Early last week the Lockport Union Sun and Journal reported on a special event that will be held at Becker Farms tomorrow. Check it out....
The public is invited to come to Vizcarra Vineyards next week for a bit of wine, some tasty morsels and a quick introduction to 28 small businesses in the Royalton-Hartland area. From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Jan. 28, Vizcarra Vineyards, Quaker Road, will host a free Wednesday at the Winery mixer with Gasport and Middleport-based goods and services providers.
The “speed marketing” event, a take-off on the speed dating concept, has representatives of each business talking quickly to members of the public about what they offer and why they’re worth a shopping trip off the beaten path.
“It’s important for people to support local businesses, and if you don’t know what’s out there you can’t do it,” said Helen Feron, a member of the Royalton-Hartland Business and Professional Association that’s co-sponsoring the event with her local employer, Absolut Care.
“In small towns especially, small business is the bread and butter of our neighbors.”
The mixer works like this: Every participating business staffs a station and, as visitors come in, they pick one and listen to the pitch. Every two minutes, a bell is rung, indicating the visitors should move onto another station and listen to another pitch. Hitting every business in the room should take less than an hour, Association member Patt Fagan said.
“The advice we’re giving (business representatives) is, ‘have your elevator speech ready.’ In the time it takes to ride an elevator, you should be able to say who you are, what you sell or do and why you’re the best at it,” she said. “It’s going to be loud and it’s going to be wild.”
Twenty-four stations are reserved by businesses including Maedl’s Woodcrafts, Standish-Jones Hardware, The Gift Garden, Hard Rock Stables, Middleport Tractor, Lockport Home Medical, Absolut Care, Eclectic Acres grooming and kenneling, Serenity salon, Canal Country Inn and Pampered Chef executive Vonda Westcott.
Four dining establishments — Darryl’s Place, Pizza Place II, Alternative Grounds and The Basket Factory, all of Middleport — will introduce themselves by serving free samples of their fare. Vizcarra Vineyards is doing free wine tastings; a cash bar will be set up as well. Vendors are encouraged, but not required, to offer product giveaways, discount coupons, price lists and other take-away literature.
It’s the association’s first-ever speed marketing event and Fagan says business owners are excited for the opportunity to strut their stuff. Stations were booked so rapidly after the event was announced, organizers ran out of room and had to turn some businesses away.
“If it goes over well, I can see it becoming an annual event,” she said.
Feron says Absolut Care, a corporation, encourages its facilities to do business with their host communities. On numerous occasions, she said, the Gasport facility has found the local “little guy” is price competitive with — or better than — big-box retailers.“Just because it’s small doesn’t mean it’s going to be more expensive,” she said. “Plus, the customer service usually is superior because they want you to come back. ... It’s great to have large retail outlets to frequent in Lockport and Erie County, but it’s amazing what you can find right in your own backyard, too.”
CHECK IT OUT•
What: Wednesday at the Winery, a “speed marketing” event
When: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Jan. 28
Where: Vizcarra Vineyards (Becker Farms), 3724 Quaker Road, Gasport
Admission: Free
Features: Food, wine and quick intros to 28 Royalton/Hartland-based small businesses
The public is invited to come to Vizcarra Vineyards next week for a bit of wine, some tasty morsels and a quick introduction to 28 small businesses in the Royalton-Hartland area. From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Jan. 28, Vizcarra Vineyards, Quaker Road, will host a free Wednesday at the Winery mixer with Gasport and Middleport-based goods and services providers.
The “speed marketing” event, a take-off on the speed dating concept, has representatives of each business talking quickly to members of the public about what they offer and why they’re worth a shopping trip off the beaten path.
“It’s important for people to support local businesses, and if you don’t know what’s out there you can’t do it,” said Helen Feron, a member of the Royalton-Hartland Business and Professional Association that’s co-sponsoring the event with her local employer, Absolut Care.
“In small towns especially, small business is the bread and butter of our neighbors.”
The mixer works like this: Every participating business staffs a station and, as visitors come in, they pick one and listen to the pitch. Every two minutes, a bell is rung, indicating the visitors should move onto another station and listen to another pitch. Hitting every business in the room should take less than an hour, Association member Patt Fagan said.
“The advice we’re giving (business representatives) is, ‘have your elevator speech ready.’ In the time it takes to ride an elevator, you should be able to say who you are, what you sell or do and why you’re the best at it,” she said. “It’s going to be loud and it’s going to be wild.”
Twenty-four stations are reserved by businesses including Maedl’s Woodcrafts, Standish-Jones Hardware, The Gift Garden, Hard Rock Stables, Middleport Tractor, Lockport Home Medical, Absolut Care, Eclectic Acres grooming and kenneling, Serenity salon, Canal Country Inn and Pampered Chef executive Vonda Westcott.
Four dining establishments — Darryl’s Place, Pizza Place II, Alternative Grounds and The Basket Factory, all of Middleport — will introduce themselves by serving free samples of their fare. Vizcarra Vineyards is doing free wine tastings; a cash bar will be set up as well. Vendors are encouraged, but not required, to offer product giveaways, discount coupons, price lists and other take-away literature.
It’s the association’s first-ever speed marketing event and Fagan says business owners are excited for the opportunity to strut their stuff. Stations were booked so rapidly after the event was announced, organizers ran out of room and had to turn some businesses away.
“If it goes over well, I can see it becoming an annual event,” she said.
Feron says Absolut Care, a corporation, encourages its facilities to do business with their host communities. On numerous occasions, she said, the Gasport facility has found the local “little guy” is price competitive with — or better than — big-box retailers.“Just because it’s small doesn’t mean it’s going to be more expensive,” she said. “Plus, the customer service usually is superior because they want you to come back. ... It’s great to have large retail outlets to frequent in Lockport and Erie County, but it’s amazing what you can find right in your own backyard, too.”
CHECK IT OUT•
What: Wednesday at the Winery, a “speed marketing” event
When: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Jan. 28
Where: Vizcarra Vineyards (Becker Farms), 3724 Quaker Road, Gasport
Admission: Free
Features: Food, wine and quick intros to 28 Royalton/Hartland-based small businesses
