Broad Ripple Village Association

Social Media for Small Business

Brooke Klejnot — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:27:49 +0000

May Biz Div Meeting Recap Summary of Social Media for Small Business Presentation

The Spring Tech Series concluded this month with a presentation by Nathan Hand, a fundraising professional, blogger, and self-proclaimed “non-profit nerd.” Nathan presented Social Media Best Practices for Small Business. Below you will find some tips on how to best utilize social media to engage your customer base.

Nathan first polled the crowd to see who was utilizing which forms of social media such as: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, FourSquare, Pinterest and Instagram. Attendees ran the gamut of experience levels from novice to expert users.

A recurring theme throughout Nathan’s presentation was one-on-one interaction. Utilizing social media to reach out to new customers can be effective by highlighting a single experience of an existing customer. For example, discovering a positive tweet about your business and replying can strengthen your existing customer relationship, and show your customer’s followers how engaged your business is with its patrons.

Many attendees grumbled that monitoring social media can become an extremely time consuming task. Nathan stressed that the core of your business should remain the same: if you are a clothing retailer, focus on your core competencies. Social media should be utilized as a tool to help you increase sales by engaging in the dialogue that is, no doubt, already happening online.

One powerful way to see who is talking about your business online is the Google Alerts feature. This tool will email you whenever your business/industry is mentioned on the web, allowing you to respond accordingly and in a timely manner.

Another powerful tool that Nathan uses is HootSuite.com. This instrument can be used to help organize your social media posts and searchs on sites such as Twitter and Facebook. For example, you could have one tab that only displays your most loyal customers to keep an eye on their dialogue without having to filter through hundreds and hundreds of other posts. You can also tweet (and schedule future tweets) directly from HootSuite.com.

Nathan recommended the “sweet spot” for keeping customers engaged without becoming an annoyance is 4-6 tweets per day and 1-4 Facebook posts per week. Does Social Media still make your head hurt? Nathan can be reached at nathan.e.hand@gmail.com or you can follow him on Twitter at @nathan_hand or on the web at www.nonprofitnate.com.

Biz Div Announces Its Summer Session Event Schedule

Brooke Klejnot — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:19:52 +0000

Biz Div Summer Session Begins in just a few weeks! We like to accomodate as many attendees as possible, so we are offering an evening meeting schedule for the summer. Check it out!

June 12
Biz Div Meeting
6:30pm-7:30pm
Roundtable to discuss events to promote Broad Ripple businesses
Shirley’s Bed and Breakfast (5870 Norwaldo Ave.)

June 19
Biz Div Lunch Social
11:30am-12:30pm
10-01 Food and Drink
No agenda, just a gathering to eat fabulous food with nice people!
Lunch entrees at 10-01 cost between $10-$20. View the menu.
We hope to see you there!
RSVP here.

July 10
Biz Div Meeting
6:30pm-7:30pm
Customer Loyalty Programs
@ TBD location

August 14
Biz Div Meeting
6:30pm-7:30pm
Direct Mail Works!
@ TBD Location

September 11
Biz Div Meeting
6:30pm-7:30pm
Boomerang Online Gifting
@ TBD Location

Have a topic you’d like covered at a Biz Div meeting? Send it to bizdiv@brva.org!

Public Meeting Thurs. May 23 for Shell Site Development

Brooke Klejnot — Thu, 16 May 2013 04:10:20 +0000

The Broad Ripple Village Association Board of Directors will host a Public Meeting on Thursday, May 23, 2013 at 6:00 p.m. at Broad Ripple United Methodist Church located at 6185 Guilford Avenue. The meeting will be held in the Sanctuary and is open to the public.

The goal of the meeting is to disseminate information regarding the proposed development of the former Shell Gas Station at 6349 College Avenue and the apartments nearby. The BRVA will invite representatives from the developer, City and Whole Foods to participate in a panel. The meeting will be moderated by the BRVA. Community feedback is very important and time will be available for Q&A.

Review important documents regarding the project below and take the online survey here. The survey is open until Wednesday, June 5 at midnight.

Questions or concerns regarding the public meeting and survey can be sent to the BRVA at info@brva.org or (317) 251-2782.

The BRVA urges community members to review the documents below, provided by the developer.

Browning Investments, Inc. Statement

Development Rendering, looking south on College (click image to enlarge)

Development Rendering, view along Canal Walk (click image to enlarge)

Development rendering, west facade (click to enlarge)

The BRVA also encourages community members to review the following documents about the TIF district, Broad Ripple Plan, and Canal Esplanade prior to the meeting.

TIF, article written by Tom Healy, BRVA Board, and published by the Broad Ripple Gazette

Broad Ripple Plan, adopted by the City of Indianapolis in November 2012

Canal Esplanade, renderings of canal redevelopment opportunities

Public Meeting Will Be Held For Shell Site Development

Brooke Klejnot — Fri, 10 May 2013 21:08:55 +0000

At the BRVA Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday, May 7, the Board decided to organize a public meeting for the week of May 20 – exact date, time and location is pending – to discuss the proposed development at the corner of College Avenue and the Central Canal.

The goal of the meeting is to disseminate information, hear community feedback and allow for Q&A. The BRVA will invite representatives from the developer, City and Whole Foods to participate in a panel. The meeting will be moderated by the BRVA.

The BRVA will distribute fliers, eBlasts, and promote the event on social media to encourage attendance by residents and businesses. All community members are invited.

Leading up to the meeting, the BRVA will post information about the proposed development for community members to review – and - provide a link to an online survey for Broad Ripple stakeholders to provide their feedback at http://brva.org/initiatives/development-zoning/.

Following the meeting, the BRVA will post a summary to http://brva.org/initiatives/development-zoning/.

The BRVA will evaluate the survey data and convene the LUD Committee and Board of Directors to make a decision on whether or not to support the project’s zoning variance request before the June 13th zoning board hearing.

BRVA Board Meeting Agenda May 2013

Brooke Klejnot — Tue, 07 May 2013 03:25:09 +0000

Broad Ripple Village Association
Board of Directors Meeting
Tuesday, May 7, 2013, 6 p.m.
Flanner and Buchanan Funeral Center (1305 Broad Ripple Avenue)

AGENDA

1. Call to Order– Jay Wetzel

2. Ice Miller 501c3 (Q&A and Potential vote – 35 minutes) – Mark Wolf

3. Bylaws Revision Proposal (vote – 20 minutes) – Elizabeth Marshall

4. Shell Site Procedure (discussion – 25 minutes) – Jim Holland

5. Broad Ripple High School IB Program (vote – 10 minutes) – Tom Healy

6. Executive Director Report (discussion – 10 minutes) – Brooke Klejnot

7. Committee updates & questions

a. Treasurer’s Report – Brenda Rising-Moore
b. Membership – Bridget Carson
c. BRAP – Tom Healy
d. Governance Committee – Bridget Carson
e. LUD update – Jim Holland
f. Biz Div update – Justin McKeand
g. Special Events – Jay Wetzel
h. Public Safety – Elizabeth Marshall

8. General Business

a. Approval of previous board meeting minutes
b. Confirmation of next Board Meeting and adjournment – Jay Wetzel
Tuesday, June, 6 p.m., Location Park Tudor’s Foster Hall

BRVA Examines Shell Site Development

Brooke Klejnot — Fri, 03 May 2013 22:29:16 +0000

The BRVA recognizes that the success and sustainability of the Village depends on a delicate balance of residential and business diversity. The BRVA Board is currently engaged in a fact-finding process, meeting with Good Earth, the City, developers and other stakeholders to discuss the project. We will keep our constituents updated on our findings at http://brva.org/initiatives/development-zoning/.

The development cannot move forward without changing the zoning on the site. Our Land Use and Development Committee has been granted a 30-day continuance for the Board of Zoning Appeals hearing, which will now be June 13.

The BRVA will open an online survey early next week to collect community input. Until that time, we encourage you to share your comments, concerns, ideas, etc. by emailing info@brva.org. Thank you.

LUD April 2013 Meeting Minutes

Brooke Klejnot — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:00:29 +0000

Land Use and Development Committee
Tuesday, April 23, 2013, 6:00 p.m.
Broad Ripple United Methodist Church (6185 Guilford Ave.)

Meeting Minutes

III. Petitioner Presentations

A. 6265 (6267 Building) Carrollton Ave., Sarah Fortson agent/petitioner for Lori Davis, owner of Alley Cat Lounge regarding a variance of development standards of the commercial zoning ordinance to provide for a tavern expansion in an existing building, with zero parking spaces (84 spaces required). Petition #2013-DV3-009 Hearing on before the Metropolitan Board of Zoning Appeals May 21, 2013. (6:05-6:25 p.m.) Download minutes.

B. 6349 College Ave., 702,705,709 & 713 E. 63rd Place and 710 E. Laverock Rd., Joe Scimia with Faegre Baker Daniels, LLP regarding the rezoning of 1.9 acres, from the C-2 (FF) district to the C-3C (FF) classification to provide for retail commercial and residential uses. Petition #2013-ZON-013 Hearing before the Metropolitan Development Commission May 9, 2013. (6:25-6:40 p.m.) Download minutes.

LUD April 2013 Agenda

Brooke Klejnot — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 16:57:58 +0000

Land Use and Development Committee
Tuesday, April 23, 2013, 6:00 p.m.
Broad Ripple United Methodist Church (6185 Guilford Ave.)

Agenda

I. Call to order and explanation of LU&DC’s position on requests (6:00 p.m.)

II. Introductions of committee members and guests (6:00-6:05 p.m.)

III. Petitioner Presentations

IV. Committee Discussion/Information

A. 6516 Ferguson St., Audrey Barron, would like to open a café in the garage serving specialty organic and gluten free foods. Would like feedback from the LU&DC. (6:45-7:00 p.m.)

V. Adjournment and confirmation of next meeting

A. May 28, 2013, 6:00 p.m., Broad Ripple United Methodist Church (6185 Guilford Ave.)

Broad Ripple Farmers Market Opens May 4

Brooke Klejnot — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 13:25:52 +0000

The Broad Ripple Farmers Market is back! Join us on May 4 for a chance to win some great prizes and the opportunity to buy fresh produce, meat, eggs, dairy, prepared food, and flowers from the #1 Farmers Market in the city as voted by Indy’s A-List. Come alone or bring your friends, family, neighbors, and dogs (several vendors have dog treats!). Listen to great, local live music as you say “hi” to old friends and welcome new vendors. Visit us online at: www.broadripplefarmersmarket.org and also be sure to sign-up for the e-newsletter, which provides great recipes, tips on growing at home, vendor profiles, a map of each week’s vendor layout, and much more! All vendors accept cash; some accept credit cards. The BRFM is located directly behind Broad Ripple High School in the high school parking lot, easily accessible on bike or foot from the Monon Trail!

Join Residential Parking Permit Program Working Group

Brooke Klejnot — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 13:29:11 +0000

An element of the BRVA’s parking and public safety plan for Broad Ripple includes a residential parking permit program. This month the BRVA will create a working group of 6 to 8 volunteers, made up of residents, business owners, and industry professionals, to guide the process of creating a residential parking permit program for Broad Ripple. The working group is tasked with: creating the project timeline; researching existing residential parking permit programs in the city, Midwest and beyond; measuring how the mixed-use parking structure has impacted visitation and parking habits; and conducting a constituent survey and roundtables with the City and other stakeholders to determine the programs features and parameters. Residents, property owners, business owners, industry professionals (urban planners, etc.) that are interested in serving on the working group may email Brooke Klejnot, BRVA Executive Director, at info@brva.org. The time commitment will be approximately 2 hours per week until the program is implemented. The working group will publish their progress on the BRVA’s website, www.brva.org. Stay tuned for updates and ways to contribute your ideas, concerns, and feedback.