We recently sponsored the Downtown San Mateo Business
Association’s Halloween Festival for the second year in a row. It was a fun
milestone for us.
- I recognized people from last year, and they remembered
us. It takes time for a community to adopt a company as part of its local
economy, and it feels like that’s already starting to happen for Smalltown. Our
office is just a few blocks from where the event took place. We served It’s-Its Ice
Cream, a local institution here on the Peninsula and a locally produced product. Many of the people at the Halloween Fun Fest
remembered us from Little League opening day and other events we sponsored. In
other words, we’re becoming familiar and trusted.
- In light of the recent histories of InsiderPages,
Backfence and Judy’s Book, it’s gratifying to be thriving long enough to
sponsor a major local event two years in a row. Our Series A has gotten us far,
including the ability to hand out 500 It’s-It treats to kids in our
neighborhood.
- I’ve always believed that you can’t do local
advertising from afar. A salesperson in a call center in Florida who calls a restaurant in San Mateo
will reach the hostess who takes dinner reservations; not the owner who buys
ads. Our sales people walk or drive to the restaurant to try the food and talk
to the manager. Furthermore, when we knock on their doors they see us as people
in their community; not carpetbaggers rolling through town to sell them junk.
It takes time and money to gain the trust of local business owners, but once
you do you have a customer for life.
We recently sponsored the Downtown San Mateo Business
Association’s Halloween Festival for the second year in a row. It was a fun
milestone for us.
