South Dakota

Buying records on Craigslist isn’t uncommon. But buying an entire record shop? That’s a rare opportunity, and Jennifer and Michael Calabrese seized it, moving to Rapid City in 2015 to buy Black Hills Vinyl. “We already had around 4,000 records and were selling some online as a side hustle,” Jennifer recalls. “When the store came up for sale we thought, ‘Why not give it a proper go?’” After a year of selling mostly used records, they moved to a bigger space, adding more new records, audio equipment, CDs, even 8-track tapes–“anything that’s a way to appreciate music,” says Michael. Today they have over 20,000 records of all genres, including video game soundtracks and show tunes. Says Jennifer, “Who are we to decide what people listen to? If they ask for it, we try to get it.” They also sell another kind of disc: As avid disc golfers, they’ve helped grow the local community and devote part of the store to the sport.

Black Hills Vinyl has to make sure that both locals and the area’s many tourists can find them. “People use our Google Business Profile for directions, to call us, and to check the reviews that show we’re worth a stop. It gives us visibility and legitimacy,” Michael says. Performance Max campaigns make it easy to fine-tune their ad strategy. “It gives us the ability to really drive new opportunities for our business,” he adds, while YouTube Ads attract customers from up to several hours away. Jennifer uses Gemini to refine social media posts, especially helpful now that the couple has a new baby: “I can say, ‘These are the points I need to make. Please make it sound polished and not like I’ve been up for two days.’” With year-over-year growth of 10-20 percent, Black Hills Vinyl focuses on making every visitor feel welcome. Says Michael, “Folks from all walks of life can slow down and interact in our store–and maybe even learn something new from each other.”

When Tia Berens and her then-fiancé, Dan, had trouble finding a wedding venue with the amenities they desired in their town, they saw an opportunity to build their own–and start a new business. “We envisioned The Barn as a venue that encompassed the beauty of nature that Spearfish is known for, but also had a sleek, contemporary design with modern touches,” Tia says. In 2019 they established The Barn at Aspen Acres, and the first wedding in the space was their very own. In 2023, they added The A-Frame Bungalows and a more intimate event space called The Social Hall. Together they make up Aspen Acres Specialty Resort: a select location for weddings, conferences, and destination events that offers everything you need in one place.

Tia believes around 50 percent of their bookings come from Google products, making it their number one source for leads. Their Google Business Profile lets them share photos and answer inquiries from couples as far away as Hawaii, and the link to Google Maps helps clients and their guests find them. “Being in a rural setting, things like the Maps integration and directions help make it so much easier to get thousands of guests to our venue,” Tia says. She uses Google Ads to put Aspen Acres in front of people searching for a one-of-a-kind events venue. “Google lets us home in on the clients who are searching for us, which is extremely important,” she says. AI-powered Performance Max campaigns give her automatic recommendations for ad headlines and positioning, boosting her conversion rate by 700 percent and freeing up her time so she can focus on running her business. Corporate event bookings are growing by 42 percent annually, and Aspen Acres was named the 2023 South Dakota Woman-Owned Business of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. “Our clients, our staff, and our community make all of this work worth it,” Tia says.

Nick Heineman never expected to leave the bustling Chicago restaurant industry to return to his South Dakota hometown. But when his father Greg told him about the chance to take over Look’s Marketplace, a Sioux Falls institution since 1883, the idea of settling in a smaller city lured him back. Father and son bought Look’s Marketplace in 2007, and their success helped them to expand in 2019 to a 17,000-square foot food hall that houses a dining room, retail market, butcher counter, and brewery.

Nick and his father turned to Google tools to reach a larger audience for Look’s beyond newsletters, social media, and expensive direct mail. “I just started tinkering around with Google Business Profile one night, and I was immediately impressed by its ease of use and flexibility,” Nick says. He created a Business Profile where he posts photos, menus, and events like The Visual Feast, an annual employee-run community art show. Their Business Profile now receives about 8,000 interactions each month, and lets them interact with reviewers to address any issues. Look’s Marketplace runs Google Ads to showcase their scratch bakery and hand-cut butcher shop. “With Google Ads, we can get those stories out there cost-effectively,” Nick says. “I can set a monthly budget and see its reach.” Since 2020, Look’s Marketplace has experienced a 20 percent growth in customers, a trend they’re working to continue with expanded offerings. “People gather here for everything from business meetings to book clubs and kids’ sports team dinners,” Nick says. “We want to be a place that brings together and elevates not just our neighborhood, but the entire city of Sioux Falls.”

Generosity and an entrepreneurial spirit are the driving forces behind Walt Swan Jr.'s ȞeSápa Enterprises, a Native American- and veteran-owned screen-printing and embroidery business. “One of the biggest traits of being a Lakota is generosity,” he shares. Walt founded the Rapid City, South Dakota, company in a borrowed shop in 2015 alongside his sons, Stephen and Zane. While they sell mostly screen-printed shirts with Lakota words and symbols and athletic wear for local schools, ȞeSápa Enterprises also offers custom embroidery and laser engraving. In the spirit of generosity, they partner with reservation schools through their fundraising platform, incentivizing students to raise money by selling logo shirts and hats. ȞeSápa–which means “Black Hills” in Lakota–began using Google Ads in 2019 and sales grew quickly. “It just exploded for us,” Walt says.

The business was still growing rapidly when supply chain problems interrupted production. “We had low stock on some items and back orders on other items, like our most popular shirt, and we didn’t know when they’d come in,” says Stephen. They turned to Google Workspace to help them track orders and keep customers up to date. “We use Google Workspace for everything,” adds Stephen. Walt explains, “Google Analytics helps us understand how we’re getting discovered, and what keywords–like ‘screen-printing services’–we need to include in our Google Ads.” ȞeSápa Enterprises then further increased their reach by adding all of their services to their Google Business Profile. They recently bought more Google Cloud storage to store important customer logos and business documents. With their increases in sales, ȞeSápa Enterprises is running out of space, so Walt is busy looking for a larger shop in Rapid City. “It’s just the bottom line with the increase in business we’ve had,” Walt says. “Now we don’t want to rent–we’re ready to buy.”