A buzz of excitement is permeating throughout the downtown as preparations for the upcoming Small Business Revolution visit are underway.
Cañon City Economic Development Director Ryan Stevens says the town should be ready to shine and stand above its competitors.
Cañon City has made it to the top 10 communities that are in the running for Season 4 of the highly acclaimed “Small Business Revolution – Main Street” series.
Nearly 12,000 nominations poured in from all 50 states.
Cañon City will host the Small Business Revolution team and film crews Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. The top 10 will be whittled down to the top 5 in February and then there will be a national vote on who should be No. 1. The winner will be announced in late February.
The effort to move Cañon City into the next round of competition isn’t solely up to the business owners — patrons and community members can help, too.
“We’re looking for people to post on Facebook and Instagram — and Twitter if they have it — using the hashtag #mycanoncity,” Stevens said. “We’d like to see customers posting on local business pages telling stories why they shop local and why they like shopping at any particular business.”
When people are using the hashtag on social media, Stevens said it’s imperative they make sure the posts are made public so they are available for everybody to see.
“The business community certainly is coming together over this project,” Stevens said. “And there are some opportunities downtown for people to go and do some selfie shots in front of businesses.”
Classic Furniture has a Top 10 Small Business Revolution window sign, Bella Capelli has a Top 10 frame for pictures, and Dave and Lynda Lambert of Cañon Signature Mortgage have been posting photos of an antique truck with a “#mycanoncity” emblem in front of various small businesses to help spread the excitement and garner attention.
“It’s a great opportunity for the community,” Stevens said. “We’d love to make it to the top five so we can try to get that No. 1 spot.”
The prize for the winning community is a $500,000 grant that will help six businesses revamp their websites, do some storefront improvements and help with merchandising and finance questions.
“It’s great exposure for the community as a whole,” Stevens said.
He said Woodland Park made it to the Top 10 in Season 2, and because of the exposure they got from making it to that round, they saw tourism up 10 percent after the season aired.
Season 4 is slated to air in October.
To learn more about Deluxe’s Small Business Revolution TV Show, visit https://www.deluxe.com/sbrc/small-business-revolution.
All announcements regarding Season 4 can be found on SmallBusinessRevolution.org.
Carie Canterbury: 719-276-7643, canterburyc@canoncitydailyrecord.com