Thanks, Hawthorne Plaza Merchants!

Friday morning, Kiran and I were fortunate enough to be invited to visit with the merchants at Hawthorne Plaza at 119th & Roe in south Overland Park. (Or is it Leawood? It’s OP but how is every other corner at that intersection in Leawood? Weird.)

So, we took the show on the road and talked with a group of 20 about social media and small businesses.  It was an overview presentation – “Social Media for Business 101.”  A lot of interested business owners and managers, a lot of note-taking.  And some GREAT questions.  These folks were really listening and really thinking about how to make social media work best for their particular businesses.  It was fun to see the wheels turning!

Hawthorne Plaza’s tenants really run the gamut:   restaurants, an art gallery, a shoe store, a stationery store, clothing stores, gift shops, home decor stores, even a dentist and veterinarian. With a very few exceptions, all are locally owned.  These folks are BUILT to use social media, to use their personalities online, to connect on a personal level with their customers.

We had a great time, meeting and talking with everyone there.  Thanks to Darcie Blake for arranging the talk and to John Westerhaus at WestChase Grille for hosting.

For those in the Kansas City area, if you haven’t already, be sure to check out our new friends at Prairiebrooke Gallery, Elite Feet, Off the Vine, Girl Boutique, Clair de Lune, Statements, Rumors Salon, Point Graphics, Hawthorne Animal Hospital, Lori Engelmann DDS and Keil & Co.  And be looking for them on Facebook and Twitter…maybe even on LinkedIn and YouTube!