GROW News
November 11, 2009
An Easy Way to Support GROW
At GROW, we know that many of you do a lot of your holiday shopping online. GROW Nebraska recently signed up for program called
GoodShop.com. At GoodShop.com you can shop at more than 1,000 stores including Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Dell, Old Navy, Priceline.com, Toys-R-Us and more. When you make a purchase, a percentage of the sale will go to GROW Nebraska! It doesn't get any easier than that. Be sure to select GROW Nebraska from the "Who Do You Support" dropdown box.
You can also donate money by going to
GoodSearch.com and adding the search toolbar to your browser. Everytime you do a web search, a donation is made to GROW Nebraska.
Remember, donations such as these help to keep the costs down for membership and services, so every little bit helps!
FREE Shipping Today Only!
In honor of Veteran's Day, GROW Nebraska is offering FREE shipping on
ShopGrowNebraska.org. You can also stop any GROW Nebraska retail location, and receive 10% off any purchase.
Who Sold Online This Week?
GROW Nebraska is now highlighting the but also what sold online for the week. If your item sells the most for the week, it will be the featured picture for this section of the weekly update!
If you don't see your products on your list, consider updating your photography or your description to help entice more buyers. For your convenience, we have linked each product to their listing on the eCommerce or eBay sites so you can see what that member has done to help sell their product.
We encourage you to look at the photography and descriptions for each of these items to see how you can make improvements to your listing. Remember, you know more about your business and product than we do, so we really need your help to make your listing the best it can be!
To easily find your products on the eCommerce store please click here.
If you would like to make edits to your listing, please e-mail us at
info@grownebraska.org.
November 4 - November 11
Get Your Products on the GROW eCommerce Site
GROW Nebraska is calling all members to submit their products to be on the eCommerce site! To qualify, all you need is for your product to be in the Kearney retail store.
Sales on
ShopGrowNebraska.org are up 133% from last year, and we anticipate this trend to continue through the holiday season. Additionally, GROW Nebraska is currently re-designing their eCommerce site to offer better functionality! These changes are anticipated to be done prior to the busy Christmas season.
Did you know that 60% of GROW Nebraska eCommerce orders are from outside of Nebraska to people who have no prior connection to our state? What a great way to expand the market of your product!
To find out which of your products are currently for sale, please visit
growneb.com/store/manufacturers.php and find your business name, then click on the link.
To have your products added to the eCommerce site, please fill out the online form
HERE. Once you have submitted the form, be sure to send pictures of your products to
erin@grownebraska.org. Without pictures we cannot post your product for sale! Pictures must be on a solid white background. If you need pictures taken of your products, please contact Erin at
erin@grownebraska.org.
December 8 Community Support Day at Whole Foods
GROW Nebraska has been chosen to be the recipient of Community Support Day at Whole Foods on December 8. On that day, a percentage of all sales at Whole Foods will be donated to GROW Nebraska. Help the cause by shopping Whole Foods in Omaha that day! If you have products at Whole Foods and would like to join the GROW staff in attending the event, please contact us at
info@grownebraska.org.
Workshops on the Road and on the Web
Nebraska Business Development Center will present a workshop on HUB Zones, 8a, SDVOB - What are these programs and how do I qualify. In addition to the live program on Tuesday, November 17, at the Panhandle Research and Extension Center at Scottsbluff, the program will be available to Nebraska businesses right at their desk through the use of the SBA Ready Talk system. This program will allow the persons attending the Ainsworth event, as well as those watching the program at their desk to ask questions of the presenters. Scott Knapp, who is a consultant for the Nebraska Procurement Technical Assistance Center at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, will host the live event. Dwight Johnson who represents the Small Business Agency Office of Government Contracting in Omaha will be joining the program through the webinar system.
Knapp and Johnson will explain how the HUB Zone, 8 a and SDVOB designations can be important in providing special opportunities in government contracting for those businesses. They will also present information on how companies can qualify for these designations during the program.
The program is being hosted by the Nebraska Procurement Technical Assistance Center at the Nebraska Business Development Center and the University of Nebraska Rural Initiative. The Small Business Administration will be hosting the webinar program on their system.
The program is from 9 to 11 a.m. Mountain Time. The program is free both in person in Scottsbluff and on the web. Preregistration is required at ptac.unomah.edu/events.cfm. The numbers for the Ready Talk webinar program will be provided in advance of the program to the registrants. The webinar portion requires both a computer with internet and phone line to receive the audio portion of the program.
The Nebraska Procurement Technical Assistance Center is funded through a grant to the University of Nebraska at Omaha College of Business Administration. In addition the Kearney Center receives support from the University of Nebraska Rural Initiative and University of Nebraska at Kearney.
Would you like your product featured on TV?
GROW Nebraska has a great opportunity with NTV News at noon to have your business featured on TV during the holiday season. Please note NTV would like to feature all types of businesses - art, jewelry, home decor, candles and gourmet food. GROW members will have the chance to show off their products during a special TV segment. We are promoting your handcrafted unique products as ideal holiday gift giving ideas. If your business has product you would like featured please let us know. Be creative! We will choose several products. This is a wonderful time to get your business in the spot light! If you have any questions please contact us at info@grownebraska.org. Sign up by November 12 here to be a part of this wonderful opportunity.
Member News
Congratulations to Joe and Susan Briggs of Uniquely RV on celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary!
Beatrice Bakery will be featured on December 4, 12, 13, and 21 on the Food Network's "Unrapped" show. Congrats!
Congrats to Sally Buss for being featured in Nebraska Life Magazine.
Matt Swanson of Home-Grown-Jigsaws will be appearing on Who Wants to be a Millionaire on Thursday, Nov 12 & Friday, Nov 13 at 11am on Omaha channel 6/WOWT.
Need some extra cash for the holidays? Why not work at a GROW Nebraska Store!
GROW Nebraska is currently interested in hiring GROW members to work at the Kearney and Grand Island retail locations and the Lincoln Holiday store.
If you or someone you know may be interested, please send resumes to info@grownebraska.org. Please specify which store you are interested in working in.
SIGN UP TO WORK NOW >>
Marketing Workshops
Twitter Tense? Facebook Frets? Utterli Uneasy? Social Media Stressing You Out? We Can Help!
GROW Nebraska has teamed up with the University of Nebraska Extension Specialists to help you reduce your anxiety in keeping up with the social media marketing craze.
Social media marketing is essential to increasing brand awareness and expanding your online business presence. However, if you don’t understand how it works, thinking about posting tweets, updating your Facebook page and incorporating your blog into the media mix seems overwhelming.
Not only will we teach you how to save time by being more efficient when using social media, but we are bringing the "Get Social Sessions" to you. Spots are filling quickly! Price is $10/person. If you have questions, call us at 888.GROW.NEB or e-mail us at info@grownebraska.org. If you are interested in attending one of these workshops, please sign up HERE.
- November 17 - Valentine - 9-12 at Niobrara Lodge
- November 17 - Bassett - 3-6 at North Central Nebraska RC&D
- November 18 - Norfolk - 9-12 at Northeast Community College - FULL
- January 26 - North Platte - 3-6 at West Central Research and Extension Center
- January 27 - Chadron – 3-6 at Chadron State College Student Center
- January 28 - Scottsbluff - 8:30-11:30 at UNL Panhandle Research and Extension Center
- January 29 - Sidney- 9-12 at Western Nebraska Community College - Room 112
