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Watch how Lisa Drew with the SBDC helped Stephanie & Derek Boulton start their Bed & Breakfast.

“Absolutely love it, it turned out great! Thanks again for all your help!”

Lisa Drew

Associate Director | Northeast-East Central Colorado Small Business Development Center

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On first glance MyHandleBar has tapped into the now widely acclaimed micro-brew culture Colorado has cultivated. It is a fantastically exciting and fun way to get from one brewery to the next. These outrageous bikes were conceived, designed and built in Europe, but their popularity overseas has led many American entrepreneurs to bring these huge bikes to a select few American towns. As these bikes cruise down local streets, tourists, residents and those out on the town enjoy seeing them pass by almost as much as those pedaling.

While these bikes are an undeniably good time, closer examination reveals that MyHandleBar stands for a lot more than simply a good time. As a company, MyHandleBar truly reflects many of the values held near and dear to many Coloradan hearts and to the hearts of owner Theresa Preston and her staff. Here at MyHandleBar sustainability, environmentally responsible business ownership and community are at the heart of everything we do.

MyHandleBar offers a sustainable, environmentally conscious and fun way to experience some of the best brews Colorado Springs, Fort Collins and Boulder have to offer. In each two-hour ride a driver and 16 riders follow a route or go on their own around these three towns, exploring the food, drink and entertainment of these towns, safely, with an almost zero carbon footprint.

Supporting local businesses in Colorado is not a trend, a fab or even a bumper sticker; it is a way of life. Throughout the Front Range, small, locally owned bike shops, outdoor stores, restaurants and microbreweries dot the downtowns, shopping centers and strip malls.  At MyHandleBar we see these businesses as the lifeblood of the community and we see our specialty bike as a way to encourage locals and visitors alike to pedal to their local businesses for their shopping – or their drinking.

As a young entrepreneur herself, with several small businesses in Colorado, Preston understands the difference a supportive community makes on the success of a business. As a result, Preston not only invests in the community with her innovative and original businesses, but she makes a point to support those other local businesses around her. We have worked in all three of our host cities to partner with local businesses to create mutually beneficial relationships through food and drink specials, bike parking and merchandise.

Preston is not only supportive of the business community in Colorado, but she spends a great deal of time and energy supporting those less fortunate within her communities as well. She has worked in the past few years to raise money for victims of sexual assault within Northern Colorado, and most recently has expanded her support to the global community with her work with children in Uganda. In the workplace Preston encourages all of us to invest ourselves in our local and global community in whatever ways possible.

As employees of MyHandlebar, we feel a personal investment in our company, because MyHandleBar has invested in our lives, families and wellbeing on a personal basis. A sense of mutual respect has allowed MyHandleBar to be more than the best job we all ever wished for; it has become and extension of our families.

It said everything from ‘Welcome’ to ‘I give my word.’ A firm handshake held within it the values of the West: family, honesty, independence and hard work.

Nowadays, with all of the technological advances of the modern world, it can begin to feel like the handshake has lost its meaning. Not only are handshakes impossible to share through screens and over phones, but also many companies and businesses seem to have forgotten the deep values and business practices characterized by a handshake.

As sisters, best friends and co-owners of the Denver based internet chat company ACE Chat, Joanne and Beth still uphold the Old West’s understanding of a handshake. We have, however, taken the handshake of the Old West and modernized it for today’s world through our innovative chat software.

The Main Street of the Old Western Town has been replaced with the Internet. This, among other modernizations, has stretched the marketplace across the planet. Companies know and understand an online presence is a necessity for success in the marketplace of today, but very often their websites are cold, difficult to navigate and uninviting. Ace Chat provides a warm, personal handshake to web visitors, welcoming them, inviting them in to learn more and access services from the company and most importantly, treating them like family.

Since 2011, we have relied upon our extensive, combined professional experience in the internet chat industry to create a customized mobile chat for company’s websites where customers and clients can ask questions in real-time and receive answers from real people. Internet chat is a window that appears on a company’s webpage offering customers the option to ask a question, get information or offer comments without sending an email or picking up the phone. Ace Chat answers questions and directs concerns quickly, knowledgeably and personally to the appropriate individual within the company.

Our wide range of customers from doctor’s offices, marketing companies to specialty companies offering classes, benefit from the strong first impression Ace Chat creates for them through their presence. Our clients have reported a higher translation of visitors to customers due to the easy and approachable means of accessing information via Ace Chat.

Integral to our business is the fact that we are 100% a family owned and operated business. Founded by family, operated by family, to help support our families, it ought to come as no surprise that the values of our family form the pillars of our company: Honesty, Integrity, Respect, Fairness, Reliability and Courtesy. These values influence our relationship with our clients in our day-to-day interactions. We are accessible to our clients at all times to support their business goals and to empower them to achieve their company’s goals.

At Ace Chat the rules of the Old West still apply. More importantly, a handshake is more than a promise; it is more than a way to conduct business; its a way of life.

Food with soul gathers people together to share in the big moments in life as well as the most mundane. This food is rich, barbeque sauce dripping off of baby chins. It is little old ladies and little old men sharing the same barbeque they have shared for over 64 years. It is food for business meetings, food for the park, food for romance or food for a quiet evening at home. It is food with a history and food with a future.

Every day in over twenty locations across the country, we serve this food, cutting perfectly cooked meat, dishing out specialty sauces and seasoning crisp, hot fries for every walk of life, the same way we have done it for the past 64 years. At Bono’s we believe that good food nourishes our bodies, as well as our souls. Every Bono’s restaurant offers healthy and soulful food based on a long American history with Barbeque.  Real food, not pre-cooked, pre-sliced, frozen with fillers to keep costs down, or pumped with artificial flavorings. Innovative recipes, altered and revised throughout the years with the trends within American eating patterns, yet always true to tradition of Southern barbeque.

Likewise we pride ourselves on creating more than a workplace for our employees, but instead a home-away-from-home. More than twenty of our employees have been with the company for more than 10 years, and in some cases longer. Harvey Green, the Cutter at the original Bono’s has been with the company for more than 50 years!

Southern food with soul has no key demographic. Our demographic is every demographic. Through years of business and in marketing studies we have carefully looked at the demographic composition of Bono’s customers. To our immense satisfaction, time and time again these studies show that Bono’s Barbeque crosses every line of society, every race, gender or income bracket. Our parking lots are full of old beaters and luxury cars. Our counters and tables are filled with every walk of life in America. We take pride that our food is an equalizer within society.

With over twenty stores and over 250 employees, we encourage each store to communicate their own unique take on Bono’s while maintaining the integrity of Bono’s with its pit, Cutter and smoker. The menu at Bono’s is always the same, but every Bono’s feels like the ‘Neighborhood Bar-B-Que Joint,’ a place to gather, to create memories and to enjoy the best parts of life.

Joe Adeeb, owner of Bono’s describes Bono’s best, “It’s about soul – and service without soul, no matter how great is quickly forgotten by our guests.”

Bono’s Barbeque is food with soul, for customers looking for more than a bite to eat, but soul food.

        

We’ve had the pleasure of working with the dynamic sister duo at Ace Chat helping to clarify their Powerful Story. Deanna created a Story that “Resonated” with them!

This is the 1st time since I started Qittle that I had this sort of experience where a client was moved to tears and I am truly humbled by the shear talent of Deanna!

Casey

Here are some more photos from the shoot.

Dr. Peake started Peake Wellness Center in a small 1 room office 2 ½ years ago. After joining her local Chamber of Commerce she started noticing 1 to 2 new clients a week & is now located in a 2,700 sq ft facility seeing more clients than she knows how to handle!

Check out Peake Wellness on her website by clicking here

“The Power of Being a Chamber of Commerce Member”

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“The owners took an RV and traveled the country visiting car washes. The best of what they learned on that trip is now what you are looking at.” Jenni, Breeze Thru Car Wash in Longmont.

I love that this person knew the answer to the question and she is on the front line. The DNA or Persona of the entire company is evident.

As I was driving home it kinda hit home…

“Businesses are made up of people, an individual or a group, and those people are the Persona of the business. So what makes the “Great Businesses” great? It’s their Persona! So what are the characteristics of the Persona of Great Businesses?”

The one thing I always notice and why I return or don’t return to a Business is the Friendliness of the people working there. That is why the Starbucks I frequent the most is my favorite coffee shop. It’s why I love my favorite breakfast burrito place. It’s why I love my favorite restaurant. And now it’s why I love Breeze Thru Car Wash!

Can you name other characteristics of the Persona of the Great Businesses you love? Make a comment on our Facebook Page and let us know what you think.

And if you need a car wash, be sure to check out Breeze Thru Car Wash & let em know I sent yeah

Casey

Dr. Peake & Casey at Peake Wellness Center

It’s all about who you know.

I learned this lesson while working on the Las Vegas Strip some years ago. Often considered a ‘big city’ or at the very least a ‘fast city,’ Las Vegas is the business world set in hyper speed. I can’t say that I learned anything else the entire three years I lived there – outside of how to mix a stiff drink, of course.

Much of the time I worked on the strip I catered to convention and conference crowds. In my role at the time, I couldn’t quite understand the purpose of conventions, beyond selling tickets to the show for which I worked.

While wondering about the actual functions of the conventions, ironically I lived the reality of their purpose daily, because while a ‘big city,’ people in Las Vegas, particularly the theatre business, function like a small town, knowing each other and determining in large part through these relationships the success of shows on the strip.

Conventions have been created within the business sector to facilitate what we on the strip had already so effectively achieved – networking. In fact, networking is the number one reason companies send their employees and managers to conventions and conferences throughout the world. According to strategicbusinessnetwork.com, networking creates relationships and “Relationships are the catalyst for success. People do business with those they like and trust. Serve as a resource, help other succeed.”

Today, in the marketing industry I see that this rule applies outside of Las Vegas in the world at large on a much grander scale. Casey McConnell, president and CEO of Qittle, has been hosting a number of meetings with small business owners throughout Colorado and the West. In these meetings he has met and networked with companies from every industry and every service imaginable. Most notable from these meetings, Casey has found that businesses owners enjoy these opportunities to meet others in the business community and have a great deal in common with other small business owners, regardless of whether they are in a common industry or not. Beyond simply understanding each other’s challenges and ambitions, these businesses often discover ways they can help each other and build upon each other’s successes.

While it is universally accepted that conferences and conventions are first and foremost most effective at building relationships, they are also instrumental in providing training, tools, technological understanding, tools and customer service ideas.

Most businesses must assess the ROI on attending conferences, however, through Qittle and their partnership with Constant Contact these conferences are free and open to small businesses everywhere. Typically these meetings run two hours and are packed with ideas to help grow your business through mobile marketing and Engagement Marketing practices.

Business owners are finding that this short time away from the office is an investment in not only education and marketing practices, but also networking and community building as well.

Click here to get to know Casey better through the Mobile Minute, and consider a workshop or conference on marketing for small businesses today!

Thank you CCCE for having us, it was a blast!

Casey

The Ladies from Trendz in Denver at a workshop.

The month of May has been busy around the Qittle office with Casey McConnell, president and CEO, touring every nook and cranny of Colorado and other nearby states with Constant Contact, offering workshops and seminars to assist small business owners in reaching their target demographics. Working with Constant Contact, a company credited by many as the creator of Engagement Marketing, has been an incredible opportunity for Casey and the Qittle Team.Encountering the incredible individuals within the country who have pursued their passions, carved out their businesses and sought to impress their services upon their community has expanded our understanding of how small business in America is working today. Time and time again the comment section from the feedback sheets given out at the end of the presentations Casey leads tell an interesting story about the relationship between many small businesses and mobile marketing.

This story is primarily a lack of a story, because while 69% of small business owners in America say they plan to implement a mobile marketing strategy in the next year, our own feedback indicates that many small businesses are not or have not.

This revelation has been eye opening for Qittle. It reveals the disconnect between the statistics proving the efficacy of mobile marketing and implementation within the small business community.  Our observations are supported by a study released last May by Web.com Group Inc. which found the small business sector is being left behind as consumers transition to shopping, researching and accessing information via smartphone.  Only 26% of American small businesses have a mobile website. In sharp contrast those businesses that do have a mobile website, 84% of the time see an increase in business.

While it is exciting for those of us within the mobile marketing business to see the exponential growth of mobile use and marketing and its success, it is troubling to see the small business sector slow to embrace it. Not simply because mobile marketing would hands down help their business, but because some marketing analysts predict that within three years mobile will have overtaken traditional computers entirely. Leaving one to wonder, if small business do not embrace mobile marketing soon it will not be a question of if they are left behind in the fast-paced world-wide market, it will be just a question of when.

An interesting question comes to mind; is this reluctance to adopt mobile marketing related to confusion regarding the technology or concerns about the cost? Studies have shown business are looking to increase the amount they spend on marketing, and generally speaking business owners understand that their marketing dollars, when used effectively, grow their business.

Constant Contact has gained national recognition for their engagement of small businesses and their ability to help them market themselves better. Part of their plan to reach companies and help them succeed has been making workshops available for free throughout the country where these business owners can learn about cutting edge marketing and other business practices. Casey and the Qittle Team have worked in their role with Constant Contact to help small business owners understand the power of mobile marketing.

If you are interested in understanding mobile marketing better or learning more about the various ways you can reach your customer, consider registering for a free Constant Contact workshop with Casey from Qittle.

Click here to view upcoming workshops in your area

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Video is such a powerful way to tell your Business story to people who visit your website or find you on Youtube. Having a nice 1 – 2 minute video allows you to share it on your website, Facebook, Youtube and in your emails and text message communications.

In this week’s Mobile Minute we highlight Anonymous Longboards.

If you’ve been thinking about producing a video for your Business and you need assistance with that please reach out, we’d love to help tell your story!

Thanks

Casey

While some of these jobs have been in major construction companies, a large portion of this housing growth has been within the small business sector. Family owned plumbing, electrical and framing companies, small home decorating or landscaping companies with a small number of employees are among the businesses seeing growth after the housing recovery as homeowners once again purchase or invest in their homes.

This boost in the value of homes, the first in many years, has worked to soothe the worries of many consumers and encourage them to spend more money within the economy. For businesses throughout the country this change in sentiment offers a new opportunity obtain new customers and to boost their profits.

To gain these customers, many within the small business sector have turned to mobile marketing. The Mobile Marketing Watch reported this week in a piece titled, “AT&T: Small Businesses Rely Heavily on Mobile Presence” that mobile growth within small business marketing plans has boomed.

In this piece The Mobile Marketer cites an AT&T Small Business Technology Poll in which one thousand small businesses were surveyed, of these sixty-six percent plan to invest in digital marketing. Seventy-one percent of small businesses were either ‘somewhat’ or ‘likely’ to increase their budgets in order to invest more in mobile marketing, specifically smartphone friendly ads. The report found that 1/3^rd of mobile friendly websites were considered by business owners as engaging marketing in comparison to more traditional marketing invested in at times past.

Mobile marketing, due to its affordability and flexibility allows small business owners to adapt their marketing strategy according to their needs or to shift it in accordance with audience interest or trends within the market. Further, mobile marketing allows small businesses a great deal of control of when and how to reach their target audience. It also allows these companies to explore other demographics or audiences without a huge financial commitment.

As a small business owner, in whatever sector, it’s time to explore the ways mobile marketing can help your business grow in our recovering economy. Text message campaigns, mobile web design and apps offer a wide range of benefits to your customer and your business.

Click here to subscribe to Casey’s mobile minute and receive inside information from a leading expert in the mobile industry today! Included in these tidbits are often tips from other small business owners from throughout the world with ideas and input about what has helped them reach their clients most effectively. Don’t miss another week! Get up to date today!

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Check out this week’s Mobile Minute as we spotlight Harley Davidson’s Mobile Rider club in which they use Text Messaging to build both their mobile & email databases.

Are you ready to launch your own Text to Join campaign? We can set up your text campaign and produce a video to get existing customers & potential customers to join.

To learn more and or to get started please send me an email at Casey@Qittle.com or give me a call at 866.761.7442

Thanks

Casey

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