GROW News
March 24, 2010
Pre-conference: For Members Only!
The 2010 Pre-Conference will feature GROW Member, Michele Johnson of Art Cottage Web Site Development and Michele M. Johnson Fine Art. Michele will be covering many aspects of successful web sites and will touch on how to incorporate social networking into your web site for a larger web presence.
After the presentation, GROW Staff and UNL Extension will also be available for one-on-one technical assistance in the areas of product description and pictures, social networking, and adding the affiliated program to your web site.
The pre-conference will be held April 21, from 2 pm – 5 pm at the Holiday Inn Express & Hotel Suites, Lincoln Airport.
The pre-conference is for GROW Nebraska members only and has a limited space. Sign up now to register!
Rooms are available for the discounted rate under GROW Nebraska. Call 402-464-0588 to reserve a hotel room.
Earth Day Promotion
Join GROW Nebraska as we celebrate Earth Day at the State Farm Campus in Lincoln on April 21, 2010 from 11:30am-1:00pm. You can do this prior to the pre-conference. This opportunity is limited to the first five that sign up. This is a promotional event. You will not be able to sell items but sampling is encouraged.
Sign up here to participate in this great event. If you have questions, please e-mail
info@grownebraska.org.
Product Evaluation
Up your game and get your product off the sidelines and into the limelight with the 2010 GROW Nebraska Product Evaluation. The event will be held April 22 during the 2010 GROW Nebraska Conference that includes social media and Web site marketing sessions.
Seven industry Product Evaluators will be offering their expertise and marketing tips as part of the process. To meet them or sign up, go to
click here.
"Entrepreneurs and business owners who want to market and sell products made or designed in Nebraska can gain valuable insight regarding their product’s marketability, pricing and packaging. These products consistently draw the attention of purchasing agents," said GROW Nebraska CEO, Janell Anderson Ehrke.
Even if you only sell retail, said Ehrke, the evaluation is highly beneficial. Recommendations include ways that products or marketing campaigns can be improved or expanded, and the best local retail outlets for sales. All products are rated on design, creativity, craftsmanship, price and overall impact. The Evaluation is a training service for business owners who want to participate in GROW Nebraska markets or retail events with the goal of increasing their triple bottom line. Producers are not present in the room during the evaluation so that industry experts can candidly assess all products.
You do not need to be in attendance or a GROW Nebraska member to participate. Cost for bundle members is free, basic membership is $15 and for non-members, $25.
The registration deadline is April 14. For more information call 888-GROW-NEB (1-888-476-9632) or e-mail
info@grownebraska.org.
MarketTECH Conference
The GROW Nebraska Annual Meeting is now called the GROW Nebraska Conference. This year's MarkeTECH conference will be held in Lincoln on April 22 from 8 am-5 pm.
The conference will also feature the annual product evaluation, a service business trade show, a wonderful meal and many great speakers.
Chris Russell, operations manager at Google, will be the keynote speaker. View the
speaker's profiles and the conference agenda
here.
Food and beverage members, if you are attending the conference, you are eligible to promote your food product by providing a snack during breaks at the conference.
E-mail us if you're interested.
Sign up for
here. If you have any questions, please contact us at 888.476.9632 or e-mail us at
info@grownebraska.org.
State Capitol Open House
We are proud to announce that Senator Harms' office has generously agreed to host another open house for GROW Nebraska on April 12, 2010 from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. The purpose of the open house will be to display and sample the wonderful products that are available in our state. We would like to have 20-25 members present to sample and showcase their products. This event will take place at the State Capital in room 1023. This is a wonderful opportunity to promote your product line to state senators, staff and other key personnel.
This event will be similar to last year. You will be able to sell your items that day. GROW Nebraska will be the cashier and will take 25% of the retail price.
Please click here to be included in this fantastic opportunity.
If you have questions, please contact us at
info@grownebraska.org or call 1.888.GROW.NEB.
Be Featured on our Blog
Want to get your business noticed on Google? Would you like your company to have the opportunity to get higher on the search engine ranking? Well if you answered yes to any those questions, you need to take advantage of the NEW service from GROW. It’s the GROW Blog Services.
Click here, provide the information requested and GROW will develop a blog for your business.
Click here to see the members who have taken advantage of this and look for more to post soon. Become a blogger today with the easy NEW service from GROW Nebraska.
IMPORTANT for Non-food, Product Members
Please visit this
link to download your GROW Nebraska Form 13. Form 13 is the Nebraska Resale or Exempt Sale Certificate for Sales Tax Exemption. You may include it with your taxes to show that GROW Nebraska paid sales tax on all items sold in our retail locations. If you have any questions, please contact us at
info@grownebraska.org.
New Members
AIM- Lincoln, NE
As a not-for-profit membership organization, it is the AIM Institute's mission to empower communities, organizations and individuals through information technology. AIM fulfills its mission by collaborating with business leaders, educators and government to help citizens in Nebraska and the surrounding region to develop the skills needed in an information economy and to prosper through the innovative application of IT.
Joyful Promotions - Kearney, NE
Their purpose is to promote Nebraska Entrepreneurs to the public through the Nebraska Entrepreneurs Show.
J T's Workshop - Aurora, NE
Stackix is a two player vertical board game that takes stacking to the next level with a different challenge on each side. One side is a connect four style game with a twist and the other side is a challenging word game.
Member News
For the eleventh year in a row, A to Z Printing has won the Best of Duplicator Division award from the Printing Industry of the Midlands. This year they won for the printing of Woods Charitable Foundation’s Annual Report. Congrats!
JM Web Designs recently won
the Excellence in Business Award from the Omaha Chamber of Commerce. This award recognizes outstanding companies with an operating history of at least five years, positive revenue and payroll growth over the last three years, and demonstrates excellence in business practices.
Opportunity for Local Growers
Are you interested in learning how you could play a part in moving local foods into larger grocery stores in the state and beyond? Demand for local food by mainstream retailers, like the independent grocery chains in Nebraska, can mean reliable sales and more volume per sale than direct-to-consumer marketing. You can learn more by attending an informational meeting with Diana Endicott, who established the “Good Natured Family Farms” label for locally grown food in Kansas. She will discuss how she developed a farm-to-market system for local food in Kansas City and her interest in working with Nebraska producers.
The meeting will be held at the
Ramada Inn in Kearney, Nebraska, on Thursday, April 15 from 1-4 p.m. Snacks and refreshments will be provided. Please email your intention to attend the meeting to
kpeterson2@unl.edu or call 402.472.9287.
This meeting is coordinated by the Center for Rural Affairs and the University of Nebraska Rural Initiative to increase production and consumption of local foods in Nebraska while creating economic opportunities for Nebraskans.
Kimmel Brings Innovation to Business
Kimmel Brings Innovation to Businesses
In these current economic times, businesses must continue to find new ways to
be productive and continue to turn a profit. This April, Dr. Connie Reimers-Hild
will take this economy head on with an Innovation Retreat being held at the
Kimmel Education & Research Center in Nebraska City, NE on April 29, 2010.
The Innovation Retreat will focus on helping businesses create a sustainable
Innovation strategy and help turn new ideas into new dollars. The morning will
focus on helping businesses create a competitive advantage by cultivating
creativity and generating new ideas. Following will be sessions on building an
innovation strategy and how to become a leader to compete in a global
economy.
In the afternoon, coaching sessions will be available to individuals or groups and
will serve as a springboard to help participants strengthen their leadership and
innovation skills that are designed to help both the individual and their
organization achieve sustainable success!
If you wish to take this opportunity to make a difference in you organization,
visit
http://go.unl.edu/innovationretreat to register. For more information about
the retreat and other services provided by Extension please contact Dr. Connie
Reimers-Hild at (402) 873-3166 or
creimers2@unl.edu.
Extension is a division of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the
University of Nebraska – Lincoln cooperating with the counties and the United
States Department of Agriculture. University of Nebraska – Lincoln Extension
programs abide with the nondiscrimination policies of the University of Nebraska
– Lincoln and the United States Department of Agriculture.
