Wanted: Your Ideas!

As the Network Dearborn website / portal heads towards it's fourth year, we want to open up a discussion about what additional enhancements you'd like to see. In the past, we listened to your suggestions and added:

• a job listings feed
• more contests
• a clothing line
• an events page
• coupons
• social media outlets
• gas price information, updated daily.

What other features would like to see? Let us know!

April Contest: Win a $100 Gas Card

In April we're combining forces with Village Ford and Biggby Coffee on a challenging quiz about Ford Motor Company.

Play it for a chance to win one of 20 free beverage cards good at Biggby Coffee Dearborn, as well as a shot at the grand prize: a prepaid $100 Speedway Gas Card!

Get quizzing by clicking here! And make sure to spread the word to friends and family.

March Merch Month!

March is Merch Month on Network Dearborn!

Stock up on cool gifts or Dearborn-themed items for yourself... keychains, hats, coasters, shirts and more!

Click here to start shopping.

February Sudoku Contest!

This month, solve our challenging sudoko for your chance at a bunch of great prizes, including:

• (5) $25 gift cards to Om Spa
• a $20 gift card to Sweet Peas Baby Boutique
• a Party Starter Package from Bailey's Pub and Grille

Start playing here!

Design a Dearborn-Themed Shirt and Win!

Fun contest to take us through the New Year...

Design a Dearborn, Michigan themed shirt, and have it published for sale by nettywear™! Get creative. Send in your design digitally (must be high resolution image and around 8" wide) to: networkdearborn@gmail.com Winner will be announced at the end of January.

Deadline: January 31st, 2011.

Click here to see current designs. Might be a thought starter!

Oh yes, one last thing: The winner will get a FREE shirt with their design on it shipped to their door. And, bragging rights to their Dearborn friends.

Kick Field Goals, Win Big Prizes!

New game on NetworkDearborn.com for November: The Football Challenge!

Kick field goals of progressively farther distances for your chance to win one of a dozen pretty sweet prizes from local Dearborn businesses including Adrenaline Fitness, Om Day Spa, PostNet, Bailey's Pub and Grille and BodyNBalance.

Click here to play!

Om Spa Gift Certs Again for August!

5 lucky puzzle solvers will win a $25 gift certificate from Om Spa again in August!

Click here to try your hand at putting back together a picture of Henry Ford Estate!

Thanks Om Spa for your continued support and partnership. Stop there soon to try out some of their fantastic services.

Meet Some New Network Dearborn Business Members

First off we have Balloons-N-More, a business that helps you throw the best parties, special occasions and corporate events. They also provide invitations at 40% off and party accessories like matches, napkins and more. Enjoy 30% off on-line shopping on their website. Delivery and set-up of materials is also available.

Next is Chuck Harrison's Lawn Sprinklers, offering:

• Complete irrigation services - Quick response
• Repair, remodel, start-up or winterize
• Honest, reliable and insured
• Residential and commercial
• All major brands

Contact Chuck for pretty much any need relating to your sprinkler and irrigation system.

Also, don't miss out on IT Network, whose number one goal is to become your trusted computer experts and technicians. They will repair any PC problem for any business or home user and they'll stand by our work. In fact, it's 100% guaranteed.

Remember to hit NetworkDearborn.com first when you are looking for products and services like those offered by our newest members right close to home, in Dearborn.

Save Our Pools - Buy a Shirt

We recently ran a Facebook contest asking residents to submit creative t-shirt designs for the Save Our Pools effort. Jim Borgese of Dearborn submitted the winning design and today we are happy to announce several shirt options are available through our nettywear™ line for purchase, with proceeds going to the cause!



Check them out today and tell a family member or neighbor while you're at it!

Thanks for your support of our community.

Buy them here.

Couple New Businesses to Check Out

Take a look at a couple more Dearborn people who have joined Network Dearborn, Ryan Dickey, Realtor and Nuriche.


Click here to visit Nuriche's business page on ND.


Click here to visit Ryan's business page on ND.

PayWhatUCan will encourage Dearborn businesses to join the Network.

In June, we'll be running a new promotion: PayWhatUCan.

In keeping with the economic times we live in, and our goal of making NetworkDearborn.com the first place residents stop online to find what they are looking for close to home, PayWhatUCan will allow any business in Dearborn to sign up and choose their own listing fee!

The standard rate for having a business listing on NetworkDearborn.com is a modest $49 a year, but for new businesses signing up in June, that will go away.

Of course, larger businesses can choose to pay the full fee if they want to help us meet overhead and costs associated with serving the thousands of local visitors who hit ND every month to find the services and products they need.

What you can do: Spread the word about PayWhatUCan via email, Facebook and word of mouth. We want to sign up dozens of Dearborn businesses who were either short on marketing/advertising funds or waiting for a good reason to join. The time is now!

Connect Dearborn people with your business message in a way you haven't been able to with print ads and traditional advertising. Our fun features, social media outlets and unique format make Network Dearborn the best way to attract new business from Dearborn residents!

Sign up here starting June 1st to take advantage of this one-time chance to PayWhatUCan!

It's Time to Shop and Post

The 3rd Thousand Buck Thursday is here!

Let's get to $1,000 today - shop at Network Dearborn businesses and post about it in comments below. Please be specific: what you bought, where you bought it, how much you spent.

See previous post below for today's special deals! Encourage your friends and family to get in on the fun so we meet our goal and someone wins a shirt.

Special Deals for This Thursday...

• 10% off any purchase at Campbell's Paint

• Get $5 OFF your $25 purchase at Sweet Peas Baby Boutique

• Buy one unlimited package and receive 50% off second unlimited package at Adrenaline Fitness

• 20 cent color copies! 8 /1/2" x 11" at PostNet! Regular copy paper; no size or color adjustments; must mention Thousand Buck Thursday!

• 10% off walk in repairs at Nevet's Glass

• Purchase 3 Fat Quarters of Fabric, Get 1 Free at The Materials Girls

• 40% off Winter FitFlops and 5% off Summer FitFlops at Z-Coil.

• 15% off all session fees booked on TBT. Not to be combined with any other offer. Besek Photography

• 20% off for new clients of Andrea Stetz @ Lord and Lady.

• Buy any class membership on Thousand Buck Thursday and receive $50 OFF 2nd membership for a friend!

• Village Ford will be offering 10% Off All Parts Purchases on Thousand Buck Thursday!

• Mention TBT when calling Yvette Garza direct to order Scentsy products and you'll receive 10% off the top! Phone: 313-406-6870

• $2 off an 8" Smoocheese cheesecake (Delivered for free locally) on Thousand Buck Thursdays!

• $25.00 off all Yard-care and/or Handyman work over $100.00 minimum order from Spectrum Home Services.

• Proven Payroll Services, Inc. offers 3 months free payroll service with a one year service agreement!

• $10 off any spa service or $5 off any retail item in the spa boutique valid on TBT at Om Spa.

Remember to shop and post this Thursday, May 20th as we try to reach our goal of $1,000 in Network Dearborn purchases! Thousand Buck Thursday is on Facebook. Click here to view.

nettywear™

Introducing nettywear™, a line of fun clothing items with various Dearborn themes printed on the front... History, culture, school mascots, and more are all featured. Browse the current designs by clicking right here.

Smoocheese

I got to enjoy the taste of a new local business this weekend... Smoocheese owner Bridget Wilkie dropped off two fantastic versions of cheesecake: double chocolate and classic.

Needless to say not much of it is left.

Take a moment to visit Smoocheese's page on Network Dearborn and also if you are a Facebook user, Become a Fan!

Thousand Buck Thursdays Part Deux

It's here!

Post your purposeful purchases at Network Dearborn businesses in the comments. Let's support Dearborn today!

Be specific: What did you buy, what did you spend, who did you tell about this unique initiative?

This is a grass-roots effort: No big ad bucks or official city mouthpieces here. Success is going take a litle bit of extra effort from everyone. Tell a neighbor, your family and friends to join in.

Also, join the nearly 200 people involved in this so far in our Facebook group.

Let's get to $1,000 today!

Thousand Buck Thursdays Gear

Starting to create some cool gear in support of Thousand Buck Thursdays. The next one is April 15th, one week from today!

Check out the items here:

Tote Bag
Sheet of Stickers

City Council to Discuss 110-Story Parking Garage Concept

[Dearborn, Michigan] -- In a move designed to put Dearborn's downtown back on the map, designs were revealed today for a 110-story parking deck capable of holding over 5,500 cars.

"This is really an exciting move," said a council member under condition of anonymity. "Parking has been an issue for a long while around here and this will put the issue to rest once and for all."



Above: Elevation plans for the mammoth parking deck. Click image to see full size view.

The structure will go right between the two existing parking decks on West Village Drive. The existing twin 300 spot decks will now be utterly dwarfed by their new gigantic cousin, dubbed by its detractors standing outisde City Hall on Thursday morning as 'The Big Goof.'

"This is ridiculous. Metro Detroit's biggest building, in fact, the Midwest's biggest building, will be a parking deck?" questioned April Fewlsworth, a resident of Dearborn. "This is just another Big Goof," she fumed to raucous applause behind her.

At 1,380 feet tall, the new parking deck will be higher than New York's Empire State Building but slightly shorter than Chicago's Sears Tower, which measures in at 1,450. Metro Detroiters will be able to see the deck from as far away as Canada and Toledo.



Plans are also in place to develop a website so residents can easily check the deck's capacity in real time from their mobile devices. Of course this story is entirely specious, but I hope you enjoyed it.

Happy first of April, everyone!

Changes to Next Thousand Buck Thursday

Last week we ran the first Thousand Buck Thursday with mixed results.

The final total was: $583.87.

For next month, after some consideration and comments from various sources, we're setting the bar even higher. Let's intentionally spend more than $1,000 at Network Dearborn businesses. You can see the full list of our member businesses here on our home page.

The next event occurs on Thursday, April 15th. If you shop at other Dearborn businesses that day, tell them about Network Dearborn and Thousand Buck Thursdays and encourage them to join in our efforts! Last, please remember to spread the word about this promotion via email, Facebook, Twitter and good old-fashioned word-of-mouth.

Thanks everyone!

OK, It's Time to Post Those Purchases!

The first Thousand Buck Thursday is here! Please use comments below to post about what you bought, where you bought it, and how much you spent. Be as exact and descriptive as possible! Also, anonymous comments are accepted, but first name / last initial is even better.

Thanks for participating and making a real difference in our community of businesses. It's up to us to put our money where our mouths are. Click here to visit Network Dearborn to search for a product or service to meet your specific needs today. Let's get to $1,000 today!

Network Dearborn Shirts

Network Dearborn has designed a fun line of Dearborn-themed tees and sweatshirts. Tomorrow, after the first Thousand Buck Thursday is complete, if we get to $1,000, one commenter will win his/her choice of a tee in any size/style!


Check them all out right here.

This Week: The First Ever Thousand Buck Thursday!

As we all know, our entire city, and in particular, Dearborn businesses have had a rough ride the past few years.

As you also know, I started Network Dearborn a couple of years ago as an online way to support local business and connect people with the products and services they need in our city.

Starting this Thursday, let's take it up another notch.

I'd like to introduce a new monthly feature sponsored by Network Dearborn: Thousand Buck Thursdays.


How does it work? I'm encouraging everyone to make a concerted effort to shop in Dearborn on the third Thursday of every month. Then, I'm asking that you come back to this blog and post what you bought, where you bought it and how much you spent.

Our goal each Thousand Buck Thursday will be to count up $1,000 that has been intentionally injected into our Dearborn business community. Maybe we fall short of that goal, maybe we smash right through it. I don't know.

But I do know that it can't hurt.

As a thank you for your support, one poster on the blog will win a Dearborn T-shirt every Thousand Buck Thursday.

So, what can you do to help? Glad you asked.

1) Remember to go out of your way to spend money at local Dearborn businesses (Network Dearborn businesses especially!) on every Thousand Buck Thursdays. It can even be $1!

2) Visit this blog later that day and share with the rest of us what you bought, where you bought it and how much you spent.

3) Tell your friends and family to do the same and share our blog address with them so we can all get in on the fun.

Thanks for your time and support. We all benefit when we support Dearborn business. Please forward a link to this blog to your Dearborn family and friends!

Looking for Netty?

Then you've come to the right place. :)

Click on Netty to continue the WebQuest. Keep looking for Netty as you continue!

Friday Contests

On our Facebook and Twitter pages, we run fun Friday games each week. They can be trivia questions, picture puzzles, word games, just about anything!

In March, these games are sponsored by Village Ford. (It just so happens that Village Ford is sponsoring our game for the month too, Pothole Racing!)

For those of you who do not use Facebook or Twitter, we'll post the games to blog as well. Here's today's game:

Who said it: A business absolutely devoted to service will have only one worry about profits. They will be embarrassingly large.

Send in your answers to this question here.

Like always, we'll award a Starbucks gift card to a lucky winner!

Om Spa Joins Us

Glad to add Om Spa to the Network!

Check out their business page here.