a formal festival, we needed to "build something" to persuade our tourists to stay in town a bit longer, and spend a few more dollars with our merchants. After all, as one of the few small towns in our area with increasing monthly sales (resulting in tax dollars to community building efforts) we needed to "make it work."
So, we let Chamber of Commerce members like Veldhuizen Cheese www.veldhuizencheese.com, makers of farmstead artisan cheese, drive traffic to their rural on-farm Cheese Shoppe by having a tasting table with a handout that included a map and a $$ savings offer if they come tour the Cheese Shoppe, "ride Norman the Longhorn," pet the calves, watch the cows milk and tour the farm. HUGE Success.
And, we moved a less than successful stew cookoff to downtown Dublin, promoting more foot traffic among downtown area merchants. Then, we approved a self-annointed "Shamrock Princess" board member, who bravely flitted about town in a beautiful costume and long red-haired wig. As a spokesperson, she was phenomenal.
A highlight of this year's St. Pat's Wednesday events was a community dog show, sponsored by local feed/farm/produce store Bradberry's Best www.bradberrysbest.com. We promoted it starting two weeks before via social media, local media alerts and in area schools, and we were thrilled with a turnout of 400 or so folks, from as far away as 5 hours (they were in the area anyway; our promo wasn't THAT good!) 174 entries, with money going to 4-H, and matched by a local kennel www.davidsondovetailranch.com. 15 trophies and more than a hundred ribbons provided ... and tons of happy kids, and adults! Tourists coming through Dublin Dr Pepper were invited to judge, and had even more stories to tell when they went back home.
Finally, we built (remember this is our first year) a small "carnival" type feel of face painting, tattoos next to Dublin Dr Pepper. The local Cub Scouts and 4-H club benefited financially, and built more of a feel of "folksy, small town." Local businesses served green pizza and had games on the sidewalk. A costume contest rounded out the day.
We're proud of what we did in this first year of on-St. Pat's promotion. Granted, we should have been doing it for years, but missed St. Pat's opportunities due to the immense time commitment involved by volunteers working the weekend festival. Due to wintry weather on Saturday of this year, the actual St. Pat's festival was diminished in effect. But thanks to our Wednesday efforts, we had much to brag about. We cannot wait to see how our tax revenue for the month was impacted! Thanks for letting us share!
Here's a you-tube video created by a local Chamber member, Mike Simpson of 828 Media www.828media.com.
St. Patrick's Day In Dublin (Texas that is!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6UsTH5b_Vs
Top of the morning to you!
Amy McDonald
Chamber of Commerce Board Member (Dublin, Texas)
Amy also has a marketing communications firm www.mmcsolutions.com, but she was too shy to mention it. :) Thank you, Amy, for sharing this terrific story!
The basket is open all weekend, from April 2-4, 2010.
Speak up and add yourself or another deserving soul in the comments. We all cheer, and everyone feels great. It lets you meet each other a bit. Reading each others' stories brings us a bit closer to being a community.
How does it work? You write a comment on this post, email me, tweet me, or comment on this note on Facebook. You tell something great about your week, or you give applause to someone who did good stuff this week. Or you celebrate something wonderful that you tried that failed.
This is not an ad. (I delete the ads.) It's a conversation with friends. So jump in. And remember to cheer for each other.
New here? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Subscribe.
UPDATE: Amy emailed me this wonderful story from Dublin, Texas:
I just have to brag about the community of Dublin, Texas and our terrific St. Patrick's Day small business promotion this past week (March 17th, of course.) While we always have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day festival on a weekend before, after or on St. Pat's., this year, the Chamber of Commerce www.dublintxchamber.com decided to take advantage of immense small-town tourism on the actual weekday to benefit our small businesses. Here's how it worked.
We heard from our CofC member, Lori Dodd, of Dublin Dr Pepper that St. Patrick's Day week is the second busiest time for Old Doc's Soda Shop www.olddocs.com and the Dr Pepper bottling plant (they're the original bottlers, oldest bottling plant that has always produced the original recipe Dr Pepper with pure cane sugar.) The point is, other than Dr Pepper birthday, this St. Patrick's and spring break traffic is their biggest week, resulting in thousands coming through their doors. So, Chamber of Commerce knew that in addition to a formal festival, we needed to "build something" to persuade our tourists to stay in town a bit longer, and spend a few more dollars with our merchants. After all, as one of the few small towns in our area with increasing monthly sales (resulting in tax dollars to community building efforts) we needed to "make it work."
So, we let Chamber of Commerce members like Veldhuizen Cheese www.veldhuizencheese.com, makers of farmstead artisan cheese, drive traffic to their rural on-farm Cheese Shoppe by having a tasting table with a handout that included a map and a $$ savings offer if they come tour the Cheese Shoppe, "ride Norman the Longhorn," pet the calves, watch the cows milk and tour the farm. HUGE Success.
And, we moved a less than successful stew cookoff to downtown Dublin, promoting more foot traffic among downtown area merchants. Then, we approved a self-annointed "Shamrock Princess" board member, who bravely flitted about town in a beautiful costume and long red-haired wig. As a spokesperson, she was phenomenal.
A highlight of this year's St. Pat's Wednesday events was a community dog show, sponsored by local feed/farm/produce store Bradberry's Best www.bradberrysbest.com. We promoted it starting two weeks before via social media, local media alerts and in area schools, and we were thrilled with a turnout of 400 or so folks, from as far away as 5 hours (they were in the area anyway; our promo wasn't THAT good!) 174 entries, with money going to 4-H, and matched by a local kennel www.davidsondovetailranch.com. 15 trophies and more than a hundred ribbons provided ... and tons of happy kids, and adults! Tourists coming through Dublin Dr Pepper were invited to judge, and had even more stories to tell when they went back home.
Finally, we built (remember this is our first year) a small "carnival" type feel of face painting, tattoos next to Dublin Dr Pepper. The local Cub Scouts and 4-H club benefited financially, and built more of a feel of "folksy, small town." Local businesses served green pizza and had games on the sidewalk. A costume contest rounded out the day.
We're proud of what we did in this first year of on-St. Pat's promotion. Granted, we should have been doing it for years, but missed St. Pat's opportunities due to the immense time commitment involved by volunteers working the weekend festival. Due to wintry weather on Saturday of this year, the actual St. Pat's festival was diminished in effect. But thanks to our Wednesday efforts, we had much to brag about. We cannot wait to see how our tax revenue for the month was impacted! Thanks for letting us share!
Here's a you-tube video created by a local Chamber member, Mike Simpson of 828 Media www.828media.com.
St. Patrick's Day In Dublin (Texas that is!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6UsTH5b_Vs
Top of the morning to you!
Amy McDonald
Chamber of Commerce Board Member (Dublin, Texas)
Amy also has a marketing communications firm www.mmcsolutions.com, but she was too shy to mention it. :) Thank you, Amy, for sharing this terrific story!
Categories:
brag basket
How Promise Pizza made social media pay off
Making Social Media Pay Off: Driving Awareness and Growing Your Small Business Through Tweets and Friends
By Suzanne Cordeiro
Jumping into the local organic pizza market feet first, PROMISE PIZZA learned early on the impact – and potential payback -- of social media.
I started using Social Media in October 2009 and was clueless about the whole thing, simply dabbling in Twitter and using Facebook to keep up with family and friends. I considered social media more of a tool to stay connected, not a tool to drive our new pizza business.
My husband and I, along with three other partners/friends, founded and opened PROMISEPIZZA (www.promisepizza.com) in Round Rock, Texas, a city of 70,000 in August of last year. With no experience at owning a restaurant or retail business, our business came to life with a shared vision of a new concept in pizza. With a dream of a new kind of eco-friendly, socially-conscious, organic/all-natural pizzeria and a pizza oven purchased on Ebay, our store was launched.
With great sales the first month, soon the hype fizzled and we worked to fine-tune our marketing strategy and turn up the heat on advertising. While we tried all the traditional marketing stuff (newspaper ads, flyers, windshield coupons, etc...) we even appeared on television. We hosted every food reviewer in the city and had many amazing articles and blog reviews written about our restaurant.
While those advertising and marketing efforts brought incremental growth, nothing delivered better impact for us than the use of social media, particularly Twitter. For the most part, we use it for the majority of our advertisement with astounding success.
For getting the word out about promotions, specials or events quickly, there is no better way than to advertise via social media. For example, PROMISE PIZZA hosted a "social media" night where all the Austin-area food bloggers were invited to come and try all our pizzas. The advertising impact that ensued afterwards was priceless.
Further, social media introduced us to events and people we would otherwise never meet. This has given us the opportunity to sponsor various events and the buzz around PROMISE PIZZA became so great that we've been asked to open stores in multiple locations. Social Media also assisted in creating out current partnerships with Texas Jumping Beans and Austin Sports Arena, two Round Rock children’s and athletic events centers. These partnerships also give us the opportunity to do some cross-marketing with other local businesses.
Tips for Getting Value From Social Media
I have to point out that there are several unwritten rules to follow in order to gain valuable followers and get news about your business shared to customers in your local area.
First, it's easy to gain thousands of followers but if you don't target your local audience, it's pretty pointless. Aim to attract local followers and not only advertise but occasionally put out interesting "tweets" about random news your customers might find interesting or useful. (ie. that free grand-slam breakfast at Denny's or personal pictures of our historic Texan snowmen).
Secondly, get personal. On Twitter and Facebook, I represent PROMISEPIZZA but my tweets are personal. I try to post things that are locally relevant and entertaining to followers. More importantly, return the favor and share your follower’s information with your customers when possible.
Thirdly, support other local businesses and charities in your community. PROMISE PIZZA is strongly committed to giving back and social media has helped us identify local needs. For example, via one simple posting, I was able obtain a contact of a local shelter and delivered 20+ pizzas to them on Super Bowl Sunday.
Some Examples of our social media successes (and there are many more) are:
Finally, remember that social media is not only advertising but about building relationships. It has been influential in so many aspects of our business. Comments made via Twitter and Facebook have resulted in
We listen and respond to all comments and aim to make everyone happy. Word-of-mouth and superior customer service is still key.
Don’t forget that social media is fun! Getting to know your customers is amazing and nothing makes my day more than when I meet a fellow tweep that I've been getting to know via Twitter for weeks or months. If I know that someone is heading to PROMISE PIZZA that I've been chatting with via Twitter or Facebook, I will definitely make every effort to meet them. Via social media, I was recently introduced to great local professionals who regularly attend “Round Rock Jelly”. In brief, Round Rock Jelly, founded by social media goddess and now friend Sheila Scarborough, is a weekly casual co-working session held on Fridays between 11-2pm. This wonderful gathering allowed me to meet many people I had formed relationships with on-line. I look forward to attending as many as possible and meeting other great local entrepreneurs.
I can't forget the fact that if I ever need a lightening-speed answer to pretty much any question, Twitter is faster than any search engine. I even ask my followers how they think we should advertise and if direct mail is effective for our target audience. Using customer response, we were able to make marketing decisions based on their input.
Bottom line, how can you go wrong asking Twitterverse?
I look forward to what is to come in social media. It has proven to be productive, convenient, personal, cost-effective, and enjoyable as well. Join the fun and follow us on Twitter and Facebook. For franchising opportunities, please email us at franchise@promisepizza.com
New here? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Subscribe.
By Suzanne Cordeiro
I started using Social Media in October 2009 and was clueless about the whole thing, simply dabbling in Twitter and using Facebook to keep up with family and friends. I considered social media more of a tool to stay connected, not a tool to drive our new pizza business.
My husband and I, along with three other partners/friends, founded and opened PROMISEPIZZA (www.promisepizza.com) in Round Rock, Texas, a city of 70,000 in August of last year. With no experience at owning a restaurant or retail business, our business came to life with a shared vision of a new concept in pizza. With a dream of a new kind of eco-friendly, socially-conscious, organic/all-natural pizzeria and a pizza oven purchased on Ebay, our store was launched.
With great sales the first month, soon the hype fizzled and we worked to fine-tune our marketing strategy and turn up the heat on advertising. While we tried all the traditional marketing stuff (newspaper ads, flyers, windshield coupons, etc...) we even appeared on television. We hosted every food reviewer in the city and had many amazing articles and blog reviews written about our restaurant.
While those advertising and marketing efforts brought incremental growth, nothing delivered better impact for us than the use of social media, particularly Twitter. For the most part, we use it for the majority of our advertisement with astounding success.
For getting the word out about promotions, specials or events quickly, there is no better way than to advertise via social media. For example, PROMISE PIZZA hosted a "social media" night where all the Austin-area food bloggers were invited to come and try all our pizzas. The advertising impact that ensued afterwards was priceless.
Further, social media introduced us to events and people we would otherwise never meet. This has given us the opportunity to sponsor various events and the buzz around PROMISE PIZZA became so great that we've been asked to open stores in multiple locations. Social Media also assisted in creating out current partnerships with Texas Jumping Beans and Austin Sports Arena, two Round Rock children’s and athletic events centers. These partnerships also give us the opportunity to do some cross-marketing with other local businesses.
Tips for Getting Value From Social Media
I have to point out that there are several unwritten rules to follow in order to gain valuable followers and get news about your business shared to customers in your local area.
First, it's easy to gain thousands of followers but if you don't target your local audience, it's pretty pointless. Aim to attract local followers and not only advertise but occasionally put out interesting "tweets" about random news your customers might find interesting or useful. (ie. that free grand-slam breakfast at Denny's or personal pictures of our historic Texan snowmen).
Secondly, get personal. On Twitter and Facebook, I represent PROMISEPIZZA but my tweets are personal. I try to post things that are locally relevant and entertaining to followers. More importantly, return the favor and share your follower’s information with your customers when possible.
Thirdly, support other local businesses and charities in your community. PROMISE PIZZA is strongly committed to giving back and social media has helped us identify local needs. For example, via one simple posting, I was able obtain a contact of a local shelter and delivered 20+ pizzas to them on Super Bowl Sunday.
Some Examples of our social media successes (and there are many more) are:
- Retro Day was our first HUGE hit where we quite honestly could not keep up with business. On Retro Day, we rolled back prices to $7.99. It was our very first eye opener regarding the impact of social media.
- On September 11, Promise Pizza advertised and donated 10% of our proceeds to the families of 9/11.
- Autism Awareness Day where a % of our proceeds went to Autism Speaks
- Super Bowl weekend specials of course.
- Chocolate-dipped strawberry giveaway with every order on Valentine's Day weekend.
- Social media recently helped us win a very competitive and coveted honor, "Best Pizza in Austin" in a poll created by Austin360.com, the site sponsored by our major daily newspaper. Out of 26 well-respected and established pizzerias, many of which have been in business 20 years or more, Promise Pizza came in 1st place after only being in operation for 7 months!
Finally, remember that social media is not only advertising but about building relationships. It has been influential in so many aspects of our business. Comments made via Twitter and Facebook have resulted in
- changes in pricing;
- modifications in recipes;
- adding/removing items from our menu;
- adjusting our delivery radius; and many more factors.
We listen and respond to all comments and aim to make everyone happy. Word-of-mouth and superior customer service is still key.
Don’t forget that social media is fun! Getting to know your customers is amazing and nothing makes my day more than when I meet a fellow tweep that I've been getting to know via Twitter for weeks or months. If I know that someone is heading to PROMISE PIZZA that I've been chatting with via Twitter or Facebook, I will definitely make every effort to meet them. Via social media, I was recently introduced to great local professionals who regularly attend “Round Rock Jelly”. In brief, Round Rock Jelly, founded by social media goddess and now friend Sheila Scarborough, is a weekly casual co-working session held on Fridays between 11-2pm. This wonderful gathering allowed me to meet many people I had formed relationships with on-line. I look forward to attending as many as possible and meeting other great local entrepreneurs.
I can't forget the fact that if I ever need a lightening-speed answer to pretty much any question, Twitter is faster than any search engine. I even ask my followers how they think we should advertise and if direct mail is effective for our target audience. Using customer response, we were able to make marketing decisions based on their input.
Bottom line, how can you go wrong asking Twitterverse?
I look forward to what is to come in social media. It has proven to be productive, convenient, personal, cost-effective, and enjoyable as well. Join the fun and follow us on Twitter and Facebook. For franchising opportunities, please email us at franchise@promisepizza.com
New here? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Subscribe.
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marketing,
POV,
social media
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