Liberty Lake Merchants Association strives to keep business local 4/13/2011 10:45:37 AM

Liberty Lake Merchants Association strives to keep business local
4/13/2011 10:45:37 AM

By Keith Kopelson
Liberty Lake Voices

Bryan Jarrett, owner of Farmers Insurance, and I were having lunch recently and discussing the need for an organization of Liberty Lake business owners with a mission to increase awareness of what Liberty Lake businesses have to offer.

Having participated in various business referral groups in the past, we understood the value of these types of organizations. With few exceptions, members in these types of referral groups get new business quickly that makes the time commitment and financial costs more than pay for itself.

We decided to form a group called the Liberty Lake Merchants Association. Our initial contact with approximately 10 other Liberty Lake business owners was extremely positive, and we had an initial group meeting on March 22.

At that meeting we decided on a format for future meetings, a membership application process, dues and group leadership, and also refined the purpose of our meetings. We decided to keep dues low at $100 per year plus a one-time application fee of $25. This is a great deal compared to similar groups with dues that are more than triple ours.

Our main goal is to support and refer business to local merchants and companies in an effort to keep business in Liberty Lake. We will accomplish this through attending weekly meetings where we spotlight local business members, passing referrals, participating in community events and advertising our members in various media sources like The Splash as well as on our website. We plan to support and participate in business-related issues with the Liberty Lake City Council by representing our local merchants' opinions and ideas.

All Liberty Lake business owners are invited to attend our weekly meetings scheduled each Tuesday from 7 to 8 a.m. in suite 116 of the TierPoint building, 23403 E. Mission. Doors open at 6:30 a.m. for open networking prior to the meeting, and refreshments will be served. For additional information, call 590-4184.

Keith Kopelson, owner of Get the 411, is a founding member of the Liberty Lake Merchants Association.