Dear Go Local Loyalists,
Happy (belated) New Year! I’m running a little late this month as the focus has been on getting ready for February Love Asheville, Go Local Month. I hope you’ve gotten the year off to a great start (and somewhat succeeded at staying warm!) and are ready to kick-off this very special month for our local independent business community!
If you’re a Go Local Business Member reading this, by now you should have received an email from me about Go Local hosted and co-hosted events in February. I hope to see each and everyone of you at one or more of our events.
If you’re a cardholder, while every month is a good month to show love to our local independent business community, February is an especially awesome time!
Subscribers, hopefully by now you’ve gotten your 2024 Go Local card. And if you have lost or recycled your print directory, no worries. As I mentioned in my December newsletter, we have a directory available on our website and in our new relaunched smartphone app These two digital directories update membership in real time and so far, we’ve added over 25 new businesses since December 1st. If you haven’t downloaded the app yet, now is a great time. Just go to wherever you get your apps and search for GoLocalAsheville.
Welcome to our Newest Go Local Members!
In December, we added 11 new businesses to our Go Movement. Help me officially welcome them to our amazing community! You can find them now in our on-line directory and smartphone app.Training Partners Inc – Small Group Training – first 5 sessions; $12.00 per class
Salt Face Mule Brewing Co. – 10% off lunch or dinner (excluding alcohol)
Fuegos Grill – 10% off parties of 4 or more
Home Planet Healing – $60 initial 90-minute treatment (savings of $15-$70)
JamesFerrell.me – $250 musician/band website + $50/year maintenance
Mountainsize Audio – Free mix with first in studio recording session
Quill & Ink Studio – 20% off orders $99 and more!
Real Bodies Pilates – 10% off New Local Client Introductory Package
The Smokin’ Onion – 10% off one appetizer or main per visit
WildHawk Physical Therapy Clinic – $100 off a first treatment with a Physical Therapist
Here MCB – One hour free consultation
Things We Want to Share
Go Local is teaming up with AVL Digital Nomads, Blue Ridge Pride, Yoruba, and The Hop to support our Local Independent Business Members
Beginning February 7th with a Tech Connect event co-hosted with AVL Digital Nomads and ending February 28th with an Ice Cream Social co-hosted with Yoruba and The Hop, Go Local is proud to help our businesses make connections, create opportunities of collaboration and learning, and enjoy the amazing community of which they’re a part. The email that I sent to our business members go into detail on each of these events, with the opportunity to register and sign-up to attend one or more. But I’d like to take a little space here to give a short description of each of our partners as I’m so excited to work with each and everyone of them.
AVL Digital Nomads – AVLDN is a social community for remote workers (remote, hybrid, traveling nomad, freelance and solo entrepreneurs). Their vision is “a thriving remote workforce community that significantly boosts the region’s economy.” I couldn’t agree more. Go Local has several business members that run businesses out of their homes or remotely. We’re thrilled with the opportunity to co-promote and piggyback on Digital Nomad monthly events during February. I think many of our business members, brick and mortar or home-based, will benefit from attending any of the 4 events being held–Tech Connect, Leadership on Tap, Marketing and AI Meetups. If you’re reading this and are a member of either or both organizations, I hope to see you there!
Blue Ridge Pride – Blue Ridge Pride’s mission is to promote equality, safety, and quality of life for west North Carolina’s LGTBQ and allied communities. One of the ways they do this is through education. For 2024, BRP became one of Go Local’s partners with the goal to recognize Go Local’s business members that become Welcoming Spaces through their BPR’s training course. And we’re offering the first one in February! If you’re a Go Local business member, look for the email with the link to additional information and to register for this 90 minute course.
Yoruba – Yoruba, another Go Local business partner, has the ultimate goal to create an ecosystem of Black-owned businenesses that are thriving in the digital world. They do this by provinding an on-line directory for web design services for local Black-owned businesses and to help them build an on-line presence. As February is not only Love Asheville, Go Local Month, it is also Black History Month. In honor of both, and along with The Hop Ice Cream, we’ll be hosting Asheville’s largest ice cream social on February 28th for Go Local and Yoruba business members. If you’re a business member, look for more information and how to register in your email.
The Hop Ice Cream – I don’t know where to start in talking about The Hop. They have sold the Go Local card in North and West Asheville stores for years. I’ve gotten to know Greg and Ashley since I took over Go Local and I couldn’t be happier to have them as partners. The Hop will be scooping their high quality and hand-crafted dairy and from scratch vegan ice cream at the Ice Cream Social. One of those flavors is our commemeorative ice cream “Peach Crumble Caramel Crunch,” which was created in collaboration with Cooking with Comedy’s Clarence Robinson who contributed his peach crumble made from his family’s recipe. It’ll be a fun event you won’t want to miss!
I’d like to shoutout the two event spaces we’ll be using over the course of the month who are Go Local members, Focal Point Coworking and Mojo Coworking Spaces. They not only offer wonderful facilities for events, but are great to work with and accommodating in every way. If you’re ever looking for a coworking or event space, these two would be great places to start your search!
Go Local Cardholders – Be Sure and Support our Local Independent Business Community!
There are thousands of 2024 Go Local cards that have been sold over the past couple of months. While many of you buy the card for the amazing discounts and perks to over 600 businesses, without a doubt all of you buy it to support our independent business community. Ninety-nine percent of those cards were sold to people in our community. So cardholders, for February, find businesses in the directory you’ve been meaning to reach out to but have put off. Now is the time! With over 600 businesses on the card, and nearly every category you can think of represented, there is a business with products or services you need….or want, whichever! And when you visit or call, be sure and tell them how much you appreciate them!
The City of Asheville Needs Your Input
I was asked by friends at the City if I could share this with our Go Local community and was happy to oblige. Please take a minute to read and if you can, attend one of the Open Houses.
Dear Affordable Housing Stakeholder,
The City is in the process of creating an Affordable Housing Plan that will guide City investments for the next 5-10 years. Our consultants, Enterprise Community Partners, will be in town on January 27, and there are 2 Community Open Houses for everyone to come and give their input. Please consider coming and sharing this information with your contacts and networks. We really need to hear from the community about affordable housing and personal experiences to fully understand the issues.
Please come join us!
Here Is The Chance For All Of Us To Weigh In On Downtown Asheville’s Future!
The Asheville Downtown Association is conducting a survey where the results will help shape future decisions made for downtown! If you like to go downtown, live or work downtown, or enjoy taking your family or friends who are visiting to downtown, they really would like your input! Just click on the link in the graphic below! It’ll only take a few minutes and it is well worth all of our time to let them know how we feel!
If you have any comments, or would like to suggest a story or event to include in our newsletter or on social media, please email me at [email protected]
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