https://ourmilwaukee.net/index.php/news_and_events Latest news and upcoming events from Our Milwaukee, local business advocate and information resource. en chuck@alterracoffee.com Copyright 2009 2009-03-24T19:22:11-06:00 https://ourmilwaukee.net/index.php/news_and_events/news_single/check_your_web_stats/ https://ourmilwaukee.net/index.php/news_and_events/news_single/check_your_web_stats/#When:19:51:56Z One of the most important things you can do once your business’ website is up and running is to keep track of the visitors that visit the site. About 95% of Our Milwaukee members have websites and hopefully they all have some sort of statistics tracking software installed, as the information it provides can be invaluable. For example, we know that the Our Milwaukee website had 729 visits in the last month with a huge spike in visitors on Dec. 28th. The spike was tracked to an article on usaweekend.com that linked to OurMilwaukee.net. It was exciting to see that almost 100 people came to check us out that day and about 70 came the day after. Our average is about 20-30 visits a day so we effectively tripled our exposure online over that time. Of course without a stats tracker we would have no idea of what was going on with our site. For a site that is e-commerce based, statistics are even more important and an amazing way to benchmark the success of your ad and marketing campaigns as well as the overall flow of traffic on your website. Some of the simpler things you’ll find stats on are location of visitors, landing pages, exit pages, time spent on the site, incoming links, click count and keywords that were used to find your site on search engines. All of these things can allow a business owner to become more aware of web trends and allow them to make more solid decisions when tweaking their website for maximum performance and search engine rating. I use the stats tracking service from Google (Google Analytics) but I am sure there are many other just as effective options out there. If anyone in the OM group needs more information or has any questions about online stats tracking please feel free to contact the website committee using the email address found in our directory in the members only area. - Posted by: Chuck - Website Committee Chair 2009-01-15T19:51:56-06:00 https://ourmilwaukee.net/index.php/news_and_events/news_single/our_milwaukee_in_the_news_-_2008/ https://ourmilwaukee.net/index.php/news_and_events/news_single/our_milwaukee_in_the_news_-_2008/#When:20:32:27Z 2008 was the first year of OM’s existence and not only did we see our membership exceed 50 businesses but we found ourselves mentioned in quite a few media outlets throughout the year, online and off. Online: OnMilwaukee.com - “OM Presents Buy Local Campaign” OnMilwaukee.com - “How and why to Buy Local for the Holidays” UsaWeekend.com - “Local and Loving It” About.com - “Keep it Local During Celebrate Your Independents! Week” AlterraCoffee.com - “Celebrate Our Milwaukee Local Businesses” BizJournals.com - “Milwaukee retailers pushing consumers to buy local” StoneCreekCoffee.com - “Our Milwaukee Buy Local Fair” VitalSourceMag.com - “Milwaukee merchants in the pull to keep it local” CooperativeGrocer.coop - “Co-op Helps Build Local Business Alliance” ExpressMilwaukee.com - “Pledge to Buy Local This Holiday Season” Offline: Shepherd Express Outpost Exchange Magazine Vital Source Magazine 88.9 Radio Milwaukee 91.7 WMSE Radio Fox 6 Wake-Up News These lists are a work in progress - if you know of any other Our Milwaukee mentions in the media, please let us know. Overall, it was a great year with a good amount of press for both the “Buy Local” movement and Our Milwaukee. We look forward to spreading the word about local living even further in 2009! 2009-01-15T20:32:27-06:00 https://ourmilwaukee.net/index.php/news_and_events/news_single/buy_local_fair_2008_-_recap/ https://ourmilwaukee.net/index.php/news_and_events/news_single/buy_local_fair_2008_-_recap/#When:19:35:47Z Thanks to everyone who participated in the very first Our Milwaukee Buy Local Fair this past December. We were thrilled to see it well attended by OM member businesses and the community. Shoppers enjoyed samples, great products, information and giveaways from Radio Milwaukee, WMSE Radio, Beans & Barley, Outpost Natural Foods, Rishi Tea, EcoHatchery, Chartreuse Ltd., Stone Creek Coffee, The Milwaukee Rep, Pabst & Riverside Theaters/Turner Hall Ballroom, Alterra Coffee and Stephanie Bartz. The event was held at the Urban Ecology Center in conjunction with Outpost Exchange’s Alternative Gift Fair, a great pairing for those looking to spend their money with the community in mind. Several hundreds of people made it to the fair (dispite of some cold, snowy weather) eager to shop and learn more about local Milwaukee businesses. Overall, the event was a huge success and we look forward to making this year’s fair even bigger and better! 2009-01-16T19:35:47-06:00 https://ourmilwaukee.net/index.php/news_and_events/news_single/our_milwaukee_a_proud_sponsor_of_pecha_kucha/ https://ourmilwaukee.net/index.php/news_and_events/news_single/our_milwaukee_a_proud_sponsor_of_pecha_kucha/#When:17:31:42Z We are happy to be sponsoring the 4th in the Milwaukee Pecha Kucha series. For more information on what Pecha Kucka is please visit http://www.pecha-kucha.org/. Come on out to see some poignant presentations and enjoy an excellent beer at Sugar Maple in Bay View. Pecha Kucha - Milwaukee Volume #4 at Sugar Maple 24 February 2009 START 8:00 DOOR $10 in advance, $12 at the door Marquette vs. MIAD Expect this to be a Pecha Kucha Milwaukee highlight, as some of our city’s brightest minds talk about their ideas. From Marquette University faculty and staff: Bill Henk, Laura Kestner, Linda Menck, Bill Cullinan, and Ed de St. Aubin. From Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design faculty: Leslie Fedorchuk, John Caruso, and James Weyenberg. Pecha Kucha #4 will take place at Sugar Maple: 441 E. Lincoln Bay View 2009-01-20T17:31:42-06:00 https://ourmilwaukee.net/index.php/news_and_events/news_single/om_board_elections_2008/ https://ourmilwaukee.net/index.php/news_and_events/news_single/om_board_elections_2008/#When:20:33:45Z Our Milwaukee Members To Elect Three Board Members The business affairs of Our Milwaukee is governed by a seven-member volunteer board of directors. Our board meets once a month for about an hour, typically on a Tuesday afternoon. While a lot of the work happens in committees outside of board meetings, the board convenes to do the planning and budgeting work of the organization, review finances and approve major expenditures, and give direction to the membership, marketing, communication, website and events committees. In this first board election since Our Milwaukee’s inception November 2007, our Bylaws allow for a process whereby other Our Milwaukee members can participate more actively in the organization by running for our board of directors. Only one member per organization may run for board election. This March we will have three board seats open for election – and we’re hoping you’re interested in applying. Directors will be elected by the majority of members attending the annual meeting on March 25th, 2009. Each member organization has one vote to cast for each of the three open board seats. We hope to have a contested election with more than three people running for the board. We’re looking for individuals who meet the following criteria: • Show evidence of participation and involvement in activities that are complementary and supportive of our mission and values • Meet the eligibility requirements for board positions • Have a background and experience complementary to the work of Our Milwaukee Board member eligibility requires that the individual must be a designated representative of an Our Milwaukee member business current in dues and in good standing since December 31, 2008. The three seats up for election were held by Schwartz Booksellers, Laacke & Joys, and Pabst/Riverside/Turner theaters. We anticipate two of the three individuals will run for another board term. If you’re interested in running for the Our Milwaukee board, send an email expressing your interest to our board president, info@ourmilwaukee.net. We will send you a simple application to fill out and the nominations committee will contact you with our final candidate selection(s). Deadline for applications is February 13, 2009. 2009-01-20T20:33:45-06:00 https://ourmilwaukee.net/index.php/news_and_events/news_single/2008_recap_pam_mehnert_board_president/ https://ourmilwaukee.net/index.php/news_and_events/news_single/2008_recap_pam_mehnert_board_president/#When:15:33:18Z There were many high and a few low points for Our Milwaukee during our first twelve months as a member organization. On the “high” side, we grew the organization from 8 to 59 members strong – clearly beginning to define Milwaukee’s true local landscape. We held two networking events for Our Milwaukee members, two Buy Local events in the community, and co-sponsored two local activities -  the Art vs. Craft and the Outpost Exchange Alternative Gift Fairs. We also got our website off the ground as a great resource for the community – now complete with a local business directory perfect for making those local choices. On the “low” side of the year, we lost two of our members who decided to close and/or sell their business. Atomic Records had been in business since 1985 and became a member of Our Milwaukee in March of 2008. To the dismay of many diehard fans, they announced the closing of their store in November, and are planning on their final day sometime in February 2009. Harry W. Schwartz Booksellers was one of the founding member organizations of Our Milwaukee and is a Milwaukee landmark (icon), operating for more than 82 years, in five area locations. News of the upcoming closing of Schwartz books shocked the community in mid January, and deeply saddened the members of the Our Milwaukee board who will be losing a great board member in Nancy Quinn from Schwartz. Two of the store’s locations will be sold to two HWS employees who will reopen the Downer Ave. and Mequon stores under new names. We would be honored to welcome them both as new members in 2009. – Pam Mehnert, board president 2009-01-23T15:33:18-06:00 https://ourmilwaukee.net/index.php/news_and_events/news_single/goals_for_2009/ https://ourmilwaukee.net/index.php/news_and_events/news_single/goals_for_2009/#When:15:47:09Z Our Milwaukee’s first planning session was held this past fall with member representative from more than twelve businesses. From that session Our Milwaukee’s board set some primary goals for the organization in 2009: 1. To achieve a renewal rate of 80% of current members 2. To grow new members by 50 in 2009 In order to achieve those primary goals we discussed plans of continuing to build value for our members through our programs, networking and public events. We also are working on improved communication processes with members and hope to get greater participation, which will foster our message of advocacy for local independent businesses. - Pam Mehnert, Board President 2009-01-23T15:47:09-06:00 https://ourmilwaukee.net/index.php/news_and_events/news_single/our_milwaukee_banner_available_for_use/ https://ourmilwaukee.net/index.php/news_and_events/news_single/our_milwaukee_banner_available_for_use/#When:15:18:24Z You’ll tell the world the world about the benefits of shopping local when you use our genuine Our Milwaukee large format banner at your next public event! Your Our Milwaukee alliance has one custom banner to loan, on a first come, first serve basis. If you’re interesting in borrowing this for your event, please contact Lisa Freed at lisaf@outpostnaturalfoods.coop or by calling (414) 431-3377 ext. 100. There is no fee for the use of the banner, but you do have to return or you’ll be responsible for replacement costs… that seems fair, don’t you think? 2009-01-27T15:18:24-06:00 https://ourmilwaukee.net/index.php/news_and_events/news_single/our_milwaukee_on_facebook/ https://ourmilwaukee.net/index.php/news_and_events/news_single/our_milwaukee_on_facebook/#When:15:22:50Z More than 100 million people around the world use facebook, and that number is growing every day. All the cool kids - and grown-ups too - use this amazing social networking tool daily and Our Milwaukee does as well! The next time you’re trolling the pages of your friends, take a second and check out our group. Join, upload your favorite photos and write on the wall. Then tell your friends to spread the word that Milwaukee cares about local businesses! 2009-01-27T15:22:50-06:00 https://ourmilwaukee.net/index.php/news_and_events/news_single/atomic_records_heinemanns_the_social_schwartz_bookshops/ https://ourmilwaukee.net/index.php/news_and_events/news_single/atomic_records_heinemanns_the_social_schwartz_bookshops/#When:15:24:54Z These and other locally owned businesses have closed or announced their final day of business. We wish this list didn’t exist, but it does, and unfortunately, the list keeps growing. No one is really immune to our changing economy, not even big business, but it hits particularly hard when our dearest local places have to shut their doors. One of the ways to strengthen our local businesses is to patronize them. It seems simple really, but we’re asking you to choose local first too! Another way to make us all stronger is to grow membership in Our Milwaukee. Please take a moment to talk to your favorite local places and invite them to become a member of our alliance. For the price of a small print ad, a business can join our nationally recognized buy local first alliance, increase the visibility of their business and continue to educate our community about the benefits of choosing local. Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to Atomic Records and Schwartz Bookshops. Both were early adopters of Our Milwaukee and Schwartz in particular was instrumental in developing the Our Milwaukee business alliance. We really can’t express the depth of our sorrow that these vibrant, long-standing locally owned businesses won’t be with us much longer. 2009-01-27T15:24:54-06:00