September 2009
Visual Merchandising as a Marketing Tool. Join Glenn Muske, Oklahoma State University for an informative session on how to use displays, product arrangement to draw customers to your business. Visual merchandising is an excellent way to attract attention to your business. It also can provide information and even "close the deal." Visual merchandising is more than just making it pretty but acts as a silent saleperson. This webinar will discuss why the owner should consider visual merchandising as a tool and how it can be done. Basic principles and design elements will be discussed plus you will see examples of how small business owners have used these in practice. How visual merchandising can be done at low cost will also be a part of the program.
October 2009
Economic Gardening. Join Chris Gibbons, Director of Business/Industry Affairs in Littleton, CO. In 1989, the Littleton City Council decided to focus their economic development efforts on investing in local businesses rather than the traditional approach of luring businesses to Littleton from elsewhere by offering incentives and tax breaks. Chris Gibbons, director of the Business/
Industry Affairs office, has developed and refined this economic gardening approach over the past 20 years. Join us for a conversation about two decades of Economic Gardening.
November 2009
Youth entrepreneurship. Details TBA.
December 2009
Identifying Hidden Assets and Opportunities in Your Community (or What You Don’t Know About Your Community Spells Lost Opportunities)
“Nothing ever changes around here.” That is a common refrain in rural America. However, a quick look at some of the dynamics often reveals significant changes in even seemingly stagnant communities. Often, the changes are substantial, but subtle and go unnoticed. Other times, we have just been too busy to notice. In too many cases, real opportunities go untapped. This session identifies and analyzes many of these often unnoticed trends and the opportunities they create for communities, organizations and businesses. Data sources and successful methods for using the data to indentify and analyze opportunities for local businesses and organizations will be discussed.
Our presenter for this session: Professor Bill Pinkovitz, Community and Business Development Specialist, Center for Community and Economic Development, University of Wisconsin-Extension
