MHBA Newsletter - May 08

Submitted by Mickki Langston on Sat, 01/17/2009 - 4:12pm

Newsletter

Upcoming MHBA Events
We hope to see you at one our upcoming events. Connect with other local business owners, get to know your community and receive valuable training on marketing your business.

SoBo Local Flavor Guide™ Release
Tuesday, May 27 6:00 pm at Dougherty's

Happy hour mixer with food provided by Dougherty's Irish Pub. Meet Sobo businesses and pick up your SoBo guide.

MHBA Marketing Workshop
Tuesday, June 3 8:30a - 12:30p

Don't miss this workshop, where you'll learn how to increase your word-of-mouth marketing, the most cost-effective way to find new customers.

Celebrate Our Earth Fair
Saturday, June 14 10:00a - 3:00 p
Magna Carta Park (Colorado & Hampden)

A free, family friendly festival of activities and environmentally themed events. For info, call (303) 759-2770

Tips to Save Fuel
With increase fuel prices, here are a few tips to conserve your car's gas:

1. Follow the Recommended Maintenance
2. Keep Your Tires Properly Inflated
3. Take a Load Off (reduce extra weight)
4. Don't Drive Aggressively
5. Use the Highest Gear Possible
6. Use Cruise Control — Selectively
7. Keep your car clean
8. Avoid Excessive Idling
9. Think Before You Vent(ilate)
10. Combine Your Errands

Wanna be Friends?
Colorado Local First now has a presence on the social networking sites MySpace and Facebook. If you use either site, we'd love to connect with you there! Just look for Colorado Local First and help spread the word about our mission to build better community through better (and local) business.

Founding Members
We really appreciate these businesses who are leaders in building the Mile High Business Alliance:

Greetings Mile High Business Alliance members, partners and friends,

We have all sorts of exciting news to share in this month's newsletter, including the launch of the Colorado Local First business directory, a new Local Flavor Guide,™ fun local first merchandise, and various events to expand your business capacities and connect with your business community.

Contents
Local First Directory Now Online!
Get Your Colorado Local First T-Shirt
Leverage Customer Referrals for Your Business
South Broadway Local Flavor Guide™ Release
Welcome New MHBA Members

Local First Directory Now Online!

Discover and recommend local businesses near you!
We're very pleased to have the Colorado Local First business directory now online. The directory allows you to:

Discover local businesses near you
Learn more about their impact on our region
Recommend your favorite businesses to others

This beta release includes the basic information for over 400,000 Colorado-based businesses that we received from the Secretary of State. But we need your help to make the directory a valuable resource for all of us. You can participate in two ways:

If you have a company based in Colorado, make sure we have at least basic information about your business. This makes it easier for people to find you. Any Colorado-based business gets a free basic listing, which includes: business name, address, telephone number, web address and business categories. MHBA members are also able to add/edit a logo, slogan, text description, multiple locations, and online contact form.

To make sure we have your info, please search for your business name (probably your legal name) in the keyword search. When viewing your listing, click on "Enhance This Listing" and fill out the form. You'll be contacted by one of our staff to verify your information.

If you can't find your business, not to worry. Just send us a message and we'll contact you to get your listing set up.

We've already updated MHBA members' listings with some basic info. If you're a MHBA member, you'll be hearing from us in the next couple of weeks to make sure you have what you need to manage your own listing, and provide additional support to make the most out of your presence on ColoradoLocalFirst.com

As an individual, you can help others learn about great local businesses by rating businesses and posting reviews. To get started, go online and create your user account. An email address is required for posting reviews.

Since this is a beta release, we welcome your feedback and help. This is a community tool, and we want it to be something that helps build connections between people and local business. Please use our online contact form to let us know if you have ideas about the directory or any problems using the site. We will continue to improve the directory functionality and content in the coming weeks.

Get Your Colorado Local First T-Shirt
What better way to show your local love and spread the message of Local First than with your very own Colorado Local First t-shirt? Check out the three designs, all on American Apparel shirts in a natural hue. Shirts are only $15 and available in women's and men's size styles (the men's style is a standard t-shirt fit; women's are smaller-fitting and have shorter sleeves). Choose from these unique designs:

To order your shirts, use our online store. Save on shipping by picking up your order at our offices (we'd love to say hello).

Special thanks to the amazing Local Flavor Marketing Group for the t-shirt designs and to IndyInk for their great work in printing the t-shirts. (check out their retail store on S. Broadway between Ellsworth and Bayaud and meet Dave and Aaron)

Leverage Customer Referrals for Your Business
Did you know that people are 3500 times more likely to buy from you when given a personal recommendation than from your print advertising? Are you getting the most out of word of mouth marketing? Want to know where to begin?
Big Mouth Marketing Workshop Logo

Sign up now for our marketing workshop entitled, Big Mouth Marketing: Tons of Free Referrals from Your Customers. The third workshop in our Marketing Workshop series, attendees will learn how to tap into the least expensive and most effective form of advertising: word-of-mouth. You’ll learn what motivates people to tell their friends and family about your business. Using a proven formula, you’ll revisit what makes your company unique, and find out what you can do to increase word-of-mouth referrals that will grow your customer base. Sign up today and get ready for a flood of free referrals!

Still wondering if the marketing workshop is for you? Here's what some previous participants had to say:

"The brainstorming time with my workshop partner was very valuable, and the materials were really useful too."

"I really appreciated having Anne & Mike to answer specific questions about my business."

"I can't wait until the next one!"

The workshop is right around the corner, so find out more and reserve your place now!

South Broadway Local Flavor Guide™ Release
Join us Tuesday, May 27th 6:00 pm at Dougherty's
We're very excited to release the next Local Flavor Guide™ for the SoBo neighborhood (located on Broadway between 4th Ave and Alameda). Please join us for the release party and neighborhood business mixer tonight (Tuesday May 27) at 6:00 pm. Hosted by Dougherty's at Ellsworth and Broadway, we'll have food, drinks and your brand new SoBo Local Flavor Guides™. Here's your chance to see them hot off the presses and share them with your customers and friends. You won't believe the number of unique and funky businesses in this neighborhood. Special thanks to Dougherty's for hosting the event, and to The Hornet for sponsoring the printing of the SoBo guide. Hope to see you there!

Welcome New MHBA Members
We are very pleased to welcome our 69th member into the Mile High Business Alliance. Our membership has really grown in just a few short months, and we're excited to know so many great local businesses that are working to build a stronger local economy. We encourage you to get to know these folks as well as leave reviews on ColoradoLocalFirst.com. (The links provided direct you to their Colorado Local First directory listing. Check it out!)

Ahimsa Footwear - Colorado's only all-vegan boutique	Las Margaritas Cantina - Simply fabulous food and great margaritas
Aix Restaurant & Wine Bar - Elegant But Casual French Provenceal Restaurant	Rock 'N' Robin's - Independent music store with new and used CD's and vinyl in Ft. Collins
Bocaza Mexican Grille - Serving fresh and delicious food in Uptown	St. Charles Town Company - Responsible, creative, profitable, community-building solutions to urban real estate challenges.
Budgie's Crepes & Shakes - Fresh baguette sandwiches, crepes, gelato in the Uptown neighborhood.	Star Salon - Full service salon on E 17th Ave.
Business Catapult - Connecting Investors and Entrepreneurs	Synergy Salon and Day Spa - Affordable luxury day spa and salon
Chada Thai - Friendly restaurant serving traditional Thai food.	Talulah Jones - Your home. Your kid. You.
D Note - Gourmet vegan pizza, great beer and live local music in Old Town Arvada.	The Avenue Grill - Dining, drinks and conversation
Great Panes Glassworks - Engraving Specialists Committed to Quality & Dependability	Uptown Chiropractic - Chiropractic office in Uptown neighborhood
Illegal Grounds Coffee - Cool coffee house in the Uptown neighborhood	Workshop for Women - Home maintenance and repair workshops tailored for women

The upcoming month will bring the next Inventing Business Series, more Local Flavor Guides,™ and continued progress in our Colorado Local First campaign. Thanks for supporting local businesses first, and enjoy the start of summer!

In community,

Mickki