Pacific West Marketing Association
(PWMA) offers local member artists, gourmet food producers, crafts people and small
business entrepreneurs an easy, effective way to use “E-Commerce” to market
their products to customers through the internet.
The key is a hot new web-based catalogue with sharp, clean lines. http://www.pacificwestmarketplace.com
For a small annual fee, members may offer up to three products – although each
individual product may also be offered in a variety of different sizes and colors. (There
is an additional fee for additional products.)
Credit card orders are placed in a secure online environment. For a
small portion of the product’s sales price, the catalogue’s companion “fulfillment
center” will process the online payment, collect the taxes, package and ship the
order from inventory stocked by the seller at the Siskiyou Economic Development Council’s
(EDC) office in Yreka. The member receives a monthly check for his/her sales.
There are currently 33 members with about 130 products represented in
the catalogue. Association members must produce a physical product, have or acquire a
business license or home use permit, and have a business plan.
In addition to actively promoting the website through targeted
advertisement and marketing, PWMA “juries” the products offered in the catalogue
to ensure that they meet association criteria. Many of our local products are popular on
the east coast. Members can also receive business counseling, educational and technical
services as needed.
The EDC also has a small business incubator program housed in its
Yreka facilities. Fledgling businesses can rent space and have access to the resources and
expertise they need to get started. The newest entrepreneur is Dave Lambert who
manufactures small portable greenhouses. His product will also be sold through the
catalogue.
The PWMA project was funded, in part, by the California Technology,
Trade and Commerce Agency’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation; the
U.S.D.A. Klamath National Forest; and is administered through the EDC. The project is
supported by more than 25 community partners.
To find out more about PWMA or to arrange for a group presentation,
contact Pete LaFortune at the Siskiyou EDC.
842-1638
On a closing note, I have just returned from a four day science
conference on anadromous fish held at Humboldt State University. Over the next several
weeks, I hope to pass on some of the highlights concerning the high impact of fish disease
on salmon; the move to remove dams on the Klamath; and some of the research being done. |
