by Hope
While my parents were here, our tiny town hosted a downtown event titled “Sip N Stroll.” The purpose and concept was great. Our main street committee or organization, I’m not sure what you call it, has really worked hard to create events centered around the downtown area to drive traffic to the businesses there.
And although they cancelled the large annual Harvest Festival this year due to COVID, they have created several new smaller events to supplement. I, for one, am both grateful and impressed.
What is Sip N Stroll?
I digress…the Sip N Stroll encourage visitors to roam the downtown area with a $10 bingo card to be signed by the 13 participating downtown businesses. If you got at least 7 to sign your card, you earned a free ticket to an event at the downtown theatre (about a $5-10 value.)
And while you were strolling, each business provided a snack type food and your choice of alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink. They were sample size drinks, but it was good fun. I dragged my mom along and we were able to walk about a block of it together. (My dad was on standby to pick us up as we knew she wouldn’t last long but it was a fun way to exercise.)
New Business during COVID
During this event, we discovered a new business…a nutrition business per se. At least nutrition is part of their name. They were sampling their wares, and were actually opening the next day. They had a tea and a protein donut.
I was thrilled – low sugar, caffeine, healthy…score! We don’t have anything like that here at all. And I was super impressed that these women had pulled it together to pen a business during COVID when we have seen multiple businesses failing.
They are obviously bootstrapping it and that is totally okay. I am rooting for them!
But…
I stopped in this morning on the way to take over care-taking duties from my dad. The owner quickly informed me that aren’t taking credit cards yet, which was fine. There were so many options that I told her to choose for me.
A few minutes later, I had a large tea in hand, specialty tea mind you, and a price tag of $8…$8 for just the tea! Granted, it is a really large tea, larger than Starbucks Venti just for reference, but still $8!?!
I don’t know about this…but I’m still wishing them the best of luck. With that price tag though, it will have to be a treat rather than a regular purchase. Which in my mind is counter productive when you are trying to build a location based business in a tiny little town. But I have been wrong before…
Supporting Small Businesses
As I was driving away with my decidedly delicious tea, I got to thinking of ways I could support small businesses more. I mean, I get my staples from Walmart and Amazon. But this month’s challenge is Christmas shopping…
I have seen lots of posts on FB where people request their friends post links to their businesses to encourage supporting one another. I thought it might be neat to do here. If you have a small business or Etsy store or something similar that people might want to shop for Christmas presents, would you post it in the comments. I, for one, still have a number of Christmas gifts to get and the more I can support entrepreneurs, people’s side hustles and creatives, well, that’s all the better!
Hope is a resourceful, solutions-driven online business manager with over two decades of experience helping clients streamline operations, manage projects, and grow their businesses through digital marketing and technology.
But life has a way of rewriting your plans.
A year ago, Hope made the decision to move in with her aging parents full time – a season she wouldn’t trade, even as it came with its own financial and emotional weight. Earlier this year, she lost her mother, and is now walking the tender, disorienting path of grief while learning what “forward” looks like from here.
Hope came to the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015 as a single mom raising five foster and adoptive children. She’s written through job changes, financial setbacks, and the bittersweet transition to an empty nest. Her kids are finding their footing in the world now – and so is she.
Rooted in faith and fueled by the same perseverance she’s brought to every hard season, Hope is ready to face her finances with fresh eyes and an honest pen. She believes that clarity, courage, and community can change the trajectory of anyone’s story including her own.
She lives in Austin, TX with her dad, loves adventures with her dog Addie, and is figuring out, one step at a time, what this next chapter is meant to be.
