[May 22, 2010] Skaters Landing owner shares insights Tweet May 22, 2010 (Connecticut Post - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Chris Bartlett has become a pioneer in the virtual frontier. After founding Skaters Landing in his parent's basement in 1993, the former skating director from New Haven in 1998 opened a North Haven location to sell ice skates, followed by a second store in Boston in 2001 and a third location in Greenwich in 2005. Five years later, Bartlett recently participated in an online program sponsored by U.S. Small Business Administration and Google called Tools for Online Success, to show fellow entrepreneurs how to market their small businesses through the Internet and social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. "In five years, I've gone from a web zero to a web hero," said Bartlett, 46, who started using social media in 2007 when his business's website was upgraded to act as a point of sale. "I decided I was going to learn this, and I just dove in." Bartlett in 2007 opened a fourth location in West Hartford. One of nine entrepreneurs from across the country picked to participate in the program, Bartlett explained how he uses online videos showing people how to shop for skates to market his business. Last year, Bartlett launched Skaters Landing TV to show people how to sharpen their skates. Bartlett, winner of the 2009 U.S. SBA's Connecticut Small Business Owner of the Year Award, also plans to hold live online chats with professionals in the skating industry and show people how to fit their skates via Skype. "We call our shop the living room," said Bartlett, who also co-owns Global Entertaining and Media and Rink Management Solutions. "We've expanded our living room to a world window so that we can have the same conversations with people around the world that we have in our shop." Bartlett said he also is offering specials through Facebook and Twitter and having his 14 employees blog about skating. "We want our Skaters Landing message to be constantly out there," he said. Social media can help businesses connect directly to clients, but it takes more than getting a user name and a password, Bartlett said. "It's about what's your concept, what's your message, what's your plan," he said. More consumers are shopping for items online and small businesses need to be aware of the tools available to them to market their products over the Internet, SBA Administrator Karen Mills said. "With these tools for online success, we can ensure these small businesses reach new markets so they can continue to create jobs," she said. And more businesses are using social media for marketing purposes, said Gerald Cavallo, a marketing professor at Fairfield University. "It's the hot thing to do now," he said. To see more of the Connecticut Post, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.connpost.com/. Copyright (c) 2010, Connecticut Post, Bridgeport Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]