Rock Springs Main Street/URA hosts events for National Small Business Week; encourages residents to support small businesses

Last Updated 4/19/2022 • Posted in News & Updates

The Rock Springs Main Street/Urban Renewal Agency (URA) is announcing 3 upcoming events for National Small Business Week, May 1 – 7, 2022:

· Tuesday, May 3 –15 Offline Marketing Ideas for Your Small Business (12 noon lunch-time webinar) in partnership with the Wyoming Women's Business Center (WWBC)
· Wednesday, May 4 – Claiming Your Google Listing (12 noon lunch-time webinar) in partnership with Sweetwater Joint Travel and Tourism Board
· Thursday, May 4 – Business After Hours Networking Event, Sidekicks Book & Wine Bar, 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm (no host cocktails)

While the events are hosted by the Rock Springs Main Street/Urban Renewal Agency, ANY businesses in Sweetwater County are encouraged and welcome to participate. There is no cost for either of the lunch-time workshops and snacks will be provided at the Business After Hours Networking Event.

“Small businesses are the key to our community’s success so we wanted to celebrate them even more during Small Business Week,” said Rock Springs Main Street/URA board chairwoman Maria Mortensen. We encourage anyone in Sweetwater County to participate, Mortensen added.

“We’re all in this together so let’s lift everyone up, especially during this weeklong celebration,” she concluded.

About each event:

15 Offline Marketing Ideas for Your Small Business – (May 3, 12 noon, virtual workshop)

While online content is a valuable piece of any marketing plan, rural Wyoming’s small businesses benefit greatly from careful attention to an offline strategy.
In this free, 30-minute webinar, we will explore 15 offline marketing ideas for your small business that will complement your online strategy and engage your community of customers off the web.

Register for this FREE workshop at: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vCyGIRgPSouKmQhyhv-xsA

All registrants will receive a link to a recording of the webinar.

This webinar is hosted by the Wyoming Women's Business Center (WWBC). The WWBC empowers entrepreneurs, especially women, through our counseling, training, and micro-finance programs to start, expand, and sustain small businesses in the state of Wyoming. Learn more and become a client at no cost at wyomingwomen.org.

The workshop is being taught by Jessica Brauer.

Jessica is a communications consultant, community cheerleader, marketer and writer. She is passionate about capturing the authentic stories of people and their places; dedicated to celebrating humanity through her work, forever exploring, learning, and sharing.

Her work has allowed her to champion for local neighborhoods with economic development agencies, non-profits, and small businesses since starting her first business in 2011. She ardently believes in the power of play, a shared narrative, a heart-centered approach, and a small-town dive.

Jessica previously worked with community organizations, non-profits, and small businesses throughout the country on strategic marketing and digital outreach as a freelance marketer. She joined WWBC as an Outreach Counselor for the COVID-19 Support Program in the Spring of 2020, where she was able to offer one-on-one support to over 150 women-owned businesses within the year.

Currently, Jessica manages the marketing efforts of the WWBC’s programs, directs the Office of Women's Business Ownership (OWBO) Program, and creates educational content for the, always free, webinar series for entrepreneurs and artists. She holds a degree in Communications and Journalism, an unshakeable entrepreneurial spirit, and love for the West.

Claiming Your Google Listing – (May 4, 12 noon, virtual workshop)

Presented in association with the Sweetwater County Joint Travel and Tourism Board, this workshop will walk business owners through the process of claiming their google listing.

Traveler sentiment research is aligning around one particular theme: inspiring consumer confidence that destinations and businesses are open and following best practices for health and safety.

Your Google business profile is the single largest source of organic (non-paid) exposure for your business online and better business profiles ultimately drive more visits, resulting in more customers.

The great news is that having a great Google business profile is not that hard, if you know how.

This workshop will present the key takeaways - including simple, easily-actioned quick tips.

It’s crucial to any business to be managing the information that appears on their Google business profile, for the sake of both current and future customers. It doesn’t require hours of your time or a degree in Digital Marketing, just some insider knowledge on how to claim your listing, complete it and update it so you can be in that top 10% of businesses too.

This workshop will be taught by Chezney Goglio, MBA, CTA. Chezney is the Marketing and Operations Specialist for Sweetwater County Travel & Tourism. She’s worked with Sweetwater Tourism for 2 years. One of the first projects during her tenure was working on the Google Destination Marketing Organization Program and updating listings around the community. She’s excited to share her knowledge with everyone and help them claim and update their businesses listing.

Register for this FREE workshop by calling the Rock Springs Main Street/URA office at 307-352-1434 or email [email protected]

Business After Hours Networking Event – (May 5, 5 to 6:30 pm, Sidekicks Book and Wine Bar)

Conclude Small Business Week with a fun, social event where you can network with fellow business leaders. Share ideas, commiserate, and celebrate! This no-host cocktail hour will feature snacks and a low-key environment.

“We’re excited to be able to offer these programs to the Sweetwater County business community, free of charge,” said Rock Springs Main Street/URA manager Chad Banks. “We hope everyone will take advantage of this unique opportunity,” Banks concluded.