Alicia Wiginton purchased Red Barn Donuts in March of 2021, eager to serve the community and grow the business. Before taking on the previously owned donut business, Alicia sought help from Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center at the University of Arkansas.
She was assigned to consultant Lori Lieblong, who guided Alicia through intensive market research, writing a business plan, creating financial projections, and applying for and securing a loan. Since then, Lori has been at Alicia’s side helping with taking over the business and strategizing for new growth.
“The ASBTDC helped by making valuable industry information available, which allowed me to make a more educated decision about purchasing the business. I love the availability of Lori and her willingness to offer sound advice and her work coordinating different resources and collaboration with other professionals. Lori has become my go-to person to navigate the planning of my business,” says Alicia.
Once they’d completed that foundational work and had the business running smoothly, Alicia and Lori decided that the next step should be to ramp up marketing. They connected with the ASBTDC consultant who specializes in social media and marketing, with the goal of differentiating Red Barn Donuts in the minds of consumers.
“Our donuts are made by hand using original recipes, and we are a locally, family-owned business, not a chain or a franchise. Seeing my teenage boys loving working at Red Barn Donuts has been the cherry on the top (or the sprinkles on my donut!). Our objective is to make everyone feel like a part of this family when they walk through our red barn doors. That’s what sets us apart.”
The ASBTDC has already been able to help Red Barn Donuts with an array of consulting services to update their branding and social platforms, all while keeping the hometown feel intact.
We recommended that the Red Barn team members watch our smartphone photography webinar and practice creating high-quality social media content on their own. Social media interns analyzed donut shop social media accounts to create a guide of recommendations for content, aesthetic changes to Red Barn’s current pages, and ASBTDC’s social media general best practices to follow. On the backend, our digital advertising expert showed Alicia how to implement search engine optimization tools and analytics platforms that will increase Red Barn’s web presence.
“If you are not aware of the wealth of resources that this program offers, you are really missing out. From initial development of an idea to business planning, from operations execution to all the resources, I have gotten so much support from the center. I’ve also been able to make great connections with professionals who really know what they are doing and can offer valuable input and education to improve my business.”
It has been a treat to work with clients like these knowing that we are helping them serve our community. All of the educational resources we’ve provided for Alicia and other clients are being turned into video and blog content which are available to the public on our website.
It is clear that Red Barn Donuts has brought and continues to bring lots of joy to Northwest Arkansas. As always, we encourage you to sign up for a consultation to see how ASBTDC can help your business!
Stop by Red Barn Donuts in Rogers to meet Alicia, support a local business, and check out their signature “donut letters”!
447 W. Hudson Road
Rogers, AR 72756
redbarndonuts.com