Blog
Business Enhancement
Show of Hands Year 2 – A successful entrepreneurial pitch activity is back!
Three years ago, Emporia Main Street had an opportunity to participate in a study by the Brookings Institute. The study focused on the practices of three Main Street programs in...
Fab Lab Update
The Fabrication Lab at Emporia Main Street came online in April of last year, and it has been a wild ride taking the concept to fruition. In the past eight...
Business Strategy Recalibration
We are in the heart of the holiday rush, and I know you don't need another thing to do, but what if I told you some simple notes during this...
Customer Service: It’s Kinda A BIG Deal!
Some reminders as we approach peak holiday shopping season. The defining characteristic for small businesses is often service. I know that may seem unfair as large retail operations force self...
National Emerging Business Trends
Growing opportunities for entrepreneurs. he National Main Street Center collects data from a variety of sources to highlight growth opportunities for Main Street businesses. National Program Officer, Matt Wagner, provided some...
Different Traffic, Different Trends
Measuring modes of transport for consumer behavior can enhance business outreach! Traffic counts are drivers that set a majority of development decisions for many lifestyle businesses over the 1980s and...
Navigating the Metaverse
Over the past two decades Facebook has risen to the top of its game acquiring sister applications like Instagram and WhatsApp and connecting with over 3.5 billion people globally -...
Fall Forward -Approaches for Businesses to Adjust to the Change of Season.
I know that fall doesn't officially arrive until September 22nd, but now is the time to shift your business thinking from summer to autumn. The change in consumer behavior is noticeable...
Guidelines for “R & D” (ripoff & duplicate)
Looking for business ideas in other places is a good idea, if you know where to look! Most entrepreneurs and organizations can find the ideation and decision making process overwhelming. Creativity...
Vacancy Development
Identifying our actual supply can help satisfy regional demand. Emporia Main Street worked with Simon Stewart, an Emporia State University analytics intern to develop a research project. The proposed project...
What Do Local Consumers Want?
Emporia reaches out to the general public concerning consumer preferences/wants/needs on a regular basis. Over the past two years, we have restricted those "asks" to obtain feedback on pandemic response...
Show of Hands: The Entrepreneurial Funding Opportunity for Every Business Startup or Significant Expansion in Lyon County
A couple of years ago, Emporia Main Street had an opportunity to participate in a study by the Brookings Institute. The study focused on the practices of three Main Street...
The Value of Mentorship
Mentorships are one of the oldest and most successful forms of personal and organizational development. Finding individuals that can be open and honest with you about your ideas, goals, and...
Consumer Data Collection – Some information from your customers can make a huge difference in your upcoming marketing efforts.
Retailers, restaurants, service businesses and organizations often spend a great deal of time trying to climb inside the minds of their customers. Effectively understanding how your customers think and what...
A Soft Spoken Community Win: The story of one local family that brought a building back from the brink of demolition to expand a unique local business.
Emporia is the type of community that constantly faces opportunities and threats. Individuals who go above and beyond the call often make the difference in the general direction of the...
Heal Grants for Downtown Buildings – A New State Program Can Help Specific Types of Building Rehabilitations
The Historic Economic Asset Lifeline (HEAL) grant was recently announced by the Kansas Department of Commerce. This program was developed "for the revitalization of underutilized, vacant, or dilapidated downtown buildings through the...
Experts, City Officials, Main Street Managers, and Developers from around the state talk through a type of housing that works for communities.
Communities throughout the United States are struggling with housing. Growing communities struggle to acquire land and pay for infrastructure associated with housing developments with local tax dollars. Communities with static...
Local Business to Offer Staffing Support
Emporia, KS – When the Pandemic hit, Misty Gardner (RN) found herself facing a professional and personal dilemma. Like others in her field, medical professionals were faced with grueling schedules and...
Preparing for Back to School Opportunities.
Summer is racing by and back to school is right around the corner, so it's not to soon to start planning for the school year. I know you are probably...
New Job Board for Gigs, Part-Time, Full-Time, and Freelancers!
Across multiple industries, organizational types, and work place sizes businesses, governmental entities, and nonprofits are struggling to fill positions. After some thoughtful consideration by the Emporia Main Street Board of...
Preparing for UNBOUND
We will see a huge influx of gravel riders into Emporia next week for the Unbound Cycling Event. While some travel restrictions will limit a bit of participation, we will...
What is next in the realm of Community and Economic Development?
During the National Main Street Conference, we had the opportunity to listen to a variety of different speakers and researchers tracking changes in community and economic development cultures. Understanding those...
What is the Cost of a Vacant Building?
"It's not hurting anything.""I can do whatever I want with whatever I own.""I inherited it, and I'm really not in a hurry to let it go.""It's got sentimental value.""For the...
Business Life Cycles: Where is your business at, and what is your strategy to grow?
Businesses have different lifecycles, and the strategies to support businesses can vary by business type, owner acumen, and lifecycle tools. It is important for entrepreneurs to know what lifecycle stage...
New business trends emerge from the pandemic. What should you keep moving forward?
One of the advantages of Emporia Main Street's affiliation with Kansas Main Street and the National Main Street organization is training. We consistently receive access to high quality data that...
The New Federal Stimulus – what Does it Mean for Your Business?
Smart businesses have accessed governmental and nongovernmental resources to fit their needs during the pandemic. Those resources continue to change, and some dollars are specifically targeted to industry types that...
New Kansas Main Street Incentives.
The reformation of the Kansas Main Street program within the Kansas Department of Commerce promised to provide new technical and financial resources for Main Street communities and members. Everything was...
Spring Cleaning – Getting Ready for Different Types of Business.
We aren't exactly out of winter yet. We are just one week removed from a -32 degree wind chill, but warmer weather is becoming more frequent. With the weather change,...
What Is Going On With Minimum Wage?
Legislation under consideration is generating A LOT of questions Whenever legislation that impacts businesses is considered on the federal or state level, businesses have questions. Has the legislation passed? When...
New resources come online to support businesses repairing buildings, or evolving through the pandemic.
Emporia Main Street is always on the lookout for new funding opportunities to assist local businesses. There are three programs that we are going to highlight in this e-news.The Kansas...
New data on consumer and economic behavior projections
It's the question we are continually asked by businesses and consumers: "when will this all be over?". We have to consistently remind people that the prognostications about the end of...
Start Your Own Business Class Enrolling Now!
The first class for the Start Your Own Business session is next Tuesday, October 13th. We have a few class slots open for our limited group (only 12 spots), and...
Insight Into the Strategies and Other Economic Development Professionals are Using to Build Better Economies and Communities.
Most people that know me well understand that I expect to gain something actionable from meetings, retreats, and/or conferences. Meeting simply to meet/network/"get on the same page"/etc. isn't something that...
A New Tool to Help Local Businesses and the “Gig” Economy.
Emporia Main Street communicates with other similar programs far outside of our region on a fairly consistent basis. Our emphasis on finding "like" communities, or areas that were once like...
New Assistance for Local Businesses
The City of Emporia, KS has been awarded $132,000 of funding through the Kansas Department of Commerce’s Community Development Block Grant COVID-19 Small Business Grant Program (CDBG-CV). The City of...
Consumer Pandemic Trends
The mind of the consumer during a pandemic is difficult to track. Even outside of Covid, trying to guess the wants and needs of your customers can be a full...
Some Clarity for Your Customers: Accurate information posting can reduce frustration and increase sales.
The pandemic continues to change the hours and operational standards of several small businesses in the region. Customers are wondering: Can I walk into this business? When are they open...
How Has the Pandemic Impacted Your Brand?
There are wonderful people that work very hard to understand the world around them for the benefit of others. These people aren't simply watching TV, reading commentary, or listening to...
Radical Transparency: Your customers, staff, and the general public need to hear from you in a different way RIGHT NOW
We have many positive traits in the Midwest. The people here work hard, they are punctual, people believe in teamwork, and they typically value getting things done. One of the...
Diversifying Sales Outlets. Extending Your Sales Capabilities Beyond Your Four Walls.
If there is one strategy that Covid-19 has accelerated for businesses, it is the adoption of technology to extend sales outside the traditional business physical space. Restaurants are promoting curbside...
Identifying new business pathways as the population deals with ongoing pandemic impacts
We do a lot of individual business consultations at Emporia Main Street. We prefer individual meetings for "deep dives" because we understand the unique nature of our member businesses. Recommendations...
Curbside Assistance to Businesses
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, individuals have been advised to stay away from certain business types. Restaurants, bars, retailers, and entertainment venues have been hit particularly hard by a sharp and...
Interactive Mural Encourages Community to Engage in Downtown
Last week was a fluttering of activity in downtown Emporia! The sun was shining, the weather teased of spring, Trox Gallery and Gifts held their Grand Opening and several Emporians...
THE FUTURE OF RETAIL
National trends and analysis help us project a pathway to success General technology, automated integration, and web based sales have impacted almost every industry. Retail isn't immune to changes in...
How ’bout Those CHIEFS?!?!
What lessons can we apply to our local businesses when we compare them to the Super Bowl Champs? You might have heard that a local football team won the Super...
Hitting the “Start” Button
Getting things started is an imperfect process, but it is the only way to get things done In the cold of late January, the energy and resourcefulness of entrepreneurs starts...
Valentines Day is a Month Away!
Your first shot to make some money in 2020 It seems like we all just survived the holiday season, but the calendar marches on! Valentines Day is coming up in...
2019 Year In Review!
A brief look back before we begin 2020! Emporia Main Street doesn't spend a lot of time looking backward in time. We've found that too much time looking behind you...
