Rob Autry, founder of Cafe Carolina, is teaming up with celebrities, including Reggie Bush and Rafael Nadal to launch mobile apps for Apple devices.
The first, Reggie Bush Workouts, features an exercise routine with the football player leading the way. It includes instructions from Bush.
Vstrator, Autry's tech company, is expected to release a Nadal app in mid-December.
Read David Ranii's full story here.
Are you thinking about starting a small business?
Well, before you quit your job—and sacrifice benefits such as health insurance, sick and vacation time—you need to ask yourself whether you are ready for the rapid transformation that comes with taking on such a venture, according to “The Wall Street Journal Complete Small Business Guidebook” by Colleen DeBaise.
Have you checked out your competition?
The U.S. Small Business Administration’s new online learning center includes a tool that helps you analyze your competition. SizeUp seeks to help you grow your business with opportunities to map your competition, benchmark your business and identify advertising opportunities.
Check it out here.
The Garner Revitalization Association is offering local artists and entrepreneurs an opportunity to showcase their products during the holiday shopping season. The association is “popping up” the Main Street Market in an empty storefront on Main Street during the town’s holiday events this weekend.
The market will be located at 102 E. Main St. It will be open on Friday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. during the Light Up Main Tree Lighting Celebration. The market will be open Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4p.m., which coincides with the Garner Christmas Parade that begins at 2 p.m.
Fourteen local vendors will offer handmade and unique products and foods ideal for holiday entertaining and gift giving. Some of these vendors are well-established companies who don’t have a traditional retail presence while others are start-ups evaluating the market before launching or growing their businesses. The market also provides an opportunity for Garner area residents to shop locally during the holidays.
Garner’s downtown district currently has few retail businesses. Plans are underway by the association and the town to increase visibility and accessibility to the area to encourage small business growth and investment.
“There are many talented and creative local business people who are working and selling primarily outside of Garner”, said John Hodges, Executive Director of the Garner Revitalization Association. “We hope the market will give these businesses an opportunity to increase their visibility at home and in turn help us grow our retail base. One of them may even be the next permanent tenant in the store space.”
Main Street Market will include products such as ornaments, pottery, jewelry, gourmet foods, dog treats, Garner merchandise and more. The market will also feature model train displays by the Neuse River Valley Model Railway Club. For more information and a complete vendor listing, visit here.
The holiday season is a time to help others in need. Many area small businesses are partnering with charities in an effort to help the organizations boost donations. Read Virginia Bridges story here.
Shop Talk is compiling a list of small businesses and their partnerships with charitiable organizations. Send your information to shoptalk@newsobserver.com and we'll add it to this blog post.
Small business owners across the Triangle touted local and national efforts promoting Small Business Saturday and the customers that heeded the shop small message, but reported mixed sales results compared to last year.
“It was great. We had a really great steady flow of new folks coming in all day long,” said Cynthia Deis, owner of Ornamentea, a craft and jewelry making supply store in Raleigh’s Glenwood South. “We were very happy with Small Business Saturday.”
The annual event, tucked between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, was started in 2010 by American Express as a way to help increase traffic in independent shops on one of the biggest shopping weekends of the year. American Express offered a $25 credit to registered cardholders who spent that same amount at a small business that carries its cards.
The Small Business Administration and the AICPA are offering an online question and answer session called "Getting Your Small Business Ready for the Tax Filing Season."
The live chat, which will be hosted by Edward S. Karl of the AICPA, will be held on Wed., Nov. 28 at 1 p.m. Go here to participate and for complete details.
It was a slow start for Small Business Saturday on Durham’s Ninth Street Saturday morning. A few minutes after 10 a.m., most nearby parking places along and near the street were open, and some businesses’ doors were still locked.
Jennifer Cahn, owner of Zola Craft Gallery, said just after 10 a.m. that she expected Small Business Saturday traffic to pick up around lunch time as many likely slept in on the cold morning.
And that is exactly what happened.
Around 11:15 a.m. the parking places were mostly filled and small groups of shoppers walked up and down Ninth Street utilizing Small Business Saturday discounts that extend through Dec. 2 as part of the Sustain-A-Bull’s Shop Independent Durham holiday campaign. Some of the deals include 20 percent off all new books at the Regulator Bookshop, 10 percent off coffee beans at Bean Traders, and a free gift with a $25 purchase at Vaguely Reminiscent, which carries women’s clothing and unique gifts.
Vaguely Reminiscent owner Carol Anderson said the American Express offer to credit registered cardholders $25 if they spend that much at a local small business is really making a difference.
“It started out a tad slow,” Anderson said. “At 11:15 it kicked in.”
Carol Younkin, of Durham, came to Ninth Street after she received a reminder from the Regulator about the importance of shopping local and their deals this week, which also includes a $5 gift card with a $40 purchase and a $10 gift card with a $75 or more purchase. Younkin said she spent about $200 at the Regulator.
“I love books,” she said.
Not all stores and shopping centers embrace the big Black Friday rush.
At Raleigh's Cameron Village, most stores open an hour earlier than usual. There are parking spots, good deals and workers with time to help shoppers.
Read Martha Quillin's story here.
Small Business Saturday is today.
For more information on local events, go to shoplocalraleigh.org, shopdowntownraleigh.com or sustainabull.net.
For Glenn Mitchell, Thanksgiving is about helping people and honoring the memory of LeRoy Jernigan.
With the help of volunteers, Northside Community Church and South Raleigh Civitan Club, Glenn Mitchell, owner of the Circus Family Restaurant, served and delivered free Thanksgiving meals to customers and others as a way to remember Jernigan, a worker who was killed at the restaurant during a 2006 robbery.
Read Lynn Bonner's story here.
