Buffalo, Oklahoma is a town with about 1,200 residents. If most people know anything about Buffalo it is mostly as a place to stop between locations they feel are more important. When the elementary school closed down in a consolidation move the town sat looking at an aging elementary school building and another reminder that perhaps an economic boom would never pass their way again. This is until Faye LaMunyon; a long-time resident of the area suggested the town sell the property on ebay. Long story short, a school curriculum company from Florida bought the school and relocated their business to Buffalo where they market their brand of products online as A+ School Supplies and Core Curriculum. While they have a beautiful building for their offices the town has several new jobs. An interesting side-note is the majority of the company product sales take place online. Two states away, Scott goes to work each morning at Nazwear international based in Gering, Nebraska. His business began as a high school hobby back in 1986 when he became interested in screen-printing. His original designs may be little remembered, but today Scott is taking online custom orders from a global community and is busy enough he has difficulty fitting in local business although he manages somehow. These are stories of how the Internet can be harnessed for the purpose of marketing a product or service. In the case of the town of Buffalo, Oklahoma they marketed a school. In the case of A+ School Supplies and Curriculum they market items geared for students and teachers. In the case of Nazwear they market the service of printing with the product of shirts, bags and other screen printed items. In all cases their ability to conduct business was greatly enhanced through the use of online marketing. Faye LeMunyon may have had no idea how to use ebay, but she understood there was power in the idea of marketing her town and refusing to let the school deteriorate over time. The job creation and marketability of the new facility has brought additional hope to the Oklahoma town. This is the same type of ingenuity that is needed in the development of your online marketing plan; take something you know and love and determine if there is a market for it. If there is, look forward and move decisively toward the end goal – a successful online business. The best news in this series of stories is your business can originate from anywhere and can be more successful online than many standard brick and mortar stores. So, what’s your dream?
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