Tips offered from business workshop – Published in the Aug.24-30 edition of the Capital-Democrat

Last week was a busy one! I had a great visit with Lisa at the Milburn site of Urgent Care – Family Care Network. What a funny gal! She, Dr. Weathers and the staff there take great pride in their work and help 30-60 patients per day. We really do have great healthcare facilities in the county – why go anywhere else?
I also had the pleasure of stopping by Blessing Gravel, Scotty’s Blue River One Stop, Southern Select Feed, All-Star Vehicle Sales, Tishomingo Funeral Home, Budget Inn & Suites, and the Johnston County Farm Bureau – all operated by skilled, passionate business-people. They love this area and strive to serve the residents and visitors to our county.
I wanted to mention that the workshop held at the Chamber last week was very informative! The REI Women’s Business Center and Oklahoma Tax Commission presented an insightful and explanatory overview of some of the top priorities for a new business owner, as well as marketing techniques and ideas for getting people out from behind the computer and into your store. My, how tax laws change. Here are some key points I found interesting: 1) employers should keep paper copies of invoices and receipts for 7-10 years and keep electronic copies for life, 2) REI has sample business plans available, 3) when you promote in-store sales, you are selling the experience and should activate the customer’s 5 senses, if possible, 4) offer in-store only experiences like a unique product, a sale for walk-in customers only, etc. We will be working with REI in the future to bring interesting workshops and trainings to the area, please let me know what ideas you have!
Introducing our new/renewed members: Katherine L. Gordon, Budget Inn & Suites, Johnston County Museum of History & Chickasaw Bank Museum, Kristie’s Kid Kare, The Vanity Salon, Ann’s Flower Boutique, Nitro Lift Technologies, Ed & Carol Webb, Sunshine Boutique, and the Tishomingo Assembly of God Church. Memberships are pro-rated, as we renew in January, so join now!
I would like to thank the Tishomingo Lion’s Club and the Tishomingo Development Team for their hospitality at the meetings I attended. Both are great organizations that do a lot of good for this community and I look forward to working with them further.

Jordyn Naugle

“Whatever comes out of those gates, we’ve got a better chance of survival if we work together. Do you understand? If we stay together, we survive.” – Gladiator