Earlier this year, businessman Doug Hall made headlines with his gift of bagpipe lessons for any Island child who wanted them. Now Mr. Hall is in Prince Edward Island again. This time, he has his sights set on the provinces's craft industry.
Mr. Hall is best known for his work in marketing and brand management for a number of high profile US companies. He is in the province to provide six Island craft businesses with expertise for success in small business.
Over the next three days, selected craft businesses will take part in Hall's pilot project: the Eureka! Small Business Coaching Program. It's an education initiative designed to help small business owners think smarter and more creatively about how to grow their business.
"I'm very excited to be in Prince Edward Island to pilot this project with Island craft businesses," said Doug Hall. "This is a great opportunity to test my program on small businesses that have great potential for growth. I am confident that this educational process will have a huge impact on helping these companies increase their revenues."
The PEI companies participating include: Cavendish Figures Ltd., The Toy Factory, Island Pewter, Island Windcrafts Ltd., Wooly Wares, and Micmac Productions.
The Eureka program is being offered to the participating businesses at no cost. "I am very pleased that Doug Hall has chosen Prince Edward Island as his pilot location, in turn, helping to grow the Island craft industry," said Minister of Development and Technology, Mike Currie. "Through his knowledge and expertise of consumer behaviour and innovative product development, I am certain he will have valuable advice for our Island craft businesses."
The Eureka program is designed to teach participants how to win customers and grow profits by using innovative marketing and sales techniques. It also includes access to specialized computer software that enables the user to forecast consumer behaviour.
Doug Hall is the founder and CEO of the Richard Saunders International Eureka! Ranch. Educated at the University of Maine as a Chemical Engineering Graduate, he joined Procter & Gamble in brand management where he rose to the rank of Master Marketing Inventor.
Working from his Eureka! Ranch in Newtown, Ohio, Hall has spent the last 10 years helping companies such as Disney, Nike, American Express and the Ford Motor Company create new-to-the-world ideas for products and services. Research indicates that the average American home uses 18 products or services that the Eureka! Ranch has had a hand in.
Hall is also the author of two books, Jump Start Your Brain and Making the Courage Connection. The six companies participating in Hall's craft coaching seminar will be featured in his upcoming publication on reaching small business success.
The goal of Hall's initiative is to provide governments an educational resource option to assist small businesses, putting the power of increasing revenues in the hands of the business owner.
The Province, through Prince Edward Island Business Development, has been working with Doug Hall to provide him with company participants for his program.