Christine Carr’s profession requires her to people-watch. Whether at a cafe or a rest stop off Interstate 93, she watches for consumer patterns to understand what tourists and Granite Staters want.

With that information, Carr works to put New Hampshire local businesses on the map.

With her entrepreneurial background and love for her home state, Carr created Hidden Local NH, a website that highlights curated small businesses, artisans, events, and off-the-beaten-path locations.

“We’re sort of mapping that out and making sure people don’t miss those things when they drive through,” she said.

After closing the Village Art Cafe in Hillsborough with her friend and business partner, Paula Kay Kerouac, earlier this year, Carr launched Hidden Local in April.

Now, when not traveling around the state, Carr works out of Kerouac’s new business, Village Art Annex in Antrim.

Entrepreneurial spirit

Before returning to New Hampshire, Carr worked for a decade at Canadian Technology Accelerators in Boston, where she mentored entrepreneurs on customer engagement.

“Most of my life and my career has been around helping small businesses accelerate their growth,” she said.

While working in Boston, she learned the importance of a collaborative network of businesses, which she hopes to cultivate on Hidden Local.

“The aim of the business is to scale the number of companies that are in what I call the network,” Carr said. “I think small businesses realize their voice is bigger when there’s more of them.”

Eileen Belanger, owner of The Cider Mill Gallery in New Boston, began working with Carr in early September, hoping to promote her art and gallery.

“It is early in my membership, but I am pleased with the exposure. I am hoping to be marketed to a wider customer base,” Belanger said. “I am not very media-savvy, so I appreciate a means to publicize my work and business.”

Each week, Carr visits one or two towns to explore businesses, meet artisans, and people-watch.

“I’m laying all of these little areas out for people, I’m watching where they go, and then I’m watching the breadcrumbs they leave behind,” she said.

Whether she’s visiting a town, village, or city in New Hampshire, Carr looks closely at geography, tourism, store placement, and downtown organization.

“I can’t really understand the culture or the vibe of a business unless I’m there,” she said.

Now, eight local businesses pay a $49 monthly fee for promotion on Hidden Local and for Carr’s marketing experience.

“Owners are very good at what they do, but they don’t have enough time to really market and promote themselves,” she said.

Over time, Carr hopes to gather enough data from local businesses to identify patterns in customer engagement and anticipate their interests ahead of time.

To learn more about her work, visit hiddenlocalnh.com.