BARTLESVILLE, Okla. — A network of small businesses in Bartlesville are working together to promote each other through events.  

Tori Shipley, the owner of Early Bird Market, created Downtown Bartlesville Merchant Group to help build a community for small businesses.  

"Everyone can come together and support one another," Shipley said. "All of us have collaborated and put a network together so that we can plan and build a community in the downtown area." 

One of the goals of the group is to create events that bring people to each small business. Bibian Martin, the co-owner of New Horizon Therapeutics, said she hopes the events bring awareness to local businesses.  

"We are really the backbone of our communities, it takes lots of sacrifice, lots of work to make a business grow and be successful,” Martin said. “When you have other people coming along with you to do the same thing we are working towards, the same goal, it’s just super exciting to be a part of." 

Saturday, six local downtown Bartlesville businesses hosted the group's first event, ‘Shop, Dine, Unwind.’ Shipley said this was just the start.  

"We are starting small and then as we get better at collaborating, visiting and talking with each other and putting these things into use, we are going to do bigger and better events,” Shipley said. "If we are all working together as business owners, the community will want to support us and for us to be supported. We have to rely on them to come." 

Martin said she’s excited for the future of the group.  

"We are looking forward to learning from each other just seeing where it goes, because we have been needing this very much and it’s exciting to get started,” she said. 

The groups next event will be on Mother’s Day and will feature more local businesses from the downtown area.