...for City of Southlake news, business, and community happenings.
-
- small business
Saturday, April 20, 2024
This week on Minute with the Mayor, Mayor John Huffman shows the importance of shopping small this holiday season with two special guests — Councilmember Amy Torres-Lepp and The Toy Maven Owner, Candace Williams.
“Shopping small” is a movement used to encourage customers to spend their money with local businesses that give back to the community, rather than with larger corporations. The trio spent time in the Shops of Southlake Toy Maven location discussing how the intentionality of your dollar can go farther than you think.
“We’re your friends. We’re your neighbors. We go to sporting events with the children, and when you support small businesses, you support local families.” said Councilmember Torres-Lepp.
Additionally, Mayor Huffman brought up how money spent in Southlake has financial benefits for the City as well. “Every dollar you spend here in Southlake — that’s retail dollars and tax dollars that come back to the General Fund,” Mayor Huffman stated. The General Fund “accounts for all activity not specifically accounted for in other funds. It includes such operations as police, fire, engineering, planning, finance, and administration.”
This means that City-funded programs and projects are directly and positively impacted by consumer expenditures in Southlake.
Although there are great financial reasons to shop small, Williams said one of her favorite things about having a small business and working with the community is being able to interact face-to-face with customers and provide an experience unlike anything else. “It’s nice to watch kids come in and see the wonder on their face,” said Williams. “But when you come in here, our amazing staff will ask you questions: What is your child interested in? What do they love to do?”
This extra emphasis on customer service provides a personalized and attentive approach, making for a special memory every time.
While there are many places to choose from to spend your holiday dollars, please consider shopping locally. For a full list of businesses in Southlake, visit our Southlake Business Database.
To watch this week’s episode of Minute with the Mayor, click below.
As the cold comes to stay these next few weeks and there’s not enough time in the day, take the opportunity to share a warm meal of authentic Thai food with family and friends from Southlake’s own Thailicious Cuisine & Bar!
After opening in 2016, Thailicious was a fast favorite for anyone in Southlake seeking flavorful food and perhaps a cocktail. The restaurant is a family business and is one of six Thai restaurants in North Texas that are owned and operated by Natchaya Than and her family. Before opening their Thai restaurants in North Texas, the Thailicious family were the owners of several successful restaurants in Thailand, and they have brought those recipes and flavors with them.
The Thailicious menu is influenced by several different regions of Thai cuisine and mostly consists of delicious and healthy dishes that Natchaya Than and her family enjoy and want to share with their North Texas customers. The most popular dishes at Thailicious include Pad Thai, Yellow Curry, and Pad Kra Pow a stir-fry dish (all pictured above). All dishes can be customized and made mild, medium, or Thai spicy.
Of the six restaurants the family owns in North Texas, Natchaya stated that “Southlake was always the dream location because of the strong sense of community and since establishing here, the community has truly proven to be second to none, and we love being a part of it.”
In 2021, Thailicious moved to their current location at Wyndham Plaza at 2704 E Southlake Boulevard, Suite 104. The restaurant offers online ordering, carry-out, delivery, and has a full catering menu perfect for cutting down on your holiday party prep! And don’t miss happy hour Monday through Saturday from 2:00pm until 6:00pm! View their menu here.
This list of new Southlake businesses is provided by the Southlake Department of Economic Development and Tourism to help you see what’s new and what’s coming into the Southlake market! Contact us by Email if are a new business coming into town or if you have any questions about our listings.
You may also visit www.SelectSouthlake.com for other business information or follow us on Facebook for the latest business news.
Now Open
Would you like to know about the new businesses in town? If so, you are going to want to subscribe to the Economic Development New Biz List. The list not only gives you an update about recently opened businesses, but it will also tell you what’s coming to Southlake in the next few months.
The Southlake Library will host a free small business workshop on March 10, 2018, in Southlake Town Hall.
Do you know who your customers are? According to a 2017 article from Entrepreneur, 42% of Business fail because there is “No market for their product or service” and 14% because ‘They ignore their customers”. Investopedia states the Number 1 reason for business failure is “Not investigating the Market”.
Sure, you might have a product or service NO ONE wants but that’s unlikely. In most cases, the real reason is that the appropriate market/customers for the product or service have not been defined. One size does not fit all in your industry whether you’re a realtor, restaurant, financial planner, retailer, manufacturer, etc.
This free, Southlake Library sponsored workshop will assist in identifying YOUR targeted customer. The focus will be on the following areas:
This program is offered free only through the Southlake Public Library and registration is required.
Reserve Your Spot by emailing the Library at southlakelibrary@ci.southlake.tx.us or calling them at 817-748-8247. This program will be held in Southlake Town Hall on Saturday, March 10, 2018, from 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Mentoring with SCORE is available at no charge weekly at the Southlake Public Library. Appointments with SCORE mentors can be made by contacting SCORE at 817-871-6002.
Is 2016 the year you launch your own small business? Help is on the way. Beginning in January, the Southlake Public Library will offer free small business workshops in partnership with SCORE of Fort Worth and the Southlake Chamber of Commerce.
For over 50 years, SCORE, a nonprofit association, has been dedicated to helping small businesses thrive. Their work is supported by the U.S. Small Business Administration and these workshops are funded by a grant to the Library from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Texas State Library. These workshops are open to anyone interested in learning how to start and grow their own business. Registration is required.
The Workshop Schedule is:
Starting a Small Business – Saturday, January 16, 9:15 am—4:00 pm
Marketing a Small Business – Saturday, January 30, 10:00 am—12:00 pm
Sources of Capital for a Small Business – Saturday, February 13, 10:00 am—12:00 pm
Business Plans – Saturday, February 27, 10:00 am—2:00 pm
Workshops will be held at Southlake Town Hall, Third Floor Meeting Rooms, 1400 Main Street, Southlake, TX 76092. More information on the workshops and registration is available at http://www.cityofsouthlake.com/index.aspx?NID=778. Questions about the programs can be directed to the Library at 817.748.8247.
Southlake can be a tough nut to crack…especially on a limited marketing budget!
For August, Mark Guilbert will speak to about increasing sales and customers through creative (and inexpensive) ways to build your brand, help the community and create a win for everyone!
Mark took his Southlake restaurant location from #600 in the chain to the top 50 in sales volume, won the highest national sales award 3 out of 4 straight years, took a small business to mid-sized status and created jobs for over 80 people! He will show us how he used destination and captive audience marketing, community organizations and involvement and created brand recognition throughout the city…..and how YOU can do this for YOUR BUSINESS!
The LAB session will include group brainstorming, marketing plans and discussion about your business and your marketing objectives. Sometimes, we ALL need a creative environment, with creative minds, to help us make it to our next level of excellence!
Learn the tips, tricks and secrets of Community Marketing in Southlake in our normal Charter Breakfast Series….and then come back the following week to apply those skills to YOUR business!
At the end of the lecture, you will be given a “homework” assignment to bring with you to the lab. This will be the information that you will need to know about your company to discuss with the other business people. There will also be time at the end of the session for general Q&A”s.
Lecture:
Wednesday, August 14 7:45am
DPS Main, Community Room
667 N. Carroll, Southlake, TX 76092
Lab:
Wednesday, August 21 9:00am to 11am
(two- hour creative brainstorming session and marketing plan)
Southlake Chamber Conference Room
You can register for the lecture, or the lab or the combined package:
This series is sponsored by Charter Business