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Villisca Chamber Coffees 2nd Thursday of the month 2007 February 14th - Granny’s Auto Parts NAPA |
Villisca's business community is a blend of retail, service, technical and agriculture related businesses. It is a supportive community where business owners work not only to see their own businesses grow but to see the same for others in the community. Because of changes in technology, businesses that at one time needed to be located in urban centers can operate from rural areas giving new possibilities to businesses in Villisca. There are certainly some types of businesses which still would not find it easy to do business from Villisca but we encourage business owners, would-be business owners and people at the corporate level of large businesses to take a look at locating a business in Villisca. Contact Roxanna Sieber, Villisca Economic Development Director at rtsieber@netins.net for more information. On this page, we expect to provide information that business owners can use and to highlight business life in Villisca.
It doesn't need to be this way. An Industrial Study of Southwest Iowa by ISU is being released and the story for southwest Iowa is not a good one when looked at through the lens of this study. What it does tell us is we have a job to do to communicate the assets of the area and to aggressively work to bring population back. From my point of view, the case is not difficult to make. But, we do need to make the case. We need to highlight the wonderful lifestyle we live here. And we need to tell the story of why we are a great place to own a business and a great place to work. It is the responsibility of each of us to help get the word out. To read the industry study, click here for Part A, here for Part B and here for Part C. They are in PDF format. Representatives from ISU will go through the information in more detail at a meeting April 17 from 12-2 at the Pizza Ranch in Atlantic, IA. Bankers, business and community leaders are encouraged to attend. |
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Villisca
Economic Development Initiative - 2006-07 Reports
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Are your potential
customers Can your potential customers find you in the yellow pages? - in the "yellow pages" on the Internet that is. More and more people use the Internet to find information so you need to make sure your business is listed on the Internet as well in the more traditional yellow pages of the telephone book. You need to check for correct category listing and for accuracy of information as well as just to make sure you are listed. There are "Yellow Pages" on several web sites. These are where people can find businesses based on the category of the business and/or the actual business name. The information on these yellow pages come from a couple different databases. Each site that has a yellow pages link does not necessarily maintain the database that the information comes from. The main sources of the information are: Superpages.com; Yellowpages.com; and InfoUSA.com. As a business owner, you need to check on your listing in each of these services to check for accuracy and to assure that you are in the right categories so people and other businesses can find you. There are also a couple websites that people go directly to for "yellow page" information that are used specifically here in the heartland. They are: Switchboard.com; QuestDex.com. You need to check these for accuracy as well. |
State of Iowa Vendor and Bid Opportunities Requests for Proposals, Bids, Contracts and Services. Small and microenterprise businesses can do business with the State of Iowa. Listed below is a central e-location where state agencies can publish, post and advertise vendor and bid opportunites for procurement of goods or services. A great place to start to find opportunities to contract with the State of Iowa. http://eservices.iowa.gov/rfp/
Demographic
Information Do you need demographic information in planning your business expansion or in writing an original business plan - you'll find much of what you'll need on ISU Extension's website www.seta.iastate.edu
Checklist for
business preparedness for pandemic flu or bioterriorism The time to prepare is when the sun is shining Disaster Recovery Tips for Small Businesses
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A Web site is not a magic bullet for business success but ... A recent look at the Web sites of a couple local businesses has caused me on to make a couple comments. First, the myth that a Web site can bring on business profits has long been dispelled. At the same time, the time when it was believed that microenterprise and small businesses don't need a Web site has passed as well. This article is not meant to be a primer on small business Web sites. It is just meant as a caution sign - pay attention to how your Web site reflects your business to the consumer so pay attention to what it looks like, what is on it, and how easy it is for your customer to navigate. Small business owners wear a lot of hats and developing your Web site may be one of them. The decision should depend on how tech savvy you are, how willing you are to educate yourself on some Web basics and how much of an eye you have for design. When you hire someone to create your Web site, you need to ask the same questions. Just because someone is in business as a Web site developer does not mean they are good at it. Tech: Just because you can - you don't need to. There are a lot of things that can jazz up a Web site but it they take a lot of time to load and have no value to the visitor - leave them out. Design: A Web site is a visual tool - you need to know the value of color or the lack thereof. Color can be a distraction. Color can make text difficult to read. Certain colors can bring on emotional responses. Speaking of reading text, while TimesRoman is recommended for ease in reading printed text, it is not so for reading on a computer screen. Balance and white space is as important on a Web site as in an advertisement. Your Web site needs to be easy on the eye and appealing. Web basics: what do your customers expect from a Web site; how long do you have to attract the visitor to keep them on the Web site; how many times is a visitor willing to click to get the information they want; what are the greatest irritations to surfers; how do you get visitors to your Web site to start with? |
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Villisca
Business Directory Find below a list of Villisca businesses. We are pleased to include businesses outside Villisca who consider themselves a part of the business community by participating in the Villisca Chamber of Commerce. We've tried to include all Villisca businesses and welcome corrections. The one exception is that we have included only the farm operations which belong to the Villisca Chamber of Commerce. |
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Ag
and Related Businesses Frey Enterprises Hilltop Greenhouse
& Gardens Kernen Farms,
Inc. Nodaway Valley
Equipment Penwell Grain Company Pioneer Hi-Bred
Intl Shapcott Implement
Co.
Sunbest Papetti
Farms Tyson Fresh Meats
Inc United Farmers
Merc Co-op Villisca Elevator Bruce and Donna
Williams David & Corrine
Williams Antiques Villisca
Furniture & Antiques Westside
Treasures Automotive
Repair & Maintenance Clark's Garage Kasha's Garage
McAlpin Corner Service Myers Auto Repair
& Auto Body Precision Auto &
Truck Schafer Automotive
Service
Banking
and Financial Great Western
Bank Houghton State
Bank Page County State
Bank Beauticians Hair Connection,
The Hair Kut Korner Studio Central Salon Child
Care Churches Mount Calvary Lutheran
Church Presbyterian Church St. Joseph's Catholic
Church Strand Evangelical
Lutheran Church United Methodist
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Communications KCSI-KOAK Radio Mediacom Communications
Corp. Red Oak Express SWIE Digital Villisca Review
Stanton Viking
Construction Clark Plumbing &
Construction Gay Brian Construction
Co. J & J Construction
& Lawn Service Jim Parker Construction Kammerer Shawn Carpentry
& Roofing Leichty Construction Nishna Valley Builders Scott Foundation
Replacement Winther Construction Wright Construction Entertainment and Cultural Affairs Aldersgate Camp
and Retreat Center Rialto Theatre Villisca Country
Club Food
and Drink Casey's General
Store D&D Bar and
Grill The Bank V-Bar, American
Legion
Insurance
and Law Firms Swanson Law Firm Medical Clarinda Reg. Health
Center Montgomery Co.
Mem. Hospital Villisca Medical
Clinic Stoner Drug
Wyatt, James F.
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Real
Estate Century 21, Bill Jacobs, Agent 2453 T. Avenue Villisca, IA 50864 826-8132 Crawford &
Co. (formerly Kline Real Estate) John Hausen/Jim
Hughes Real Estate Sun Valley Apartments Individuals Tom Focht Mark & LaDonna
Focht Clarence Peterson Jim & Diane
Wallick Donna Williams Retail Flower Basket Granny's Auto
Parts The Greenery Red Oak Chrysler Stoner Drug United Farmers
Merc Co-op Villisca Foods Villisca Furniture
& Antiques Westside Treasures Service
Businesses Brown's Sales &
Service Dance Unlimited Fish Appliance
Svc, Htg & AC
Means Lawn Scape Methodist Church
Conference/Camp Aldersgate North Page Detailing
LLC Service Clean Southwest Iowa
Rural Electric Cooperative Thompson Woodworking
& Rock U.S. Post Office Villisca Community
Schools Villisca Detail
Center & Car Wash Villisca Municipal
Power Plant Villisca Public
Library Villisca Small Engine Villisca Storage Wolfe Funeral
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