AVL Biz Weekly — July 15–21: Band of Horses, a Bitcoin Civil War, and Actual Jousting

Welcome to AVL BIZ Weekly—your local cheat sheet for what’s happening in Asheville’s small business + creative scenes.

Each week: hand-picked events, marketing ideas that actually work, and a little local flavor to keep things fun.

My name's Jason and I'm writing this (connect with me here).

Hey friends,

Tuesday is stacked: CREIA's real estate meetup, Seed Saving 101, Asheville Job Hunters, and the Bitcoin Fork War all land within three hours of each other.

Thursday morning, Elevate and Align gives business owners a reason to slow down before the week gets away from them.

Saturday is the fun-stuff finale: a science museum meetup, a market at The Grey Eagle, and two comedy shows across town.

Music-wise, Watchhouse and Kurt Vile, fresh off his latest album, close out the weekend at Hellbender and The Orange Peel.

Marketing Quickies this week: what to actually do after you send an estimate, because most leads don't say no. They just go quiet.

Let’s go!

📋 On Deck

• Business: CREIA, Seed Saving 101, and the Bitcoin Fork War headline a packed Tuesday.

• Fun: Slaughterama, two comedy shows, and a market at The Grey Eagle.

• Music: Band of Horses, Dinosaur Jr., Watchhouse, and Kurt Vile.

🙋 Want your biz featured in front of a few really smart AVL business owners? Email me for details

🗓️ Business Events

• 🗓️ Elevate and Align — Thursday, July 16 · 9:00 AM (216 Asheland Ave, Asheville, NC) 

  A morning workshop for professionals checking whether their goals and their daily grind still match.

• 🗓️ CREIA Main Monthly Meeting — Tuesday, July 21 · 5:30–8:30 PM (Highland Brewing, 12 Old Charlotte Hwy, Asheville, NC) 

  Real estate investors, agents, and contractors network, then dig into a rotating investing topic.

• 🗓️ Seed Saving 101 — Tuesday, July 21 · 5:30 PM (Asheville Tool Library, Asheville, NC)

  A hands-on workshop on collecting and storing seeds for next season's garden.

• 🗓️ Asheville Area Job Hunters Meet and Greet — Tuesday, July 21 · 6:00–8:00 PM (AC Hotel Asheville Biltmore Village, 186 Hendersonville Rd, Asheville, NC) 

  A low-pressure networking night for swapping leads and job search war stories.

• 🗓️ The Bitcoin Fork War — Tuesday, July 21 · 6:45–9:00 PM (North Asheville Public Library, 1030 Merrimon Ave, Asheville, NC) 

  Asheville's Bitcoin crowd debates the upcoming BIP-110 fork and what it means for the currency's future.

Hosting something cool?

📬 Hit reply and tell me what you think. Or share an event!

💡 Marketing Quickies

Brought to you by Pixelated Stories

Websites + Follow-Up Systems for Home & Professional Service Businesses | PixelatedStories.net

Sending the estimate feels like the finish line. It isn't. Most contractors and professional service businesses send the quote, then wait for a call that never comes, when the real problem is the estimate got buried under 159 other emails and nobody came back for it.

Here's what actually gets a reply, no awkward "just checking in" texts required.

Confirm it landed. The second the estimate goes out, send a one-line text: "Hey [Name], your estimate from [Business] just hit your inbox, let me know if anything's unclear." Now they know where to look, and the door stays open.

Follow up on a schedule. Day 2, ask if they saw it. Day 5, answer a question they probably have about price or timeline. Day 10, ask straight up: moving forward, or should I check back later? Once they reply, the sequence stops on its own.

Let "not right now" mean later, not never. Tag anyone who stalls and check back in 30 days with something short: "Hey [Name], still thinking about [project]? Wanted to check in before your schedule fills up." That one text has closed jobs everybody assumed were dead.

This is the kind of thing the Show Up and Follow Up System runs in the background, so the follow-up happens whether you remember to do it or not.

🎉 Fun Stuff Around AVL

• 🗓️ Asheville Science Museum Meetup — Saturday, July 18 · 10:30 AM (Asheville Museum of Science) 

  Asheville Introverts tour the museum, then grab lunch at Foggy Mountain Brew Pub.

• 🗓️ Summer Market Series: Locally Made Arts and Crafts — Saturday, July 18 · 10:00 AM (The Grey Eagle) 

  A free market of locally made art and handmade goods.

• 🗓️ Mental Health Film Fest — Saturday, July 18 · 3:30 PM (Ferguson Auditorium) 

  A film festival built around the mental health conversations people usually avoid

• 🗓️ Slaughterama — Saturday, July 18 · 4:20–10:00 PM (The Whale)

  Music, vendors, and actual jousting, because Asheville doesn't do subtle festival names.

• 🗓️ Gluten-Free Comedy: Cucumber Basil Edition — Saturday, July 18 · 8:00 PM (Ginger's Revenge Riverside Tasting Room) 

  Touring comedians and local favorites do stand-up with cold ginger beer on tap

• 🗓️ Take the Edge Off: Late Night Comedy — Saturday, July 18 · 10:00 PM (Eda Rhyne Distilling Company)

  A late-night comedy lineup with botanical cocktails and dark distillery energy.

🎧 Bands on the Horizon

• Eric Brace & Thomm Jutz — Wed, Jul 15 · 5:30 PM @ The Grey Eagle Patio

• TJ & Dave — Wed, Jul 15 · 7:30 PM @ The Grey Eagle

• Matt Smith's Well-Crafted Music Series with Taylor Pierson, Mike Rhodes & Tyler Householder — Wed, Jul 15 · 6 PM @ Highland Brewing Meadow

• Band of Horses + Dinosaur Jr. — Fri, Jul 17 · 7 PM @ Hellbender by The Orange Peel

• STARSEER — Fri, Jul 17 · 5:30 PM @ The Grey Eagle Patio

• Watkins — Fri, Jul 17 · 7 PM @ Highland Brewing Meadow

• Maisy Owen + Lucky Break — Sat, Jul 18 · 2 PM @ The Grey Eagle Patio

• Buck Meek — Sat, Jul 18 @ The Grey Eagle

• Watchhouse w/ Fruit Bats + Two Runner — Sat, Jul 18 · 6 PM @ Hellbender by The Orange Peel

• We Have Ignition — Sat, Jul 18 · 7 PM @ Highland Brewing Meadow

• Life Like Water — Sun, Jul 19 · 2 PM @ Highland Brewing Meadow

• Kurt Vile and The Violators w/ Being Dead — Sun, Jul 19 · 8 PM @ The Orange Peel

• NOW That's What I Call Music BINGO! — Tue, Jul 21 · 6 PM @ The Grey Eagle

Question of the Week

What's the longest you've ever waited to follow up on an estimate?

Reply and let me know. No judgment… maybe.

That's the week. Get outside, support somebody local, and reply if you're the one who's been sitting on an estimate.

And if you know somebody who should be reading this, forward them the email.

Until next week,

Jason De Los Santos
Pixelated Stories Digital Marketing
(828) 585-4293