Students in the college of business administration are beginning to work with Beyond Boundaries, a new outdoors store in downtown Searcy.
According to its website, Beyond Boundaries, opened by Blake Norman and Chance Moore more than a month ago, was designed to be a “wholesome outdoor and adventure store” specifically targeting outdoor enthusiasts at Harding University and in the central Arkansas region.
The store contains a wide selection of items including camping gear, large name brands and niche clothing, running shoes and apparel, kayak rentals and novelties. Not only does the store sell items but they also provide several services, such as a weekly running group, rental items and guided hiking trips. Both Norman and Moore are experienced runners and outdoorsmen.
After hearing about the unique store, Rich Brown, a professor in the College of Business Administration, approached Norman and Moore about having his promotional strategies class work to promote Beyond Boundaries as a project for which they will create an entire marketing plan for the small business by the end of this semester. The idea is for the students to take everything they learned in the class and apply it to the Beyond Boundaries final project.
Two students in the class, juniors Marianna Woodruff and Grant Schol, said the class has been divided into four groups comprising of five students, each given a different aspect of their business to focus on promoting.
“While one group might focus on the rental aspect, another may pay more attention to the running services or apparel offered,” Schol said. “We just want to promote the various sectors of their business.”
While the class will not handle the actual purchase of advertisements and other promotional material, the students are hoping to create a full workable plan that Norman and Moore can use as a jumping point to set up a successful marketing strategy for the next several months.
“Right now they have a very thorough business plan, but no marketing plan,” Woodruff said. “We’re hoping to really get the word out there about the store.”
Woodruff and Schol said the store was set up really well and offered everything that an amateur to experienced outdoorsman would need. The store has already garnered more than 700 likes on its Facebook page and has partnered with other adventure-related stores in the community to help promote each other’s businesses. Norman and Moore said they are also still in talks with several new brands to potentially add to Beyond Boundaries.
