FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE “COMMUNITY REINVENTION PROGRAM”

What is the purpose of the “Community Reinvention Program”?
This program originated when a downtown director asked Jon if he would come and speak for free if a group of downtown business owners from his city attended Jon’s Destination Business BootCamp, all at the same time.  Jon thought this was a great way to get a collective group of owners moving in the right direction, reinventing their businesses into Consumer Destinations, after they all have learned the same material during his 2½ day BootCamp.  Over the last six years, the “Community Reinvention Program” has been changed and enhanced each year to make sure business owners from the same communities have the best opportunity to learn Jon’s Destination Business teachings.

To participate in this program, your community must organize a group of 6 or more business owners, plus 1 Community Coordinator to attend Jon’s Destination Business BootCamp in Longmont, Colorado, and then participate in a six (6) month follow-up training program in your city.

What is the benefit of having a group of owners participate in the Community Reinvention Program?
When your community decides to participate in the Community Reinvention Program, you are providing the business owners in your city a powerful training experience that can change their businesses and your consumer marketplace.  We believe our Program is the best way for a small organization or community to maximize their limited dollars and receive the most instruction from Jon on his Destination Business teachings. 

The Community Reinvention Program begins by your community sending a group of business owners from the same marketplace to our Destination Business BootCamp, where they receive over 20+ hours of instruction on making their businesses Consumer Destinations, capable of pulling customers from outside their immediate marketplace.  When these owners return to their businesses, they are excited, motivated, and armed with the knowledge and tools to change and market their businesses in an entirely new way.  Since many owners from your city have never had the time to actually discuss business issues with fellow owners down the street, we also see a huge rise in camaraderie and cooperation when these owners return home.  When owners return to their communities, most are anxious to spread their knowledge to their fellow business owners. 

This Program requires that the owners who attend the BootCamp return to their communities and share the information they have learned in a series of six (6) monthly meetings.  These meetings begin the month following their attendance in the BootCamp.  Approximately 60 days following the BootCamp, your community will host in your city a marketing workshop conducted by Jon.  Normally, Jon’s fees for a speaking/consultation visit would cost over $8,000, but this is workshop is free to your organization (with the exception of Jon’s expenses), as part of the Community Reinvention Program.  Jon’s workshop is designed to focus attention on the businesses who attended the BootCamp and to get other business owners interested in learning about his Destination teachings through the group’s monthly meetings.  Following Jon’s workshop in your city, he will also spend 1-on-1 onsite time in each of the businesses that attended the BootCamp.  Finally, each of the owners who attend the BootCamp will also receive for six months Jon’s monthly newsletter, “Destination Business”, an audio CD, and personal call-in consulting time from Jon on their individual business issues.

Your city’s Community Coordinator who attended the BootCamp will receive a 6-month training schedule, consisting of group conference calls and group online webinars.  In this way, owners in your city who did not attend the BootCamp themselves still receive training from Jon.  These webinars and conference calls help get every owner in your community thinking and marketing themselves as a Destination Business. 
Jon interviewed the first group of business owners who attended the BootCamp together after they returned home.  A copy of that transcript is at the end of these questions.  If you would like a copy of the CD of this interview, please give us a call and we’ll be happy to mail one to you.  

What is the cost to participate in the “Community Reinvention Program”?
Each business owner and the Community Coordinator must pay an investment cost of $1,500 per attendee.  Therefore, the cost to for a group of 6 business owners, plus 1 Community Coordinator, to participate in the Program and attend the BootCamp is seven (7) X $1,500 = $10,500.  Any additional attendee above the first six attendees would also be charged $1,500.

What is the total monetary value of the “Community Reinvention Program”?

• Total investment to send 6 business owners, plus 1 Community Coordinator: $10,500.00
• Total Value of BootCamp and six months of the follow-up Consulting Program: $27,065.00
• Total Added Services and Savings for Sponsoring Community:  $16,565.00

What are the additional expenses for BootCamp attendees that are not included the $1,500?
Here are the estimated expenses for each BootCamp attendee not included in the $1,500 fee:

1. Travel expenses from your location to the BootCamp venue.  Attendees should plan to arrive on the day before the BootCamp begins, and depart the last day of the BootCamp no earlier than 12:00 noon when the BootCamp ends.
2. Three (3) nights hotel lodging:  We receive a Group rate for BootCamp attendees at the hotel where the BootCamp is held.  The hotel rate may vary for each BootCamp and is posted on the BootCamp website.  Go to www.DestinationBootCamp.com and click on “Dates and Locations” to see specific room rates for each BootCamp.  
3. Airport transportation roundtrip from the airport or rental car to the BootCamp hotel.
4. Each attendee is responsible for their dinners each evening and their lunch on the third day. 

Every attendee receives breakfast on all three days of the BootCamp, and lunch and afternoon snacks on the first two days.  There is also an included Opening Reception on the evening before the first day of the BootCamp.  

Can owners stay in another hotel besides the BootCamp site hotel?
They can, but they lose a lot of networking time with other owners, and those people who aren’t in our host hotel learn less.  We encourage everyone to stay at the hotel we’ve chosen.  We’ve negotiated good discounted rate for all attendees at the hotel where the BootCamp is being held.  Once you register for the BootCamp, we will email you a Hotel Room Request Form to complete and we will make your room reservations according to the information you have provided us.  But the first step is assembling your group, completing your Application, and for each owner to be approved for attending the BootCamp.

Can the owners share hotel rooms with each other to minimize costs?
Yes, but we now strongly discourage it.  As owners work on and think about their businesses during their time at the BootCamp, they will have a tendency to have “Eureka” revelations about their businesses at different times.  It’s beneficial for them to have their own hotel room, where if they need to, they can wake up in the middle of the night and not disturb anyone else.  We also have had attendees who have roomed together who have snored, coughed at night, and created disruptions to each other’s sleep patterns.  We believe it is worth the small extra cost to have a private room for each of your owners.

What have other cities and organizations done to raise money to send their business owners to the BootCamp and participate in the “Community Reinvention Program”?
Every organization has approached the funding of the “Community Reinvention Program” differently.  

• Some cities and organizations have paid nothing, but have acted as liaisons to publicize the BootCamp and encourage owners to attend.
• Some cities and organizations have funded the entire amount for their business owners, only asking that the owners pay for their own travel, lodging, and miscellaneous expenses.
• Some communities have paid a portion of the fees, in order to make limited funds help more owners attend the BootCamp.  
• One group of business owners didn’t have any support from their community and instead, raised the money on their own to send themselves, all because they wanted to learn the principles of becoming a Destination Business, and thought it was important for their community.

What if one of our businesses who wants to attend is not a retailer?  Will the BootCamp still help them?
Please call us to discuss the specific business owner you are considering for attendance in your group.  Retailers obviously benefit greatly, and we encourage cities to send businesses who will generate consumer traffic that can feed off of other consumer-oriented businesses.  While we do have entrepreneurs attend the BootCamp who own service-related businesses and professional practices, these types of businesses are not the best ones for your Community Reinvention group.

Will this Program help a business owner who has a franchise business?
Yes.  We have had several franchisees attend the BootCamp and they learn an entirely different marketing strategy from the one that their franchise has taught them. 

Are there husband and wife discounts or discounts for employees or managers?
There is a $200 discount for multiple attendees from the same business, with a limit of two additional attendees.  Jon encourages husband/wife teams to both attend because both partners will take different aspects of learning away from the BootCamp.  If a husband/wife team or employees attend from the same business, that is considered a single (1) business as part of your Community Reinvention group.

What if an owner wants to send their manager, instead of him or her attending?
The BootCamp is geared for the decision maker(s) of the business, and your city’s group should be comprised of owners.  Managers are not appropriate for the Community Reinvention Program, and will not be approved as a qualifying member of your group.

What happens if someone from our group cancels and we send less than 7 attendees?
If a community is accepted into the “Community Reinvention Program”, but whose number of required attendees to the Destination BootCamp falls below the required minimum seven (7) pre-registered applicants (in the event of cancellation or failure of a business owner or Community Coordinator to attend), registration costs of the cancelled applicant(s) will be refunded per the terms of our cancellation policy (see Application), and the 60-day follow-up workshop and visit, along with the tele-coaching, webinars, and group consultations will not be conducted.

Can we send more than 6 Business Owners?
Of course.  We have had communities send as many as eleven (11) business owners from the same city.  The added number of individual owners creates more learning and greater impact when those owners return to their cities.

How large of a class is each BootCamp?
Each BootCamp has limited seats available to ensure a personal learning experience.  Past BootCamp classes have averaged between 25-48 attendees, depending on the size of the room.  Our smaller BootCamp size makes it important for you to get your applications in as early as possible.      

If the scheduled BootCamps sell out, will you conduct another BootCamp?
It’s extremely unlikely given Jon’s speaking and consulting schedule. 

Why is the BootCamp conducted so few times a year?
The rest of the year Jon is consulting with individual clients, writing the Destination Business newsletter, coaching clients in his Destination Success Network, and speaking in front of audiences.

Is Jon the only one teaching the BootCamp for 2½ days?
Yes.  We allow one advertising expert to get up in front of the group for about 30 minutes at the end of Day 1, but otherwise, it’s Jon, covering the 14-steps of his Destination Strategy.

Can we have Jon conduct a BootCamp in our area, instead of traveling to your location?
No, sorry.  The BootCamp is not a typical seminar, and it is difficult to re-create.  We do not conduct the BootCamp in multiple locations, nor do we take it on the road.  Colorado is the perfect site for business owners.  Plus, you will find the owners in your city will interact more with each other when they are outside of their immediate city, away from their businesses.  There is a huge bonding-effect that happens to groups who attend together as part of this program.
Of course, Jon does conduct other Destination workshops all around the country, and if your community wants Jon to conduct a workshop in your city, please call us, and we can plan it.  But it will not be his 2½ day BootCamp.

When should our group plan to arrive?
Plan to arrive the afternoon or evening before the first day of the BootCamp.  There is an optional Open House the evening before the BootCamp begins from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.  There is light snack food, but you may still want to go out to eat dinner as a group that evening.

Do we have to come to the first-evening get-together?
You don’t have to, but those that do attend, like it.  It allows you to meet Jon and his staff, and to get to know the group.  The learning seems to start earlier for those who attend that first evening.

What is the schedule for the 2½ days?
Check-In is from 7:30 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.  The BootCamp begins at 8:00 a.m. sharp.  The first day will go late and you’ll have homework to do that evening.  Restaurants are within walking distance for dinner.  Then get a good night’s rest, as the second day begins once again at 8:00 a.m. sharp.  The third day begins at 8:00 a.m. and will end around noon, so you can plan a flight to depart early afternoon or evening on the last day.

What kind of clothes should I bring?
The dress for the BootCamp is casual.  The main priority is that you are dressed comfortably.  Be sure to bring a lightweight jacket or sweater to the meeting room, as it takes a little bit of the morning the first day to get the temperature right for everyone, and there may be times where the room is either too hot or too cold until we get it right for everyone.  Jon likes the room set cooler, so bring a jacket or sweater.

Will our group need a car?
No, not unless your group wants one.  You can get a shuttle from the Denver International Airport very easily that brings you right to the door of the hotel.  For meals, there are restaurants within walking distance.  You won’t have a lot of time to be going off the BootCamp site just for sight-seeing.  These are
2½ very intensive training days.  With that being said, some groups have in the past shared a rental car or van, and that makes it easier for the group to travel together.

What will the Community Coordinator be given to conduct the monthly group meetings?
We have prepared a 6-month training schedule and training guide for each Community Coordinator that will make it easier for them to conduct group meetings.

Do you have a list of people who I can call, to find out their experiences of the BootCamp?
Sure.  Read the testimonials on our website, www.DestinationBootCamp.com, and feel free to call any of them.  There’s over 100 listed to choose from and we can give you more contact names, if you need them.  If you would like the names and numbers of other Community Coordinators, just call us, and we can provide them also.

What if we have more questions?
Jon is available to answer all of your questions about this “Community Reinvention Program”.  Feel free to call our office at (303) 774-6522 to arrange a time to talk to Jon.