Impact of Mentoring

Be a small business “mentor”.  Save money and time!

The resources available to many small businesses are often limited.  We frequently struggle to get more productivity out of every dollar that we as business owners invest.   Two ways that we, at Sharn Enterprises, have found to save money is to use the resources available from your local community colleges!

1. Internships:  Help yourself and a young college student by filling a job with an intern.  Programs are available to you that help pay a portion of their salary.  Most of the interns work “part time” so you can fill a needed job with as little as 10 to 12 paid hours a week.  These folks are young (but mature) enthusiastic, educated, and eager to learn!  Save yourself some money and time, be a small business “mentor”.
2. Small business departments:  Most of our local colleges have a small business department.  These folks have the job of assisting local companies with everything from performing analytic project or process work, marketing assistance, loan preparation advice, or even helping you create a business plan.  Much of this work is done by Senior or even MBA level students.

So, if you would like some great free advice, contact your local college business office for more information.

www.sharndisplays.com

Click on the link below to check out our latest video

http://vimeo.com/71471550

Small Business Saturday

We are all very familiar with “Black Friday” (and what some are now considering “Black Thursday”) and “Cyber Monday”, but we must not forget about Small Business Saturday.

Small Business Saturday was first observed on November 27, 2010.  This shopping holiday is celebrated every year since on the Saturday following Thanksgiving.  Small Business Saturday is sponsored by SBA, Small Business Administration, which was created in 1953 as an independent agency of federal government to aid, counsel, assist, and protect the interest of small businesses.  The holiday was first promoted by American Express in 2010 by radio and television advertising campaigns with focus to encourage shoppers to patronize brick and mortar businesses that are small and local.  The major way American Express became so successful with publicizing Small Business Saturday was through the use of social media, advertising, and public relations.

Here at Sharn Enterprises, Inc.  We strongly support Small Business Saturday.  We feel that it is very important to help local business gain a profit to keep the town in strong financial upscale.  As we know from an internal perspective, being an American manufacturer company, Small Business Saturday helps to keep the economy in a strong financial upscale as well.

So, while you are out shopping after your festivities on Thanksgiving, make sure to save enough energy to go back out to all your local retailers on Saturday!  From everyone here at Sharn Enterprises have a safe and joyful shopping experience.

www.sharndisplays.com

Click on the link below to check out our latest video

http://vimeo.com/71471550

History of Thanksgiving

“Coming to the New World”

Many Americans think of Thanksgiving as a time when you sit around the dinner table, stuff yourself full, and then join the madness on Black Friday to get all those great deals.  Some people have begun to skip that gracious dinner all together and begin their shopping on Thanksgiving night.  Is that what Thanksgiving is really about?  In today’s society we as a whole have begun to lose sight of what Thanksgiving truly is.

Thanksgiving is held on the fourth Thursday in November and is meant to be celebrated with an overload of food, family and friends to honor the early settlers.  A long, long time ago, a group of English Protestants (also known as Pilgrims) wanted to break away and venture off to the “New World”.  So, they set out on a sixty-six day voyage across the Atlantic Ocean with 101 men, women, and children.  The goal was to land and settle where current day New York City is, but due to vicious winds, they had to cut their trip short and settle at, what we now know as Cape Cod.  This is where the Pilgrims and the Native Americans from the Wampanoag tribe (or the Indians as we call them) crossed past with each other.

When winter season arrived, the Pilgrims gathered anything and everything they could get their hands on, including the Indian’s supplies.  This is where the well-known, beloved Squanto comes into play.  Squanto wanted to avoid any struggle and tension with the Pilgrims, so he took it upon himself to teach the Pilgrims how to grow corn and fertilize their fields using fish.

Finally, after years of unnecessary drama, there was a formal agreement made between the Pilgrims and Indians to protect one other.  Everything was all rainbows and butterflies, until one day the Indians heard gunshot and rushed to the Pilgrims colonies, believing that there was a war to be started.  Much to their surprise, the Pilgrims were only out hunting in order to provide a feast.  For three whole days, the Pilgrims and Indians all ate, played games, and gave thanks together and formed what we now know as Thanksgiving.

So from everyone here at Sharn Enterprises, we remind you to remember the real meaning behind Thanksgiving and have a safe and joyful holiday.  Happy Thanksgiving!!

www.sharndisplays.com

Click on the link below to check out our latest video

http://vimeo.com/71471550

Product Displays– Which Should You Choose?

Custom made or stock displays

 

Which type is right for your specific brand?

 

Your brand is the best, Right?

You’ve invested a lot of time, effort, and money in building your brand. So when you finally go to market, you need to decide which approach best suits your particular brand. Which approach will get your products noticed — and more importantly SOLD?

 

Here at Sharn Enterprises, we believe custom made point of purchase displays are the answer and here is why.

 

1. Product DifferentiationWhen Sharn Enterprises designs a custom display for you, it is unique, and it sets your products apart. It emphasizes the unique image that you have created for your brand. In short, it gets your product noticed!
2. Foot print As you know, floor space is “gold” to both you and your retailer.  A custom display is designed around your specific product, its size, it’s packaging, and the quantities to be offered.  It also can include a modular concept, so that as your sales increase you can just add the modular piece which saves you from replacing the entire unit when it needs updating.
3. Brand Presence  When using a permanent display, you have gained a valuable foot hold within the store itself.  Conversely when you order a stock display it’s fairly easy for a competitor to take over your space by just replacing your logo or signage. You’ve lost your valuable retail position, and lost several sales.  I bet this has happened too many of you who use stock displays.

 

In any retail store, there are literally thousands of items that come in to view as the shopper walks through the store.  Some people (like me) just go in a store with the single purpose to buy a particular item, and then we leave.  More people (like my wife) often go to the store with a similar purpose, but they also like to browse around to see what the store is offering today.  Shopping is a visual event and you want to engage the shopper quickly, create interest in your product, and have them put it in their shopping cart before something else grabs their attention.

 

A custom made product display, designed and manufactured by Sharn Enterprises will get your products noticed!  That’s what our customers have been saying for 38 years now.  Contact us for details.

 

www.sharndisplays.com

 

Click on the link below to check out our latest video

 

http://vimeo.com/71471550