At Small Nation, we take our tenants’ success seriously. Our Small Biz Success™ Blueprint provides every possible solution to help small businesses thrive in Bellefontaine, from creating the perfect location through strong marketing and operational guidance. Why do we do this when most developers don’t? Because success is good for everyone.
As developers, we’ve worked hard over the years to create the best downtown possible in Bellefontaine. On the outside, people can see the structures change and what was old become new again. New businesses have launched, and others have moved, choosing Bellefontaine over others as their new home. What people don’t always see is the inside journey. Behind the scenes, our team is also working to develop the strength and sustainability of businesses that have joined our community. Every day, we’re working to attract the right kind of businesses for our renovated buildings and help them succeed every step of the way.
Our Small Biz Success™ Blueprint offers Small Nation’s commercial tenants a broad range of support services, from their initial business strategy and planning phases, through opening day and beyond.
After finding the best location for a business in Bellefontaine, we are also here to assist with some of the most crucial parts of the success puzzle. We help tenants in the Small Biz Success™ Blueprint Program create powerful brands and unique interior experiences. We help them pre-promote so they gain visibility before opening day. After opening, we help them develop strong, successful marketing and offer guidance through one-on-one business coaching. Our tenants are the real magic of Bellefontaine. We know that if we support their spark, they will bring purpose, energy, and life to our downtown for years to come.
Bellefontaine’s downtown businesses have growth opportunities available to them that many other small towns do not. The ones that take full advantage of them have seen incredible results.
Lyle Endsley, owner of our local Anytime Fitness location is a prime example. Lyle opened the gym in Bellefontaine in 2011 in a nearby strip mall. While it was successful in that location, the rising costs and dwindling traffic in the commercial space led him to look for a new location.
He began talking with Small Nation about moving in 2014, explaining his vision for a “one-stop shop” for fitness. Lyle’s dream fit well with Small Nations’ revitalization model, so we helped him find and renovate a space that would allow his business to grow.
Through our Small Biz Success™ Blueprint, tenants like Lyle enjoy multiple marketing opportunities as part of their business relationship. All of our tenants who are willing to become involved are featured in the Small Nation Quarterly Newsletter, a print publication that is mailed to over 1,500 individuals and small businesses around our region.
We also announce the opening of new businesses on Downtown Bellefontaine’s social media channels, submit a press release in the local news, and create a special post on Small Nation’s blog. New tenants are included in an announcement in our “Small Talk” e-Newsletter, delivered to a list of 10,000 recipients every week.
Lyle took advantage of all of the Small Biz Success™ Blueprint opportunities. After seeing the public impact, he invested in additional marketing tools that allowed him to promote and position his business for success in the new location. Lyle utilized video, strategically placed billboards, and placed ads in the Town Money Saver, a direct mail advertising solution delivered to 16,000 households in Bellefontaine and Urbana.
Moving his business downtown and investing in the right kind of marketing had a significant impact on his business. In three years, Anytime Fitness and Loco Depot have seen a 60% increase in membership and a 70% increase in overall revenue. In addition, the number of visitors that come to the gym daily has tripled, and this location’s Anytime Fitness National Ranking, which is determined by total members, top-line revenue, personal training, and attrition, has jumped from the 50th percentile to the top 4% in the United States. Those are some pretty impressive results!
Lyle credits the centralized location downtown and the increased traffic from multi-channel marketing as the key to their increased success.
“Now, we don’t just have a gym. We have all of these personalized classes and have been able to begin selling supplements, apparel, and a meal
program. The gym is seeing over 300 people a day, and Dash and Joey’s, our locally-owned smoothie and juice bar, is pulling in an additional 100+ people, so that is over 500 people a day that are spending their time downtown Bellefontaine. So while this is a win-win for the gym, it is also a win for the entire downtown,” said Lyle.
Small Nation strives to provide everything a small business needs to succeed. The Small Biz Success™ Blueprint offers multiple ways to raise the visibility of your business and help you win in your new space.
