Friday, November 16, 2012
Small business owner Linda Fuller offers tips for growing your business and offering more services to expand cliental .
There are several hundred small businesses in Kent. Some of them may be places you and your family frequent, businesses that have been in Kent for as long as you can remember. And some may be your go-to places instead of national chains. Small business owner Linda Fuller is no stranger to starting a business from the ground up. In her recent interview with Patch Partners, a website connecting business owners to Patch in local communities, she offers insight into how she expanded her business’s services from just flowers to wine, beer and gourmet gift baskets at Lake Anne Florist in Reston, VA. Homework must be done first, she said. “Research what’s compatible with your own products and services, what the current trends are and what your …
Thursday, December 8, 2011
We found five sources for local gifts for anyone on your list
Looking for that perfect holiday gift? We rounded up area sources for handmade gifts. Check out the list below.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Kent's shopping scene has changed considerably in the past 12 months, and now almost anything you want to wrap and give can be found downtown, or at least within the city limits
Shopping in Kent means you'll spend less time driving around, and therefore will have more time to consider your gift recipients this holiday season. And this year, there are more reasons to shop in town — new stores, expanded merchandise selections, and sales — as well as the merchants themselves. In general, Kent-area retailers are thoughtful and helpful, willing and eager to help customers select the right gifts on any budget. And in many stores, shoppers can take advantage of free, beautiful gift-wrapping services. Don't forget, if you want to get to downtown Kent today to shop on Black Friday you can hop on a PARTA bus for free. Here are a few ideas to get started on holiday shopping in Kent: Babies or kids on your list? While many …
People started shopping at the stroke of midnight at Great Lakes Mall
Thousands of shoppers got the earliest possible start at midnight on Black Friday in Great Lakes Mall. One of those Mindi Kikel, who said she had never gone shopping on Black Friday before. "I just like the commotion because there's so many people. It's exciting," she said, standing outside of the Toys 'R Us store with a friend. Jennifer Praniewicz came to the mall with eight of her family members. "It's just for fun and adventure," she said. "We were all together for Thanksgiving, so we thought, 'Hey, let's go at midnight. They're giving away prizes.'" The first 100 shoppers in the Macy's concourse received a free goody bag. Additionally, DJ Jesse Webb entertained shoppers in the early morning hours and gave away gifts from stores in the …
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Local event in conjunction with Small Business Saturday
Two local women are hoping to kick off the holiday shopping season with a boost for Kent businesses on Small Business Saturday. Nichole Catalano-Miller and Angela Barzizza-Young are organizing the Kent "Cash Mob" to coincide with the national event, which is "dedicated to supporting small businesses on one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year," according to SmallBusinessSaturday.com Catalano-Miller said they wanted to do something "flash-mob style" to get people to shop local and support Kent retailers. The goal is to get people to spend at least $20 each doing their holiday shopping in downtown Kent. "We plan on gathering in front of Home Savings Plaza at 4 p.m. on Saturday and then deciding on our 'target store," she said in an …
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
The Earth-friendly store cut the ribbon on its new location Tuesday
Neighbors, family, friends, the landlord, contractor and other well-wishers for the owners of Dr. Greenbee helped cut the ribbon on the store's new location off Acorn Alley Tuesday afternoon. The eco-friendly store moved to a larger space in Ron Burbick's redevelopment after seeing a strong demand for their natural products in their original North Water Street location. Maureen Drinkard, who co-owns the store with Eddie Donley, said they had such demand for their products that they took the leap to a bigger space just months after first opening in Kent. "We have great customers," she said. The store will celebrate it's grand reopening from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday with free food and drinks. A class at 2 p.m. will teach visitors how to …
41.153774
-81.357496
Dr. Greenbee
138 E Main St, Kent, OH
/articles/dr-greenbee-relocates-to-acorn-alley
1987238
/locations/5864591
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
MAC Trailer expanded to Kent thanks to $5.7 million in state support
Ohio Gov. John Kasich traveled to Kent Tuesday morning to celebrate the opening of MAC Liquid Tank Trailer and the creation of 250 new jobs thanks largely to $5.7 million in state development dollars. MAC LTT is a division of MAC Trailer, which already has plants in Salem and Alliance. The Kent expansion is expected to bring 250 total new jobs to the city within the next 18 to 24 months. Kasich said the state’s support of MAC’s Kent move was one of 191 projects the Ohio Department of Development has been directly involved in in the past eight to nine months. “We’ve created 14,526 new jobs, and we have saved 28,892 jobs, for a total of 43,418 jobs saved or jobs created in the state of Ohio in the period of the last eight or nine months,” …
41.16552
-81.38868
1400 Fairchild Ave, Kent, OH
/articles/video-kasich-visits-kent-trailer-manfuacturer
/locations/5863509
Friday, November 18, 2011
Kent City Council approves new rules for businesses that buy and sell goods; mandates yearly $200 license fee
Stores that buy and sell second-hand merchandise in Kent must now buy a license to do business. Kent City Council approved a new law this week that regulates "second-hand dealers" or stores that deal mostly in used goods such as Einstein's Attic or City Bank Antiques. Aside from the yearly $200 license fee, the law requires businesses hold goods they buy from someone for 30 days before reselling them. The rules apply only to brick-and-mortar businesses and not people selling only online out of their home or other location. Kent Law Director Jim Silver said the holding period is meant to give police a chance to try and track down stolen merchandise that may have been sold to a business. "We have people in Kent that buy gold and jewelry and …
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Rides encourage people to shop local, avoid malls after Thanksgiving
Main Street Kent, the Kent Area Chamber of Commerce and PARTA are offering free bus rides to downtown Kent on Black Friday to encourage people to avoid long lines at big box stores and shop local. PARTA will use its 41/42 Suburban and 11/12 Kent Circulator routes to shuttle people to downtown Kent on Friday, Nov. 25. Full route times and schedule are available on PARTA's website. Main Street Kent is billing the free rides as a means to avoid the crowded parking lots and aisles at big-box stores and malls, where people begin camping out days before to get Black Friday deals.
Annual Tree City Awards held in the Kent State University Ballroom Balcony
Several area business were recognized for their contribution to the Kent community on Thursday night at the Tree City Awards and Annual Dinner, sponsored by the city of Kent and the Kent Area Chamber of Commerce. Eleven awards were given to businesses that supported retention, investment and new development in the area in 2011. The winners were as follows (you can see their photos above): Tree City Awards • Anderson Aerospace • Dominick's • MAC LTT Mayor's Awards (city keys) • Cass and Bob Mayfield • Lori Wemhoff IMMY Awards from the Chamber of Commerce • ACS Industries, Inc. • Kent State University Libraries Small Business Person of the Year • Mike Crawford of Advanced Display Systems, Ltd. President's Award • Roger Di Paolo, of The …
41.15375
-81.351269
Kent State University
500 E Main St, Kent, OH
/articles/city-chamber-recognize-kent-s-best-in-business
1094461
/locations/5853871
Holly Barnes
7:16 pm on Sunday, December 11, 2011
I think the point of the story is that no matter where you live, if you look, you can find handmade items. Just look through the "Places" section of each Patch site to see all the diverse businesses listed within. That is the charm of Ohio...so many local businesses make it easy to find whatever you're looking for right in your backyard. And note to local businesses, if you haven't claimed your … more ›