November 2020 Chamber Newsletter

2020

NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER

Photo credit Kelsey Ball

POINTS TO PONDER

From the Executive Director

B

y all accounts, last month’s Meet the Candidates Octoberfest Social was a hit! We offer our thanks to the many candidates who agreed to participate, and we look forward to hosting similar events in the future to forge connections between our members and their elected representatives. Thanks are also due to our generous sponsors: Rocky Mountain Power; Fagnant, Lewis & Brinda P.C.; and Wyoming Catholic College. We’d also like to express our gratitude to the Lander Ambassadors for dutifully tending bar and to the students of WCC who served the food throughout the evening.

On the same theme of helping our members connect and learn, we warmly invite you to attend this month’s Business Over Breakfast (see page 3) on Thursday the 12th, sponsored

by Wyoming Community Bank. There are many exciting developments in the local and regional food economy, and the members of our panel of experts representing Central Wyoming College, the Wind River Food Sovereignty Project, and the Lander Valley Farmers Market are intimately involved with these efforts. Come connect with your fellow Chamber members and learn what’s been going on!

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Michelle Mazur, President Elevate Rehab

Jonathan Tonkowich, Vice Pres.

Wyoming Catholic College

Eric Andrews, Treasurer Fagnant, Lewis & Brinda P.C.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Ann Espinosa Home Source Realty Inc. Inter Mountain Builders

Dave Fehringer WH Smith & Associates, Inc.

Suzanne Norris

Membership in the Chamber is not simply about receiving direct benefits, but more importantly about contributing brains and energy to the broad community situation. On that note, we’re excited to welcome the brains and energy of two new directors to the Lander Chamber Board!

Wyoming Life Resource Center

Chris VonHoltum is Executive Vice President at Central Bank & Trust and has been with CB&T since 2010. Speaking recently with Chris, he emphasized CB&T’s selection of Lander as its headquarters due the area’s beauty and quality of life. John Ferrelli has been the CEO of SageWest Health Care since April 2019. John has three decades of experience in the health care industry and has led several hospitals in his career. While kayaking on Worthen Meadow Resevoir several weeks ago, I happened upon John who was also out enjoying an evening paddle. He left no doubt that he has acclimated himself to Lander’s much-beloved outdoor lifestyle.

Whiting Law PC

Welcome to the board, Chris and John!

Rick Bestul NAPA Auto Parts

James Whiting Joanne Slingerland Central Wyoming College

Chris VonHoltum Central Bank & Trust

John Ferrelli SageWest Healthcare

PROFESSIONAL STAFF Owen Sweeney Executive Director

Carol King Associate Director

Owen Sweeney Executive Director Lander Chamber of Commerce

Kelsey Ball Events & Programs

Teamwork is critical for businesses in just about every industry, so it is likely that you will work as part of a team at some point in your career. Depending on your position within your organization, you may be called upon as a team leader as well.

Here’s what you need to know to keep your team members in line and ensure they follow your instructions willingly.

the case, and you may be required to work with people with whom you don’t necessarily get along as friends. Although it is difficult, do your best to set your personal feelings aside. Keep your focus on the task at hand. Even if you don’t like a team member on a personal level, that doesn’t mean that you can’t still work successfully together.

Take Command When you first form your team, you need to establish yourself as the leader right from the start. Make sure that you are well-prepared for your first meeting so you can drive discussions and answer your team’s questions. Let your team know that you are available to help whenever they need. Remember, you are the guiding light for your team members throughout the project, so stay on top of your tasks so that you team can follow you.

Be Willing to Take the Blame Just as the captain goes down with a sinking ship, you are the responsible party as the team leader. While it may be easier to place blame on your team members for any mishaps, at the end of the day, it is you who is responsible for the successful completion of the project. Your team looks to you for direction, so if something goes wrong, you need to take responsibility.

Listen as Much as You Talk Of course, you’ll do plenty of talking as the team leader, but it is just as important that you listen to your team. Because they are the ones who will be doing most of the work as you manage, they can provide unique insight as to how the project is progressing and any trouble areas that might arise. Take your team’s feedback to heart, but always keep your mind on the bigger picture as well. Your team members are each dealing with individual aspects of the project, and it is up to you to keep everyone on track towards your common goal.

Focus on the Business While you may be able to choose the members of your team, this is not always

Practice What You Preach No matter what type of project you are working on, you need to show your team that you are in it with them. No one likes to see their team leader sitting back while they do all the work, so you need to be working just as hard as your team members. At each meeting, review their progress, but also show them your progress.

This way, they’ll see that you are working just as hard as they are, encouraging them to work harder for you.

Managing a team is not easy, but with careful planning and preparation, as well as a good dose of respect for your team members, you can give yourself your best chance of delivering your project successfully.

BUSINESS GROWTH

Teams play follow the leader

B.O.B.

BUSINESS AFTER

BUSINESS OVER BREAKFAST An information session presented by

Discussing our Local Food Economy Panel of Experts will discuss local and regional food economy Q&A to follow

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 12 7AM-8AM CARSON'S BAR AND GRILL 260 GRANDVIEW DR., LANDER $15 - Chamber Members Below Collaborator Level

$20 - General Public

THIRD THURSDAY Caregiver Support Group: Soup & Support 11-12:30, Frontier Home Health & Hospice

3-29 Art of Home: Native American Art Show Celebrating Wind River TuTh 10-6, Fr-Sa 10-4, Lander Art Center

Foot Care Clinic, 8-noon, Lander Senior Center

6 Opera at the Lander Library Turandot 5:30 pm, Lander Library Carnegie Room

EVERY THURSDAY Kids Nature Hike, 5:30 pm, meet at Sinks Canyon Visitor Center parking lot Farmers Market, 4-6 pm, Ramshorn St., Dubois EVERY SATURDAY Lander Valley Farmers Market, 9-11:30 am, Lander City Park Acoustic Music Jam, 11-1, Lander Bake Shop 1 Acoustic Music Jam 11-3, Shoshoni Senior Citizens Community Center

7 Local music concert!

Lander Pioneer Museum, check museum for time 12 Business Over Breakfast: Local Food Economy 7-8 am, Carson’s Bar & Grill (formerly the Summit) 13-15 Alchemy 5th Birthday Celebration Fr-Sa 12-5, Su 1-4, Alchemy Gallery 16 Lander Middle School Choir Concert 7-8 pm, Lander Valley High School Auditorium and Choir Room

19 Lander Middle School Band Concert 7-8 pm Lander Valley High School Auditorium WYOMING BUSINESS COUNCIL COVID-19 BUSINESS RELIEF PROGRAMS For Wyoming ranchers and farmers who have lost revenue due to COVID-19 related public health orders or incurred related expenses Timing: Opens November 2, 2020, at 10 AM; Closes November 18, 2020, at 8 PM https://www.wyobizrelief.org/ agriculture-fund Ongoing pandemic response for COVID-19 related losses and expenses for Wyoming businesses and select nonprofits Timing: Opens November 2, 2020, at 10 AM; Closes November 18, 2020, at 8 PM

CALENDAR

November Calendar of Events

DIGITAL MARKETING

3 digital marketing mistakes to avoid

by Jake Dixon, SBDC Marketing Manager

For small business owners, the low costs associated with digital marketing can be very attractive. However, if you’re not careful, you may end up reaching the wrong people or even harming your brand. There are resources available in Wyoming to help you get the most out of all your marketing efforts, but let’s first take a look at three digital marketing mistakes to avoid.

Mistake #1: Broad Target Audience If you are creating a digital advertisement on Google or Facebook, you may be surprised to see that you can reach thousands of people for a few dollars per day. Practice caution here, because these numbers likely include a very broad target audience. Instead, you need to identify potential customers currently in the market for your specific offering.

The Wyoming Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network offers free market research to help you zero in on the audience that is most likely to respond to digital advertisements and purchase your product or service.

With Wyoming’s low population, nationwide companies may overlook our state and instead decide to focus their efforts on highly-populated metropolitan areas. Less competitive audiences are generally cheaper to reach — which is an advantage for small business owners who are targeting our local communities.

Mistake #2: Poor Social Media Schedule A strategic social media schedule can help you determine the right number of posts to make per day, the time your audience is most active and the type of content you should share.

You want to keep your social media pages active, but not overbearing. Thorough market research

can help you determine the right amount of posts to make and the right time of day to publish them.

I often come across social media pages that are over-saturated with self-promotional posts.

Obviously you want to promote your business, but you also need to build your brand and engage your audience. Try starting with the Rule of Thirds which suggests evenly breaking up all your posts as follows: -- Promotional content about your products or discounts.

-- Educational content about your industry that would interest your audience.

-- Interactive content that is fun and entertaining.

Mistake #3: Too Much Text I see this mistake happen across all marketing channels.

The average attention span is now about eight seconds long. However, with a highly-targeted audience in hand, you can create a short message with an effective call to action.

For social media, avoid text-only posts and use pictures, graphics and video to engage you audience. Make sure you online advertisements are extremely relevant to your audience by focusing one message at a time. For blog posts, get the most out of search engine optimization and keep your audience’s attention by sticking to a single topic in less than 1,500 words.

Help is Available If you would like to improve your digital marketing results or learn how to begin growing your brand online, contact your local Wyoming SBDC Network advisor. Our no-cost, confidential services are offered at locations throughout Wyoming and are available to entrepreneurs in every industry.

About the Wyoming SBDC Network: The Wyoming SBDC Network offers no-cost advising and technical assistance to help Wyoming entrepreneurs think about, launch, grow, reinvent or exit their business. In 2018 alone, the Wyoming SBDC Network helped Wyoming entrepreneurs start 111 new businesses, create or save 1,402 jobs and bring a capital impact of more than $10 million to the state. The Wyoming SBDC Network is hosted by the University of Wyoming with state funds from the Wyoming Business Council. Funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

SHOP LOCAL

Central Wyoming College Lander 120 Enterprise Blvd., Lander Family Chiropractic Vince Irene 8135 Hwy 279, Lander Edward Jones John Shade 824 Main St., Lander Good Place, The Marla Lemm 155 Main St., Lander Holiday Lodge Xin Zhang 210 McFarlane Dr., Lander JACK FM-KTUG Radio Murray Ritland 2255 Brunton Court, Suite A, Riverton

Lander Dental Group Dr. Chris Peterson, Dr. Eric Sheridan 799 S 2nd St., Lander Lander Library Friends Association 451 N. 2nd St., Lander Lander Workforce Center Deanna Crofts, Area Manager 1295 12th St., Lander Maven Outdoor Equipment Compay Mike Lilygren, Cade Maestas, Brandon Weaver 160 S 4th St., Lander Phat Foam Insulation Jason Redman 191 Tweed Lane, Lander SageWest Health Care John Ferrelli, CEO 1320 Bishop Randall Dr., Lander Scott Robeson Custom Woodworking Scott Robeson 17 Shadow Brook Lane, Lander

Sleeping Bear RV Park and Campground Ann Marie & Spencer O’Malley, Thomas & Catherine Williams 715 E. Main St., Lander Union Wireless 850 N Hwy 414, Mountain View Whiting Law James Whiting 277 Main St., Suite 3, Lander

NEW MEMBERS Carson’s Bar & Grill Vicki Long 260 Grandview, Lander Dan Nielsen Plumbing Dan Nielsen 695 Washakie St., Lander Main Street Dance Regan Marynowski 592 Main St., Suite G, Lander Railroad Expresso Barbara Gitchel 8117 Hwy 789, Lander

PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. Postage Paid LANDER, WY PERMIT NO. 78

Thanks to our annual newsletter sponsors!

Western Wyoming Medical LLC Special thanks to Western Printing for printing the monthly newsletter.

RENEWING MEMBERS

Burns Insurance Agency Julie Schifer, agent 440 Lincoln St., Lander

Lander Community Concert Association PO Box 647, Lander

RENEWING MEMBERS

Atlantic City Federal Credit Union Brian Rohrbacher, Branch Manager 1005 11th St., Lander