Free advertising for locally owned and operated businesses. That's what one 16 year old Northridge High School student is offering through a new website she's started. It's all at hometownsmatter.com.
On the site businesses can set up an online store, design apparel the shop's name, and let their customers buy and wear it.
"It's free advertising for the business," said site founder Cayla Stuteville.
It's an idea to help small town mom and pop stores get free word of mouth advertising. And it was all started by someone who doesn't even own a store. "My dad always wanted a shirt from cooks pizza but they never had his size so thought of an online store where they never run out of sizes or any of the products," said Stuteville. But it's evolved into giving those small shops a fighting chance against bigger corporations because as Stuteville said, "in today's economy small mom and pop stores aren't doing so well."
The concept is that when customers wear a shop's shirt around town they spread the name and good reputation. If asked about the business on their shirt, they'll tell people to check it out. And when customers wear the shirt to it's namesake business they'll get a discount or half the money they spend will be given to a local school or charity. That's the same deal for all purchases made on hometownsmatter.com. Cayla's mother thinks the idea her daughter came up with is a win win win for the businesses, customers, and Cayla saying, "it keeps her mind set on something important so that stuff in high school that doesn't really matter doesn't get her down."
There are already five businesses on the website and Cayla hopes it goes national. Any small shop in any small town can participate.
Cayla's website also won her the bkfk.com Grand Prize for the Kids Helping Kids Challenge. To visit the site click here
