“[Grow Nebraska] focuses solely on marketing,” said Jannell Anderson Ehrke, CEO for Grow Nebraska. “We provide entrepreneurs with marketing tools, promotion and awareness. There are wonderful organizations that help do things but we focus on marketing.”

Grow Nebraska is a statewide organization established in 1998. It provides several options for its members, including a store for Nebraska-only merchandise in malls in Kearney and Grand Island as well as their website. Those who become members of Grow Nebraska are given the proper marketing tools but are also given a webpage located on the Grow Nebraska website with information about each member.

“Since we began, we’ve been dealing with product entrepreneurs – anyone is eligible as long as they’re a resident of Nebraska or their primary business is headquartered in Nebraska,” Ehrke said.

Typical marketing tools such as advertisements and demographics are key to a business’ success. However, Ehrke believes online marketing is another powerful tool that can enhance a business and promote sales. Using popular social media sites can enhance and expand coverage for any business or company. Grow Nebraska provided training on these social media methods in an effort to expand the marketing for businesses online.

Grow Nebraska store at the State Fair - photo courtesy Facebook

“Last year we provided social media training on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube with partnering with UNO [University of Nebraska at Omaha] extension,” Ehrke said.  “We’re hoping that we’ll do a similar platform that will be more on websites and online marketing. They need to wrap around this whole technology thing. It’s a real important part.”

Nebraska may have weathered much of the recession but Ehrke said entrepreneurs are still susceptible to failures if the owners neglect proper planning.

“I think we’re very fortunate because Nebraska’s a friendly state for startups,” she said. “It’s always good to have a plan. There are a lot of resources out there that are free or low fee to help do a business plan.”

Planning a business can mean anything from managing finances to finding the proper location to demographics but Ehrke said marketing is the key to success. The difference between success and failure can lie in how effective a company’s marketing is.

“The place I see most businesses fail is the marketing part,” Ehrke said. “It’s getting to making that connection to sell it to buyers. That’s where we try to fill that void and try to make those connections for them. At the end of the day, it’s all about if they’re making the sale and if they’re not making the sale.”

Information about Grow Nebraska, including tools on marketing, can be found on their website.

The Internet and Non-Profit Organizations Have Aided Rural Businesspeople With Start-Ups

ABC’s News Article “Rural Enterprise on the Rise” highlights GROW Nebraska and how beneficial membership can be for small businesses within the state. The article also showcases Katrina Frey of Heavenly Creations and John Marquis of Ogallala Bay Rum as each explains how GROW has helped take their business to the next level.

Check out the ABC News article to see where GROW started, what it is now and what our future goals are.

Grow Nebraska from Nebraska Entrepreneur on Vimeo.

Janell Anderson-Ehrke talks about GROW Nebraska and how they help entrepreneurs bring their products to market and the impact they have on economic development.