September 30, 2008

Contacts:
Molly Ames, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Jefferson County, 315-788-8450;
Ruby Sprowls, NATC, St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce, 877-228-7810

Marketing Course for NNY Farmers, Artists, Entrepreneurs Begins October 27 – Turn Ideas into Profitable Business Ventures

What do farmers, artists, entrepreneurs and self-employed business owners have in common? They all want to sell their products. Starting Monday, October 27, 2008, a Marketing for Profit course will help rural entrepreneurs turn ideas into profitable business ventures.

The course developed by the Northern Adirondack Trading Cooperative and Cornell Cooperative Extension will be offered 5:30-8:30 pm on Mondays and Wednesdays through March 4, 2009, at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Jefferson County, Watertown; SUNY Canton at Massena; the North Country Community College Malone campus, and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Essex County, Westport. Course fee is $50; participants can attend all 20 sessions or select those of special interest.

Course co-host Molly Ames, a farm business management specialist with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Jefferson County, says, “The Marketing for Profit course has built a successful track record since 2003, helping diverse audiences develop and market their businesses and improve sales with a collective gain of hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

Ruby Sprowls is program director of the Northern Adirondack Trading Cooperative (NATC), a non-profit rural business incubator organization established in 2003 to assist Adirondack artisans and producers with marketing their products globally. Sprowls says, "This course is a great opportunity to understand your customer, understand your buyers, how they think, and how to reach them. In this way, you can create a message tailored to their needs. The internet is another marketing tool. It doesn't matter what you are selling: maple syrup or fine hand-crafted jewelry, you need to understand how it works.”

Highlights of the course include the opportunity for business planning, e-commerce and website development, markets identification workshops, financing information, and review of your business plan by a ‘mock loan committee.

Classes will also include sessions on the NATC Laptop Loan Program, selecting a proper website domain name, value-added licensing, insurance liability, and product seasonality.

Past course graduates have successfully established or enhanced a variety of businesses including the creation of furniture, value-added wool products, jewelry, natural soaps, balsam pillows, and maple products.

The course is sponsored by a partnership of Cornell Cooperative Extension Associations of Northern New York, the Northern Adirondack Trading Cooperative, The Rural Opportunities Enterprise Center, Inc., St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, NYS Small Business Development Center at SUNY Canton, St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce, the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program, SCORE, Paul Smiths College, ComLinks, Clarkson University, USDA Rural Development, and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Those interested in reserving a space for the course in Watertown may call Molly Ames, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Jefferson County, 315-788-8450; in Malone or Massena: Ruby Sprowls, St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce, 877-228-7810; and in Westport: Anita Deming, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Essex County, 518-962-4810
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