The Project
Title: E-commerce Education and Development to Promote Growth for Downtown Businesses
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These FREE workshops are provided through a LEADS grant MainStreet T or C was awarded in 2023. All events are available to sign up via our Facebook page HERE. You do not need to have a brick-and-mortar store to take part - these are available for ALL local business owners and aspiring business owners.
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Current statistics show 63% of shopping journeys start online* and according to reports, by 2040, 95% of sales will occur online** and we want to support our local businesses to help them grow their online presence.
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To help with this, we are organizing a series of online and in person e-commerce workshops for local businesses in the Downtown District.
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Workshop subjects will cover a range of online skills for local businesses:
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How to leverage free online platforms (such as Google My Business, Facebook, Instagram)
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Building and/or maintaining websites
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Creating with Canva
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Branding 101
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Marketing 101
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Payment options and why important to offer different payment options
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Live virtual sales events and why important
PLUS MORE!
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These workshops are open to all businesses in Sierra County and will be held in February - May 2024.
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*15 Eye-Opening Online Shopping Statistics for 2023 (drip.com)
**67+ Mind-blowing Ecommerce Statistics [Updated in 2023] (review42.com)
Branding Assistance
Along with offering the workshops, we want to provide up to 7 local businesses with branding assistance and creation of new logos suitable for online advertising.
This will help give businesses that need an extra helping hand a successful start to their online visibility, supports local artists who can do online branding and create even more excitement about the project.
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To be eligible, business owners must attend at least one workshop.