Retail Focus Newsletter
April 2013
Business and Nonprofit Coaching
Working on a 2013 business plan? Need a fundraising strategy for your nonprofit? 
Trying to make the most of your marketing dollars? Schedule a free session with one of the professionals available monthly at Hannah Grimes! Click here for a full list of available coaches. If you are interested, contact Jillian at Hannah Grimes or call 603-352-5063.
Events in the Monadnock Region
Asset Location Workshop with Duane Goodell, Wednesday, April 17, 12 - 1:30 p.m. Hannah Grimes Center, Keene. Cost: free. Learn more and register here. 

Join us as we share our strategies to help you with your Financial Success. Asset LOCATION compares the characteristics of different asset types and the impact that they have on financial strategies.

 

Business After Hours with the Greater Keene Chmaber of Commerce, Wednesday, April 17, 5:30 - 7, Hannah Grimes Center Keene. Cost: free to chamber members. Learn more and register here. Join the Greater Keene Business Community and Your Fellow Chamber Members for this Monthly Networking Event! Meet your fellow business leaders, and learn about one of your other Chamber Members by visiting their place.  Great refreshments, interesting information and fine company.

 

Government Contracting for Women, through the SBA, Thursday, April 18, 1:30 - 4 p.m. Hannah Grimes Center, Keene. Cost: free. Learn more and register here. This workshop will introduce you to the many opportunities available to women business owners with the federal government and its prime/sub-prime contractors.  You will learn about the many resources available through the US Small Business Administration (SBA) and the NH Procurement Technical Assistance Program (NH-PTAP) that can assist your small business and guide you through the  necessary steps needed to participate in government contracting.  

 

Basic & Advanced Social Media for Your Business, brought to you by SCORE, Tuesday, April 23, 6 - 9 p.m. and Tuesday, May 7, 6 - 9 p.m. The MacMillin Company, Keene. Cost: $30 per session or $50 for both sessions. Learn more and register here. Join Christine Halvorson for an overview of social media for your business in the first session, and a more in-depth presentation on the most powerful tools in Facebook and LinkedIn. 

 

5 Steps to Building a Successful eCommerce Business - Free Webinar, brought to you by the National Federation for Independent Business, Wednesday, April 24, 12 - 1 p.m. Learn more and register here. Are you looking to build a successful business online, promote an existing "brick and mortar" business on the Web, or just sell some stuff from your attic on eBay?  If you are thinking about any sort of Web business, you will benefit from this fast-paced, entertaining program that is designed to teach you the keys to e-commerce success.

 

4 Things to Consider Before Starting a Business Workshop with Helaine Iris, Thursday, May 2, 2 - 4 p.m. Hannah Grimes Center, Keene. Cost: free. Learn more and register here. So you think you want to start your own business? In this workshop visionaries will go over the four things you need to consider before diving in to start a business. This workshop involves building the skills needed to run a business while realizing that passion needs to be tempered by reality. 

News & Resources to Inform & Inspire
Successful Pre-Opening at the Monadnock Food Co-op
The MFC thanks the volunteer crew who helped staff prepare the store for opening and greeting all first-time shoppers during opening week! Many thanks as well to the food co-ops and Mayfair Farm for providing lunches for pre-opening volunteers.
Learn more about becoming a member of the Co-op here. 

National Retail Federation
As the world's largest retail trade association and the voice of retail worldwide, NRF represents retailers of all types and sizes, including chain restaurants and industry partners, from the United States and more than 45 countries abroad. Retailers operate more than 3.6 million U.S. establishments that support one in four U.S. jobs - 42 million working Americans. Contributing $2.5 trillion to annual GDP, retail is a daily barometer for the nation's economy. NRF's Retail Means Jobs campaign emphasizes the economic importance of retail and encourages policymakers to support a Jobs, Innovation and Consumer Value Agenda aimed at boosting economic growth and job creation.

Incubator Office Space Available at the Hannah Grimes Center
Existing businesses in the Incubator Program realized an average increase in revenues of 44% in 2012 up from 29% in 2011. Factoring in businesses new to the program, combined revenues increased 315% over the prior year translating to over $403,000 in new growth for the Monadnock region. Interested in becoming a Business Incubator Associate? Learn more here. 
 
The new Retail Business Resource Guide is now available online!
 

Join Monadnock Buy Local Today! 

We invite you to join Monadnock Buy Local, a network of retailers, service providers, restaurateurs, non-profit organizations and more.  We're in our fourth year and we hope to connect with you, your business and your customers and clients. While member surveys show that most of us joined Monadnock Buy Local to encourage our customers to "think local first" (and make locally-owned businesses their first choice), we also joined to help our local economy grow, meet like-minded business owners and find ways to source more of our own products and services locally. Our values may drive us to join - but we also enjoy many membership benefits, such as a listing in Monadnock Buy Local's annual Buy Local Guide, that is distributed throughout the Monadnock Region, and group marketing opportunities during public education campaigns such as Plaid Friday. For more information contact us today or call 603-283-5401.  

 

Kiva Zip: A Nonprofit Organization that Provides 0% Interest Loans to Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners in the US and Globally

Hannah Grimes became a trustee of KivaZip in 2012, and our sponsorship of our first borrower, TC's Pantry, helped them to secure their loan! You can view TC's Pantry here, and learn more about the KivaZip experience for possible support for your business.  If you are interested in receiving a loan, making a loan or sponsoring a borrower contact Kiva Zip or visit them at Zip.Kiva.org for more information.