The Joy of Gifting Local

The Joy of Gifting Local

The Joy of Gifting Local

Baker's Candies Nebraska box

Between reports of shipping delays, supply chain issues, and travel restrictions this year, it was clear that many people were worried about holiday shopping… but here at GROW Nebraska, we know that gifting local is the only option you never have to worry about!

 

This year, GROW Nebraska started our holiday Gift Box program, which allowed companies to give back to their employees and clients through thoughtfully-curated gift boxes, packed full of incredible goodies and products exclusively from our GROW Nebraska members! 

 

 

One of the companies that took the most advantage of this program was E&A Consulting, an engineering company specializing in civil engineering and land development. E&A purchased 325 gift boxes for their clients, and ended up supporting 14 different Nebraska-based businesses in the process. We had the opportunity to chat with Chelsea Benck with E&A, who said, “We wanted to find someone who was local, versus supporting a big box company. We help create communities, so we found that it was important to find a company with local roots in these communities. We wanted to let our clients see how important they are to us.”

 

Chelsea told us that E&A was happy to be part of this partnership, and to be able to give back to their clients in a way that supports other Nebraska business owners. When asked about their experience, she said, “We really liked the option to have things customized. We were able to show who we are, using our brand colors in things like tissue paper. We’re really happy with the overall product, and definitely found value in it.”

 

We’re so grateful to E&A Consulting for choosing our Gift Box program, as well as all of the other participants! Here’s what they had to say about their experience with the program:

 

“We chose to partner with GROW Nebraska this holiday season to give our employees something different for Christmas. GROW Nebraska is excellent to work with. The gift boxes arrived at our employee’s doorsteps, and we have heard numerous positive comments on the box presentation and the gifts inside.”

— Haley Ehrke, Ag Valley Co-op

 

“Adams Insurance Advisors chose to send 175 customer appreciation gifts with GROW Nebraska on the recommendation of one of our employees, and we wanted to support businesses in the state where AIA calls home. As an added bonus, we could customize our box to highlight products from our direct service areas in Nebraska! I would recommend using GROW Nebraska, as they quickly responded to inquiries, provided frequent updates on our order, and were an overall pleasure to partner with for our customer appreciation gifts. In addition, they drop-shipped the gift boxes to our customers, which was helpful since many of our customers are out of state, and as a safety precaution for the ongoing pandemic.”

Kate Wright, Adams Insurance Advisors

We want to thank everyone who participated in our Gift Box program this holiday season — it was the perfect year to gift local!

About the GROW Nebraska® Foundation

The GROW Nebraska® Foundation helps entrepreneurs get the resources they need to live in Anywhere, NE and make a sustainable living. Since the inception of GROW Nebraska® in 1998 our vision and mission has never wavered: to create viable economic development through business training, technical assistance, promotion, and access to markets. We create impactful opportunities for small business owners and entrepreneurs to live in “Anywhere”, Nebraska and make a sustainable living.

GROW Nebraska Foundation launches Google Training Series in English and Spanish

GROW Nebraska Foundation launches Google Training Series in English and Spanish

GROW Nebraska Foundation launches Google Training Series in English and Spanish

Baker's Candies Nebraska box

Kearney, NE – The GROW Nebraska Foundation along with the Nebraska Enterprise Fund is thrilled to announce starting Wednesday, February 2, 2022, a monthly Google training series will be offered in English and Spanish. The trainings will be presented by certified Google Grow Your Business trainers Dave Meyer and Sixica Devine. The trainings will also be training on demand so even if you are unable to make the actual training time the recording will be sent out to all registered participants.

 

“Our board continues to push the GROW Nebraska team to offer training opportunities that will make a difference for our Nebraska businesses. If we can help businesses become more indexed in Google, it is a win for everyone” – Janell Anderson Ehrke GROW Nebraska CEO.  To help make these trainings possible we have partnered with the Nebraska Enterprise fund. “Partnering with Nebraska Enterprise Fund makes this opportunity even stronger. The trainings are open to the public; anyone who wants to learn more about Google should sign up. “The GROW Nebraska Foundation Board of Directors could not be happier with our newest training series”

– Kent Grisham, GROW Nebraska Foundation board member.

The Google training in English will be offered from noon to 1:00 pm CST

Topic Name: Get Your Local Business On Google Search & Maps

The Google training in Spanish will be offered 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm. CST

Topic Name: Ponga Su Negocio En Google Search Y Maps

 

Sixcia Devine and Dave Meyer are the Google experts who will be presenting our training series. They are exhilarated to work with GROW Nebraska and had this to say about our upcoming training series.

“Digital education for learners and small business owners is essential for professional and personal growth. The key to implementing those tools is simplicity and that is what I hope to share with the attendees who join my workshops.”

“La educación digital para estudiantes y propietarios de pequeñas empresas es esencial para el crecimiento profesional y personal. La clave para implementar esas herramientas es la simplicidad y eso es lo que espero compartir en los talleres de Google.”

-Sixcia

“I’m excited to kick off our Grow with Google training series with our first event: Get Your Local Business on Google Search and Maps,” said Dave Meyer, speaker/trainer for Grow with Google. Showing up when customers are searching online is more important than ever. Ensure customers can find accurate, updated information about your local business on Google Search and Google Maps, no matter which device they use.”

-Dave

 

About the GROW Nebraska® Foundation

The GROW Nebraska® Foundation helps entrepreneurs get the resources they need to live in Anywhere, NE and make a sustainable living. Since the inception of GROW Nebraska® in 1998 our vision and mission has never wavered: to create viable economic development through business training, technical assistance, promotion, and access to markets. We create impactful opportunities for small business owners and entrepreneurs to live in “Anywhere”, Nebraska and make a sustainable living.

Senator Deb Fischer visits the GROW Nebraska Women’s Business Center

Senator Deb Fischer visits the GROW Nebraska Women’s Business Center

Senator Deb Fischer visits the GROW Nebraska Women’s Business Center

Baker's Candies Nebraska box

Omaha, NE – Recently the GROW Nebraska Women’s Business Center had a special guest visit from Senator Deb Fischer. The opening of the GROW Nebraska Women’s Business Center was a dream come true for the GROW Nebraska Foundation. Janell Anderson Ehrke of GROW Nebraska, BC Clark of the Metro Omaha Women’s Business Center and Heather Nelson Entrepreneur Consultant started meeting and having phone calls about the need for Omaha to have a Women’s Business Center. “Other states around Nebraska had two Women’s Business Centers so we started to inquire to the Nebraska District SBA office and former director Leon Milobar and his staff were extremely helpful.”  Janell Anderson Ehrke CEO of GROW Nebraska. Once we had our strategic plan ready one of our first calls was to Senator Deb Fischer’s office. Senator Fischer and her staff were incredibly supportive.

 

In the last fourteen months the SBA has awarded us to open a Women’s Business Office, hired an extremely capable director and BC Clark stepped forward to serve as our program director. We opened an office in the Empowerment Village, put together a board for the GNWBC and recently we added to our team Eden Butler our new client coordinator. It has been a whirl wind, but the GROW Nebraska Foundation board is thrilled with the progress and impact the GNWBC is making.  Having Senator Fischer stop by and see our progress was so exciting.    

 

Senator Deb Fischer is committed to seeing small business owners receive access to the resources needed to not only keep their doors open, but to also help them grow! Candice Price the director of the GROW Nebraska Business Center along with team member BC Clark and Eden Butler “We greatly appreciate the time given and interest shown in upcoming programming and being instrumental in the formation of the GNWBC!”

 

About the GROW Nebraska Women’s Business Center

The GROW Nebraska Foundation launched the GROW Nebraska Women’s Business Center (GNWBC) in the Omaha Metro area in 2021 with the goal of offering support, training, and networking in an efficient and affordable manner to entrepreneurs that otherwise lack the resources and ability to access needed services. Powered by the U.S. Small Business Administration, the GNWBC is a coordinated effort among the Nebraska Enterprise Fund and Metro Omaha Women’s Business Center that allows each organization to exude its strengths and make the GNWBC a “one-stop” coordinated program that allows small business owners to grow and learn, enhancing the local workforce with job creation, business skills, and business growth. 

May 18 | Tuesday Member Talks | Let’s Talk Saving Money with the Microenterprise Tax Credit

May 18 | Tuesday Member Talks | Let’s Talk Saving Money with the Microenterprise Tax Credit

May 18 | Tuesday Member Talks | Saving Money with the Microenterprise Tax Credit

DATE: Tuesday, May 18

TIME: 12:00 p.m. CT

Business financing and filing taxes are heavy topics, but GROW Nebraska is bringing in an expert to help what’s muddy become clearer.

Join this Member Talk with Revenue Educator Steve Drzaic of the Nebraska Department of Revenue and learn about Nebraska’s Mircoenterprise Tax Credit.

If you have specific questions before this session of Tuesday Member Talks, email Amanda at amanda@grownebraska.org.

April 13 | Members-Only Training | Google Webinar | Make Better Business Decisions with Analytics

April 13 | Members-Only Training | Google Webinar | Make Better Business Decisions with Analytics

April 13 | Members-Only Training | Google Webinar | Make Better Business Decisions with Analytics

DATE: Tuesday, April 13th

TIME: 2 p.m. CT

Learn best practices and analyze trends about how customers engage with your business online, then turn these insights into well-informed, actionable decisions.

In this session we’ll cover:

  • An introduction to Google Analytics
  • Creating and understanding reports
  • Making goals
  • Using Analytics with other Google tools

April 7 | Members-Only Training | Google Webinar | Learn the Basics of Google Ads

April 7 | Members-Only Training | Google Webinar | Learn the Basics of Google Ads

April 7 | Members-Only Training | Google Webinar | Learn the Basics of Google Ads

DATE: Wednesday, April 7th

TIME: 11:30 a.m. CT

 In this workshop you will learn how to reach more customers and grow your business with Google Ads.

In this session we’ll talk about:

  • How to create an account and set up an ad campaign
  • How to write great ads, refine keywords, and include ad extensions
  • How to measure success