Grants through the Atchison E-community program enabled local attendees to learn business success strategies from Jon Schallert
At the end of May, a dozen Atchison business owners and community leaders returned from a Longmont, Colorado business workshop armed with new strategies and inspired about their business and their community. The 2 1/2 day event was designed to help entrepreneurs create the kind of businesses that people drive for hundreds of miles to experience.
Business expert Jon Schallert holds seven Destination BootCamps each year, training businesses and communities to become consumer destinations. Since the goals of the boot camp complemented the mission of the Atchison E-community program to support local entrepreneurship, E-Community grants were approved to cover the attendance and lodging costs for local businesses.
Benefits of attending
The group that attended included Atchison retailers, restaurants, event organizers, and community leaders. All agreed that the experience was well worth their time. “I think one of the best things about it was that I got to spend time thinking about what we’re doing and how to do it better. I usually stay so busy running things I don’t get to step back and do a pulse check,” said retailer Scott Weinmann of Amazing Deals.
The benefits of the experience continue even though the bootcamp has concluded. Graduates can attend monthly conference calls to further their training. Also, because there was a least 6 businesses from Atchison that attended, Schallert will be be coming to Atchison in July, visiting each attendee's business to give in-person feedback and speaking in a session available to all Atchison businesses.
Bringing inspiration back to Atchison
The inspiration from the bootcamp training led the attendees to form an accountability group after returning to Atchison. The group will begin meeting regularly starting June 16, and will commit to one or two improvement tasks for their business and share progress at each meeting. “The biggest challenge now is actually getting the stuff on my list done,” said Angela Spurlock-Harris of Backroad Atlas. “Like a weight loss challenge where you weigh in once a month, we will stay accountable to get at least that one thing done that we commit to.”
The Destination BootCamp experience is yet another success story for the Atchison E-Community program, and one that may potentially be repeated in the fall of 2017. Local businesses can inquire about another Destination BootCamp opportunity by contacting Justin Pregont at justinp@cityofatchison.com or 913-367-9317.
Atchison businesses and organizations that attended the Destination BootCamp May 22-24, 2017:
- Backroad Atlas
- Gateway to Kansas Shops
- 5th Street Mercantile
- Amazing Deals
- Daylight Donuts
- Sunsetters
- True Roots Massage
- Theatre Atchison
- Webcom Resources
- Chamber of Commerce
- Northeast Kansas Enterprise Facilitation
