Community Reinvention Program

2023 Community Reinvention Program

DOWNLOAD COMMUNITY REINVENTION PROGRAM INFORMATION AND APPLICATION HERE

This is Jon Schallert and thank you for taking the time to learn about our 2023 Community Reinvention Program, the only business training program that instructs independent business owners from the same marketplace on how to individually and collectively become Consumer Destinations.

When I started teaching my Destination process back in 1998, I never imagined that cities, towns, counties, and downtowns throughout North America would actively recruit hundreds of independent business owners to attend my Destination BootCamp class and sponsor their participation in our Community Reinvention Program.

As of 2023, ninety-four (94) communities, large and small, have sent groups of business owners through our Community Reinvention Program to help their independent business owners increase their revenue and profits, grow both their local and out-of-town customer traffic, and create powerful Destinations that are revitalizing their local marketplaces.

What are the components of the Community Reinvention Program?

The 2023 Community Reinvention Program is very simple:

Your organization or community sponsors a group of independent business owners to attend my 2½ day Destination Business BootCamp® class in Golden, Colorado where they learn my entire 14-step Destination Business process to make their businesses Consumer Destinations.
This is my 21^st year of teaching the Destination BootCamp class and it is always personally taught by me.
To participate in the Community Reinvention Program, your organization must sponsor a group of at least five (5) owners from five (5) different businesses/storefronts who all reside in the same marketplace. There is no limit on the number of business owners a community can send, but five attendees from five different businesses in one BootCamp class is the minimum to quality for the program benefits.
Your organization must also send with your group of business owners a minimum of one (1) designated Community Coordinator who helps organize your group before, during, and after the Community Reinvention Program.
Your Community Coordinator must attend the same Destination BootCamp as your owners, and we recommend that your Community Coordinator be a community leader who has an established relationship with the business owners attending the class.
We have found that the top Community Coordinators are typically Directors of a local organization like a CVB, a local Chamber of Commerce, or a downtown Main Street Program.
After the Destination BootCamp ends and your group of owners return to their businesses, approximately two (2) months later, I will come to your city or town and consult with every attendee who participated in the Destination BootCamp.
Only Community Reinvention Program participants who have attended the BootCamp in Colorado receive this in-person, in-business visit.
When I visit each attendee in their place of business, I will give each owner a 1-on-1 critique during our consultation. Each owner will be able to show me the changes they’ve implemented since the class, have their questions answered, and receive confidential guidance on their business.
During my visit, I will give each owner a Destination Business Checklist that gives them a snapshot on where their business currently stands in becoming a Destination Business. The Destination Business Checklist is a new tool I’ve developed that gives each owner a clear step-by-step plan on what their next moves should be to continue on their path of becoming a Destination Business.
It is recommended that when I come to consult in your city that your Community Coordinator organize an informal group meeting with all of the owners who attended the class in Colorado. This could be a breakfast, lunch, or dinner meeting, but could also be a simple conference room get-together. This group gathering will allow me to talk about the roadblocks or issues they may have encountered in accomplishing their goals, while also discussing as a group their individual accomplishments and how they can support each other to become Destinations in the future.

Specifics on Attending the Destination BootCamp as a Group

During the BootCamp, your community’s business owners will interact and learn from other business owners and community leaders who have traveled to Colorado for the class. This is so helpful because your attendees are not only receiving my advice, but they’re hearing the experiences and knowledge of the other independent business owners in the class.
On the last day of class before they depart Colorado, each business owner will set their immediate and long terms goals for their business. When the business owners return home, they will use these goals to begin making changes to their businesses. This also gives them a blueprint of the changes they should make prior to my individual consultation.
We find that owners who attend the Destination BootCamp from the same community get a much-needed pause from “working in their businesses” to “working on their businesses”, while extensively networking with other progressive business owners.
We also find that their three days in my Colorado class are a rare opportunity to focus on their own business strategy, plan for the changes they’ll make, all the while discussing it with their independent business neighbors, something that rarely happens for locally-owned businesses.
Overwhelmingly, community leaders tell us that they see a huge rise in camaraderie and cooperation among the owners themselves after working and learning together in the BootCamp class. I believe their time spent in Colorado together helps them see how individually and collectively, they can become a powerful force to create change in their communities.
Finally, expect to see your business owners return home excited, motivated, and armed with a new business strategy with specific tools to change their businesses. Most will be a little overwhelmed upon their return, but the tools we’ll have given them, along with my personal time in their business when I visit, will help them achieve changes that they’d rarely achieve on their own

Requirements to Qualify for the Community Reinvention Program:

A community must send a minimum of 5 business owners (each from a different business and/or storefronts) to the BootCamp, along with a Community Coordinator.
Every organization will submit an application listing the businesses in their group who will be attending and why this owner would be a good participant in the Program. Once they are submitted, I will personally approve every attendee of your group.
Your organization’s investment to sponsor a business owner to attend the Destination BootCamp and participate in the Community Reinvention Program is $1850 per person. This is just $350.00 more than an individual BootCamp attendee tuition.
When I come to your community after the BootCamp, you pay my expenses to travel to and from your community and the expenses while I’m in your community.

The Community Reinvention Program really is simple, but best of all, it works.

There’s a reason why over 1,700 business owners have gone through our Destination BootCamp class and why so many organizations have participated in the Community Reinvention Program.

We hope your community will be the next one.

If you have additional questions about the Community Reinvention Program, feel free to reach out to me.

Thank you and I hope to see you in Colorado!

Jon Schallert