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AD: Shop Local and Save Money

By Howard B. Owens

With Shop Batavia, you can shop local (keeping more of your dollars in the local economy) and save money.

Check out the coupon page for great offers from local businesses, including, but not limited to:

Also, from Turnbull Heating and Air Conditioning, you can purchase a special deal -- $25 off a residential heating and air diagnostic.

New sponsors, and more evidence why supporting local businesses is important

By Howard B. Owens

There are now 118 businesses signed on as sponsors of The Batavian. That's the highest total ever.

In the past two months, we've been please to have the following businesses sign on as sponsors:

I've written before about how supporting local businesses keeps more local dollars in our home community. Communities with vibrant local businesses demonstrate all kinds of benefits for local residents.

Along those lines, a recent study found that counties with thriving small businesses also have healthier residents.

The study of 3,060 counties and parishes in the contiguous United States -- published online in the "Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society" and forthcoming in its March print issue -- brings new evidence to a body of research literature and a debate among sociologists, who traditionally have advanced two competing hypotheses about how small business impacts public health.

Some sociologists argue that small businesses — unlike chain retail "big box" stores and large manufacturing plants — have a greater investment in the community and thus have more at stake when it comes to the well-being of employees, customers and other local citizens. The LSU and Baylor University researchers, who analyzed national population, health, business and housing data, found that the greater the proportion of small businesses, the healthier the population.

"Some communities appear to have thriving small-business sectors that feature entrepreneurial cultures that promote public health. A place like this has a can-do climate, a practical problem-solving approach in which a community takes control of its own destiny," said co-author Charles M. Tolbert, Ph.D., chair of the Sociology department at Baylor. "The alternative is the attitude that 'Things are out of our control.' "

It's critical we all do all we can to support locally owned businesses.

On The Batavian, you can find information, now, about 118 local businesses. On Shop Batavia, there are now close to 157 local businesses posting information about who they are and what they do.

In other words, it's now easier than ever to support your local business community.

Here's a complete list of sponsors of The Batavian:

 

Shop Batavia: New business listings, more money-saving deals offered

By Howard B. Owens

There's been some great activity taking place on Shop Batavia recently:

And the list could go on.

If you check the home page of Shop Batavia daily, you'll find new specials and new information about great local businesses.

Remember, when you shop locally, more of your dollars stay in the local community to help our community grow and thrive.

Winner in Shop Batavia contest

By Howard B. Owens

The winner in our most recent Shop Batavia contest is Trish Cody.

Trish wins a set of handcrafted Valentine's glasses from Bruggie's.

The winner was selected at random from among people who "Liked" Shop Batavia on Facebook and registered for the contest.

Shop local!

Shop Batavia -- the only place in Genesee County to shop at locally owned businesses online, all in one place, and find coupons, gift certificates, recommendations and merchandise from local shops.

Sponsored Post: Locally owned DirecTV dealership offers Sabres games and great customer service

By Press Release

(Shown from left are: Owner Tim Tucker, project manager Jimi Soccio, administrative assistant Leanne Moore, sales rep Mike Kelly, sales manager Chris Ball, and head technician Geoff Harloff.)

The dispute between Time-Warner Cable and the Buffalo Sabres has left many local hockey fans out in the cold, but it's not like Sabres fans are without an option to watch their favorite team.

According to Tim Tucker, owner of IR Systems, a local DirecTV distributor, Sabres fans have been calling DirecTV in droves in order to switch service.

That's great, Tucker said, but because many of these customers are calling DirecTV directly, they're spending more than the would if they called the locally owned and operated IR Systems.

"We can help local customers save money," Tucker said. "We also have 12 dedicated local employees whom customers tell me all the time provide great, personal customer service."

Among the advantages IR System offers:

  • Lower monthly prices;
  • Face-to-face customer service;
  • Flexibility to offer lower monthly price plans with in-house service plans and a lifetime warranty on equipment;
  • Experienced professional installation team;
  • Free in-home analysis of your best entertainment system set up;
  • Installation service within 48 hours, sometimes within 24 hours.

"Most DirecTV customers love the service, but when I've come across customers who've had a bad experience, it's either because of billing issues or a faulty installation," Tucker said. "With our face-to-face customer service and guaranteed, lifetime warranty on our installation, these issues cease to be a problem."

IR System's superior customer service record has enabled the locally owned company to earn a "Preferred Partner" designation from DirecTV.

The DirecTV service provided by IR Systems is the full package of programming from the nation's #1 satellite company, including all of the sports channels (Sabres and the full lineup of available NHL games, NFL Sunday Ticket, MLB baseball, NBA and college basketball, college football, national and international soccer, among other sports offerings), as well as all the movie, news and information channels that come with DirecTV service, along with premimum services and pay-per-view (various fee options exist for the different packages available).

"We're really eager to show local customers what we provide," Tucker said. "Wind, rain or snow won't stop us from giving customers the best possible service."

To contact IR Systems, call (800) 319-2129.

NOTE: This is a Sponsored Post, paid for by IR Systems.

Shop Batavia: Winner of our review contest

By Howard B. Owens

The winner of our Shop Batavia review contest is Toby Cook, of Byron.

Toby wins a $100 gift certificate to Valle Jewelers.

We conducted a random drawing of the more than 220 reviews left during the contest period, and Toby's review was the one selected.

Thank you to all who participated.

Contest: Winner of NFL challenge in Week 17

By Howard B. Owens

I got a little held up in picking a winner for Week 17 of the Main St. Pizza Company NFL Challenge -- had a little technical challenge and needed to get some help from the company that runs the contest for us.

Plus, it's just been a heck of a busy week.

So, here's the winner: Joseph Duganier.

Joseph wins: One large cheese pizza with one topping. He has one week to claim his prize.

Oakland, in a losing effort to the San Diego Chargers (yay!), had the most offensive yards of the 10 teams contestants had to choose from and Joseph, who picked Oakland, was the random pick to win the contest.

Contest: Tell us about your favorite local business on Shop Batavia

By Howard B. Owens

There is just one day left in our contest:

You know there are local businesses that you just love -- tell us about them on Shop Batavia and you could win a $100 gift certificate from one of your favorite businesses.

Here's how it works: Register as a user on Shop Batavia then find the listing for your favorite business(es) and leave a five-star review.

On Jan. 7, we'll randomly select one of the reviews left on The Batavian and if you're the person who left the review, we'll buy you a $100 gift certificate to that business. (If that business doesn't offer gift certificates, we'll buy a gift certificate to another favorite business you reviewed).

So, head over to Shop Batavia, now and start leaving reviews.

We keep getting great feedback for Shop Batavia

By Howard B. Owens

The feedback we've received since launching Shop Batavia has been uniformly positive, but I really liked this note I got a few days ago from Michelle Thompson, owner of Hair Clip Holiday, a home-based business in Pavilion.

HI Howard,
I just wanted to take a moment and let you know how impressed I am with this website!!!  I love the traffic reports, messages, and all those little extras.  Someone put a lot of time into designing this!

I never heard of this website until last Sunday, I was shopping at a local gift shop, and I overheard two people talking about  ShopBatavia.com....don't get the wrong idea about me,  I normally don't ease-drop,   but they were right next to me,  and I couldn't help but to listen to them talk about your site.

Well, I will keep this short and sweet,  so I just want to say thank you for this service.

More than 100 local businesses have set up their storefronts on Shop Batavia so far. If you own or manage a local business and haven't done the same yet, you can get started by going to shopbatavia.com, finding your listing and clicking the "claim my business" link. If your business isn't listed yet, you can click the "add business" button on the home page. A basic, starter storefront is free.

Shop Batavia exists to connect local shoppers with local businesses, giving local businesses a place to promote their goods and services to local customers in a direct way online, any time of day, and give businesses a powerful option to promote what they do.

Just about everybody nowadays researches their purchases online, even if they eventually walk into a store to make the purchase. Local businesses, to remain competitive today, must have robust ways to promote themselves online.

Shop Batavia isn't just another "create a link in a business directory and hope people find it" kind of site. It's rich with features that include e-commerce capabilities, coupons, deals, gift certificates, restaurant menus, email newsletters, free websites and more. There's nothing else like it available to Genesee County-based businesses, not even from national companies.

And readers, a reminder about our contest: You can win a $100 gift certificate if you leave a five-star review of a local business on Shop Batavia. One review will be randomly selected and the author of that review will receive a $100 gift certificate to that business. So review your favorite local businesses today -- only two days left in the contest.

Use Shop Batavia to turn over a new leaf in 2012

By Howard B. Owens

It's a New Year, time to get a fresh start, make some resolutions, set some goals for 2012.  Shop Batavia is here to help:

Don't forget about our contest: Leave a five-star review for a local business on Shop Batavia for a chance to win a $100 gift certificate from that business.

Contest: Main St. Pizza Company NFL Challenge Week 17

By Howard B. Owens

Last week, several NFL backs eligible for picking in the contest had two receptions, but none had three.

In a random drawing of the entrants who picked one of the back that had at least two receptions, James Demmer came out the winner.

Demmer wins a large cheese pizza with one topping. He has one week to claim his prize at Main St. Pizza Company.

To enter this week's contest, click here.

Shop Batavia Contest: Tell us about your favorite local businesses

By Howard B. Owens

You know there are local businesses that you just love -- tell us about them on Shop Batavia and you could win a $100 gift certificate from one of your favorite businesses.

Here's how it works: Register as a user on Shop Batavia then find the listing for your favorite business(es) and leave a five-star review.

On Jan. 7, we'll randomly select one of the reviews left on The Batavian and if you're the person who left the review, we'll buy you a $100 gift certificate to that business. (If that business doesn't offer gift certificates, we'll buy a gift certificate to another favorite business you reviewed).

So, head over to Shop Batavia, now and start leaving reviews.

Sponsored Post: Cookies & Milk going out of business sale

By Howard B. Owens

Cookies and Milk would like to inform everyone in the community that they going out of business as of Saturday, Dec. 31.

There are lots of items for sale such as an oven, tables and racks. All equipment is for sale.

Stop by Cookies & Milk, 29 City Centre or contact Lorraine Schaub at 585-356-7759 for additional information.

Winner picked in Shop Batavia / Roxy's Music contest

By Howard B. Owens

Jordan Fleming was picked in a random drawing as the winner of our Shop Batavia / Roxy's Music Facebook "Like" contest.

Fleming wins either a Peavy Stage Pack Electric Guitar Starter Pack or $150 in-store credit.

Congratulations to Jordan.

Contest: Main St. Pizza Company NFL Challenge Week 16

By Howard B. Owens

In Week 15 we asked which team would record the most sacks. Among the 10 teams available for picking in the contest, four recorded four sacks. We randomly selected a winner from among the entrants who picked those four teams.

The winner for Week 15 is Thomas Lennon. He wins two personal pizzas with cheese and one topping, and two house salads. Tom has one week to claim his prize at Main St. Pizza Company.

NOTE: The majority of this week's games are being played on Saturday. Deadline for entry is 1 p.m., Saturday. Click here to enter.

Shop Batavia: Just the place to shop locally for the last minute Christmas gift

By Howard B. Owens

If you still need to finish out that Christmas shopping list, there are plenty of local businesses with just the right items to make the special people in your life quite happy.

A few of them have items readily available on Shop Batavia, such as:

Most readers know that a big motivation behind what we do at The Batavian is promote our local community.  We believe that communities that are filled with volunteers, people who make a personal investment in their community and -- just as important -- shop locally, help improve their community and create a community that thrives.

That's always been a part of our goal at The Batavian, and Shop Batavia helps us focus that aim.

According to NPR, this breed of localism is a growing trend. Here's the article, which unfortunately promotes the very un-local Groupon and Living Social instead of mentioning the more than 100 local online news sites (similar to The Batavian), which truly are part of the localism trend.

Whether you use Shop Batavia or The Batavian to shop local, just remember, for the sake of the health of our community, shop local first.

Contest Winners: Hardcor Audio, VIP Salon, Shop Batavia

By Howard B. Owens

Tonight we selected the winners in random drawings of three recent contests run on The Batavian.

The winner of the Hardcor Audio Facebook Like Contest is Diane Smith. Diane wins a $100 gift certificate from Hardcor Audio.

The winner of the VIP Salon Facebook Like Contest is Mary Cooley. Mary wins a gift basket from VIP Salon.

The winner of the Shop Batavia Facebook Like Contest is Terry Freeman. Terry wins a $200 gift certificate for Adam Miller Toy and Bicycles.

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