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Using events to promote service and industry businesses

By Deb Brown

Events that showcase your non-retail small business  You want people to learn about your business. Events sometimes help with that. You’re just not sure how to create an event for non-retail businesses that people will come to. Who goes to the insurance agency if they don’t need insurance? Who goes to the packing plant unless […]

September 11, 2019 Filed Under: entrepreneurship, marketing, rural Tagged With: events, experience, experience economy, manufacturing, marketing, non-retail, promotions, service businesses

Crowdsourced ideas for coffee shops and other third places

By Becky McCray

Coffee shop with local art displayed on the walls

  At the Main Street Now conference, I sat in on a session about coffee shops. I wrote down bunches of ideas that the audience shared. I thought you might know a coffee shop person, or you might think of ways to use these with other types of small town businesses. Hold trivia nights or […]

May 20, 2019 Filed Under: customer service, entrepreneurship, marketing, rural, Small Biz 100 Tagged With: community, customer service, experience economy, food business, restaurant, small business, small business success, success, third places

How any business can be part of downtown events by going mobile

By Becky McCray

  When you hold events downtown, the businesses that aren’t located downtown sometimes feel left out. There’s one bank not in downtown, that figured out a great way to participate in the First Thursday fun in downtown Colfax, Washington. They could have done what other groups are doing and set up a booth on the […]

October 29, 2018 Filed Under: Best of, community, entrepreneurship, marketing, rural Tagged With: experience economy

Build your business with mini-events

By Becky McCray

  If you believed me that the distraction IS your business now, then you might be thinking about events. You want to bring more life and activity to the area around your business, but big events are a big pain. Let’s do some tiny events instead. They’re a small pain, but a lot of fun. […]

October 9, 2017 Filed Under: entrepreneurship, marketing, rural Tagged With: experience economy, idea friendly

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