Main Street merchants can head to boot camp

Main Street McMinnville is sending business owners to boot camp, literally. Several downtown business owners will be sent to a free boot camp from July 19-21 for businesses that depend on walk-in customer traffic.

For business owners who want to be better prepared to not simply ride out a weak economy ‘ but have business grow ‘ this is a chance to learn. Participants will find how to best market their business and implement a marketing strategy for downtown as a whole.

The session will be paid for by Main Street McMinnville thanks to a grant it was awarded from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development for 2008-09. With the grant, six downtown business owners can attend the Destination Business Boot Camp in Longmont, Colo.

Main Street McMinnville, through the grant, will pay for the full $1,295 tuition that includes all breakfasts and lunches during the session. Participants are responsible for paying for their own transportation, lodging and two meals. Round-trip airfare on Southwest Airlines can be as low as $218 from Nashville. Lodging is $99 a night, which can be shared with another participant.

Session benefits will continue after July 21. Those who participate will receive an on-site follow-up training session from the boot camp trainer, Jon Schallert, and additional follow-ups throughout the full year by phone and Internet.

Schallert teaches businesses and communities how to turn themselves into consumer destinations. He speaks to thousands annually on his 14-step destination business process, which he developed over the course of 21 years of working with small business owners.

In addition, Main Street McMinnville has designated $10,000 of the grant toward a professional downtown marketing plan to help downtown, as a whole, market itself as a destination. Those who attend the BootCamp will be providing direct input through a committee on how to best spend the marketing dollars.

Along with the Destination Business BootCamp and Marketing budget, Main Street McMinnville is exploring other technical assistance ideas to help downtown businesses prosper. One suggestion was to bring a visual display consultant to help improve interiors and window displays for Christmas.