february 2015 long branch business league newsletter
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Volume 8
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Long Branch Business League Issue 1 February 2015 Long Branch Business League
Join the Business League
Over the last four years the Long Branch Business League, with its Dis-cover Long Branch! initiative, has gradually built a more exciting im-age for Long Branch commerce. We brought the community the suc-cessful Super-Block Party last May; we started a Salsa Night series this September and we have helped install art work.
What is more, the Business League's newsletter keeps you up-to-date on important events, local business news, and business tips.
What are the benefits to you of membership? Preferred access to store design improvements Assistance with marketing and business planning Help with Enterprise Zone tax credit applications Greater visibility in business league marketing materials
And with big changes coming to our area because of the Purple Line, now more than ever we need to stand together to make sure all of us benefit from the expanded customer base the Purple Line will bring.
Making Long Branch successful for everyone.
Carlos Perozo, President Long Branch Business Leagues [email protected]. 301-587-4829 or 301 812-4141
IN THIS ISSUE
Expert Business Advice
Page 1
Long Branch Art Calendars
Page 1
2014 Survey Shows Growth
Page 2
Help from Tom Hucker
Page 2
Don’t Be Shy: Use 311!
Page 2
Small Business Workshop
Page 3
Resources
Page 4
Resources:
Small Business Development Center
SBDC provides counseling and classes. Coun-
selors speak Spanish and other languages.
301-403-0501x11
7100 Baltimore Ave, Suite 303,
College Park, MD 20740
Enterprise Zone Tax Credit Program
Access to County tax credits for real estate
improvements and employee hiring.
Mr. Pete McGinnity
240-777-8126
Montgomery County Council
240-777-7900
Department of Permitting
Responsible for all permits to make property
improvements and signage.
permittingservices.montgomerycountymd.gov
240-777-0311
DED’s Small & Minority Business Empowerment
Resources and training for small businesses.
Judith Stephenson
240-777-2012
Montgomery County Police
Non-emergency dispatch for Long Branch:
301 279-8000
All emergencies: 911
Montgomery County (All other services)
For all Montgomery County services there
is now a single number you can call, this
includes bulk trash pickup
(5 requests annually)
311 (English)
311 + 1 (Español)
Department of Liquor Control
DLC licenses and regulates businesses that
sell alcohol, and provides education and
assistance to businesses and their
employees.
Emily DeTitta
240-777-1904
Long Branch Business League Gathering
Tuesday, February 3, from 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
El Gavilan Restaurant, 8805 Flower Avenue
Long Branch Business News, a monthly publication , Paul Grenier, Editor 301-622-2400, x 41 [email protected]
At the December 2014 Long Branch Business
League meeting at La Pasion Bakery and
Restaurant, Casey Willson, the well-known
small business expert, asked a simple
question: “What is business?”
“Business is creating a customer,” Willson
answered. To stay open, Willson continued,
you need to attract and to keep a large
enough group of customers.
How do you make someone your customer?
To the surprise of many, Willson said that
marketing is not the key. “The key is what
sets you apart from everyone else, the
‘differentiation factor.’”
“On the back of your business card, list three
things your business does that other
businesses don’t,” he said. The idea is to
explain what makes your store ‘the only,’ ‘the
best’ or the ‘first’ in some special way.
2015 Business League
Calendar Published
The Long Branch Business
League’s first ever arts
calendars, designed by local
artist Edgar Alvarado, were
distributed to League
members this December.
Each of the four calendar
designs produced illustrate
the League’s achievements
bringing more art and
vitality to Long Branch.
What is Business?
Casey Willson Says It’s All about
Creating a Customer
See Business Advice, p. 3
3 2
DiscoverLongBranch.com DiscoverLongBranch.com
Results of the Long Branch business survey, completed in fall 2014, indicate that local businesses are generally more optimistic about the business climate than they were in 2013. The survey is conducted in order to help guide efforts at revitalization of our commer-cial district. The Long Branch Business League (LBBL), Montgomery Housing
Partnership (MHP) and Montgomery County’s Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) are all partners in this effort. The first annual survey of Long Branch businesses was conducted by MHP in 2012. Nineteen surveys were completed in fall 2014, the majority of them in the food services or restaurant sector. In 2014, about 92% of the survey respondents experienced higher levels of customers visiting their store compared with 2013. Another encouraging statistic: 44% of respondents found that profits in 2014 had risen, compared with only 21% in 2013. Perhaps due to improving profits, 30% of respondents said they expected to hire in 2014, compared to 21% in 2013.
As before, marketing advice remains the main area where Long Branch businesses want technical assistance. And yet, as can be seen in the graphic to the left, there is interest in a variety of other areas also — particularly access to working capital and assistance with merchandising and internal displays.
Keeping the customers you have is also
key. Willson quoted from a national
survey of consumer behavior that listed
the main reasons customers stop
coming to a store. Only 15% of the time
did it have anything to do with price,
while 45% of the time customers said
they stopped coming because of rude or
unreliable service. And 20% of the time
they stopped coming because the store
staff did not pay enough attention to
them.
“That’s good news!” Willson said. “That means that 65% of the time
the problem has to do with things you can train your staff to do
better.”
Staff Training Tips
Here are a few of Willson’s staff training ideas:
Let your staff know they need to be in the front half of the store
– where they can be seen
Train your staff to greet the customers first, saying something
general like “awful weather today!”
Train your staff to make eye contact and smile.
Set specific standards for your employees about knowledge of
your product.
Be good to your good employees: observe their behavior and tell
them when they do a good job. Compensation to good
employees should go up, perhaps by profit sharing.
Restaurant Tips
The experience is twice as important as the food, Willson said. “The
most important thing for a restaurant is how clean it is.” Next in
importance is friendly and cheerful service. Third – the customer
likes to see that the manager or owner is present and in charge. And
fourth in importance is the food itself!
Willson concluded his talk by adding: “The key thing is you guys all
organizing around the Long Branch Business League to make [Long
branch] a destination,” Willson said.
To receive Willson’s entire slide presentation, which contains much
more information, write to [email protected]
Casey Willson
Business Survey: 2014 Shows Improvement
There is a Free Lunch: Small
Business Workshop Jan. 30
Includes Free Lunch
There will be a Small Business Symposium on January 30, from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Azalea Room at the Takoma Park Community Center. The event is free to business owners and will include lunch and handouts. This program will focus on marketing, planning, branding and social media. In addition to presentations by Prof. Pichot, Dr. Eswards and others, there will also be short working sessions where business owners can share ideas, get feedback from the presenters and start putting a marketing plan together. The sponsor of the event is Washington Adventist University’s School of Business and the Enactus Program. Prof. Pichot can be contacted at: [email protected] or (240) 389-7088. See also poster below for further details.
See Problem? Call 311
Montgomery County’s 311 call-
in service is an easy and effective
way to get action on a long list of
problems, from downed trees to
code enforcement to broken
street lights.
Note: if you see a street light
that is out, record the exact
address and, if present, the light
pole number before calling.
Operators are available from 7
a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through
Friday, and interpretation is
available in many languages. Se
hablan Español.
Snow removal and salting of the
sidewalk in front of your shop is
still your responsibility,
however.
Help from Hucker
A Flower Avenue traffic sign
flattened during a traffic
accident this winter was
starting to become an eye-
sore. Thanks to help from the
office of County Council-
member Tom Hucker the sign
is now fixed and the sidewalk is
back to normal.
Retaining Wall is Up
The County Parks department
completed work on the retain-
ing wall at Flower Avenue Park
this December. Reliable Dry-
cleaner’s Helen Kim is grateful
for the assistance. Run-off from
the park for years has caused
icing problems in the area.
Business Advice, from page 1