July 2015

In case you missed the event, a main topic of conversation was money. As Lee put it, that’s a big challenge to tackle! The varying scales of our panelists’ businesses provided insight that applied across the spectrum of our clients’ businesses. For instance, Bill and Tammy Jenkins have a larger natural health practice, and they are able to have their front desk person handle all of the discussion about payment. Keith and Shelley Beyerle at Rocky Mountain Rossitier tend to have the discussion directly with their clients and have clearly established pricing guidelines for their services. Mike Maguire from Home Instead Senior Care trains his staff to have the price discussion based on the needs and concerns of the client, so that if money is their main concern, the service they provide is tailored around price.

Another topic that was recurring throughout the evening was relationship building. All of the panelists emphasized the importance of building a strong referral based practice, which can only occur through building positive relationships with clients, and beyond that, complimentary services. Due to the nature of the services his business provides, Mike also keeps an ongoing list of organizations to send inquires to in case his services aren’t quite the right fit. We capped off the event with a round of light networking so our client businesses could learn how they could potentially create some of the partnerships the panelists mentioned.

Health and Wellness business owners are a unique bunch, largely because many of them aren’t in business solely for profit. The type of person who starts a Health and Wellness business generally wants to help people lead healthier, happier lives. Ultimately our panelists encouraged the audience to think critically about the value of the services they provide, how they can add value through partnerships and get the kind of monetary return they need to keep their business healthy.

Were you at our Health and Wellness Business Panel? What did you think? What other industry topics like this would you like to see the SBDC tackle? Leave a comment below or send a message to Terri Donovan-Keirns. Our next industry event for health & wellness businesses is scheduled for November 10, 2015.

This is true for all business and when we really begin to appreciate that, the want for a positive experience can outweigh the need for the service. People gravitate toward what they enjoy and enjoyment is a simple concept. In this seminar I will offer you some very simple, cost-effective tips to create a positive experience that your customers will return to.

Justin Salisbury – Regional Operations Manager for Breeze Thru Car Wash. His routine responsibilities encompass organizational direction, people development, interviewing, maintenance and repair needs and overseeing company processes & procedures. He has a passion for finding success via others and currently has the opportunity to do so with over 70 people regularly. An outdoor enthusiast, if he can’t be found at Breeze Thru, good luck tracking him down!

Saturdays	8:00 am – 12:00 pm	Larimer County Farmer’s Market	200 S. Oak Street, Fort Collins
Saturdays	10:00 am – 1:00 pm	Drake Road Farmer’s Market	802 W. Drake Road, Fort Collins
Sundays	11:00am – 3:00 pm	Fort Collins – Loveland Farmers Market	Harmony & Lemay (in front of Ace Hardware), Fort Collins
Wednesdays	11:00 am – 3:00 pm	Fort Collins – Loveland Farmers Market	Harmony & Lemay (in front of Ace Hardware), Fort Collins
Tuesdays	11:00 am – 3:00 pm	Fort Collins – Loveland Farmers Market	Highway 287 (in front of Hobby Lobby), Loveland

This means that 4 days a week you can buy produce and support local farmers and business owners! Making it easy to shop local is one of the many things that make our community so great to live in.

Speaking of great small businesses, while our director Mike O’Connell was out and about last weekend at the Larimer County Farmer’s Market, he ran into three great business and SBDC clients, who were set up with their awesome products. Next time you’re there, make sure to stop by and check out the following:

Handful of Herbs

Like pretty food? Handful of Herbs specializes in locally grown, edible flowers to add visual and flavor appeal to your dishes. Their products include herbal teas to pre-assembled bunches to add to spreads and more. Stop by and speak with owner Ann!

WunderJuice

Raw juices, delivered locally. Five different juice blends you can get delivered to your door twice a week. Or stop by the market to get a couple to try out before you get hooked. Andrea will happily explain the benefits of the different blends they offer.

Pi Chai

Who doesn’t love a good chai blend? It get even better when it’s a premade mix that you can be confident it’s got the ‘good stuff’ in it and doesn’t take hours to brew. Available in 3 flavors, stop by and ask Jennifer what her favorite is!

In this workshop we will show you how to create opt-ins for your website that lead straight to your Welcome Letter that goes out automatically. The tools you will learn will allow you to consistently engage with your targeted audience of customers and potential customers.  From there we will also talk about the top 15 ways to add people to your list with their permission including social media.

We want to open your mind in how to use email marketing beyond just sending out emails – to ensure engagement with your audience that grows and grows.

Cheri Ruskus, Master Certified Coach and Expert. Cheri has been successfully and consistently sending out her email, The Victory Letter, for 13 years every Monday morning.