Growing Your Business-Getting Known on the Street
November 25, 2009
One of the first steps to take as you get ready to launch your new business is getting word out on the street and in the neighborhood where you are working. Take an afternoon walk, or several. Get coffee at the local deli (and coffee tomorrow at the other deli), pick up some duct tape at the hardware store, drop in to surrounding stores as a neighbor and small-scale customer.
Ask names and leave yours (carrying a handful of business cards or opening-day flyers doesn’t hurt). Let your commercial neighbors know who you are, what your business offers, and when you open.
Your commercial neighbors will provide some of your first referrals. They are the people who will give directions when somebody wanders in saying “I hear there’s a new dry-cleaner somewhere on this block.” They will clue you in on the realities of the area: Remind your customers double-parking’s now a $100 ticket—it went up last month. Check with the Clerk, Suzanne, at the Mayor’s Office about how many chairs and tables you can have outside. Schools let out early on Wednesdays, so expect kids by the dozen that day. Leo’s always putting down other store owners—don’t pay any attention and don’t take it personally.
Meeting your commercial neighbors is especially important if you don’t live in the community where you work. Other business owners know how the community really behaves and what your customers are likely to want—even what they’re likely to complain about.
You’ll learn things about the community that you won’t learn any other way. So take a couple of walks, buy a little something here and there, and get to know people who understand the hard work it takes to set your new business on its feet. You’ll be glad you did.
