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Business Enhancement
Holiday Security
The prime holiday push is upon us, and all the extra traffic is great for business. Busy stores produce great sales opportunities, but they are also prime targets for those...
The Next Step
Several people ask "when are you moving" on a weekly basis. Rather than a simple "Did you know" question at the bottom of the newsletter, we thought we would take...
Solvency & the Lorax
Occasionally, I'll throw pictures of a little blonde three year old (going on four- going on twenty-six) into the e-newsletter. That little spit-fire is my daughter, Brynn. She is at...
Brand Based Businesses
Discussions with new entrepreneurs reflect the overwhelming number of decisions they must make as their business grows. Businesses that have been open a few years have staff that often talk...
Summer is Here! What can this mean for your business?
For many of us Summer time brings a sense of a time to relax, kids at home, endless tubes of sunscreen, road trips, crunchy hair from too much pool time,...
Back to School!
The end of summer vacation is in sight, and people are preparing for the start of another school year. Teachers and administrators are working hard preparing facilities and lesson plans....
A New Development Downtown
Emporia Downtown Redevelopment Group, LLC announced a major new addition to downtown Emporia. The Roosevelt Plaza & Lofts & Legacy Lofts, a new mixed use development containing forty-seven residential units...
Summer is Here!
For many of us Summer time brings a sense of a time to relax, kids at home, endless tubes of sunscreen, road trips, crunchy hair from too much pool time,...
How to DK
Big events are now a "thing" in Emporia. We have a series of international events that draw thousands of people into the community, but we need your help to keep...
Building a Better Bullpen
Entrepreneurs are people that spot an opportunity and find a way to take advantage of it. They are problem solvers. Entrepreneurs are the "doers" of a community. Beyond the concepts...
Planning your Human Resource Assets
Small business owners often start with only one or two employees, and then they grow their businesses. Because of their humble beginnings, some entrepreneurs have a difficult time with human...
Turning Events into Marketing Opportunities
How can it be that March already? Although January and February are historically slower months for Emporia Main Street (we are still waiting to see that slow time), the spring and...
Merchandising your Brand
The best businesses inspire emotions that go beyond a simple "this is where I buy some of my products or services." People feel a connection to great businesses, organizations and...
Target your Involvement
As we roll out of the first month of the year, many of us on a personal or business level have made a New Year's resolution to make a social...
Planning your Intro
Most businesses get hectic during the Christmas season. Of course retailers are busy, but restaurants see an uptick and many service businesses also see increased traffic as people are assessing...
A look at our market
As we head into 2017, many businesses are looking for additional market opportunities. Entrepreneurs looking at the local market are identifying areas where they can be competitive. Markets are complex...
2016 Year in Review
Emporia Main Street works with a variety of members and partners to push new initiatives and create new opportunities every year. We appreciate everyone's support as we work to create...
Are you following up?
When working with local businesses and businesses in other communities, we often get the question "how do we get more customers?". The "more customers" conversation usually comes from businesses that...
Donation Dilemma
A lot of businesses are getting "hit up" for donations this year, sometimes four and five times a day. Although they want to give to everyone, the process can be...
December: A Survival Guide
Thursday is December 1st-can you believe it? This month is historically one of the (if not the biggest) retail and dinning out months of the year! As shoppers gear up...
10 Tips for Holiday Shopping Success
For many businesses, holidays are the make-or-break season, but this crucial time of year can easily sneak up on you. It's time to get ready now, before you get overwhelmed...
Everyone wants to know how to best reach our youth…
The old model of working with youth was based on segmentation. A more established group of individuals would tell younger folks what to do, and as they earned their stripes,...
Empowering Your Employees
In the fourth quarter, most businesses find themselves in a flurry of activity with promotions, events, and seasonal help. In previous articles we have discussed the importance of finding a balance between work and...
Balancing Act
Entrepreneurs are people. Although business people sometimes seem like they can do it all, the extra time spent at a successful business can strain time normally made available for family...
Taking Advantage of Connecting with Customers
As a small business owner, there are several ways to market to your existing and potential customer base. Conventional ways can be found through radio and on air promotions and...
Don’t Let Them Steal Your Focus
We occasionally get requests for articles on specific topics, and this week's article fulfills one such request. As downtowns grow their business base and popularity, they often will experience "growing pains". Increases in foot traffic, parking...
Interviewing: You Need to Be Prepared Too
Well first things first. For those of you that don't know me, my name is Jess Buchholz and I am the "new" Community Development Director at Emporia Main Street. My...
A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned
Help is available to make homes more energy efficient for low-income families in Lyon County* through the ECKAN Weatherization Program. This help is provided at no cost to those who...
Thanks For Making Us Number One
A little preface to the press release we sent out in conjunction with the award announcement: The Top 10 Best Main Streets Award nominees were chosen by a panel of...
Four Point Refresh
Those of you that are familiar with the Main Street concept understand that we have a four point strategic approach. The four points are: Organization- Capacity Building, volunteer recruitment,...
Creating Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
For those of you that haven't attended a summit style meeting, there are speakers and panels present, but there are also a series of break out sessions where attendees essentially...
A Better Community Fabric
Getting a community to work together to accomplish something tangible isn't easy. Sure, people can sit around a table and talk, but when it comes to actually doing something... Well,...
Independent Success
Independent businesses are obviously a huge part of the fabric of our community in Emporia. For years, stagnation and low occupancy rates crippled the downtown area, but as focus has...
The Response to Difficult Customers
As executive director of Main Street, I have been responsible for the majority of these newsletters and the articles contained in them for about seven years now. Most of these...
Utilizing Facebook Ads
Advertising today looks much different than it did even five years ago. Online advertising reaches more people more quickly than traditional advertising and usually costs less. Its no wonder business...
Changing the Way We Think Creates Lasting Solutions
The Emporia Main Street office receives calls, emails and social media outreach each week from communities seeking advice or assistance. When they talk to us about a specific project or...
Why Shop Small?
Among all of the "shop local", "small business Saturday", "shop small" and other directive advertisements over the last few weeks, something was missing.. That something was the "why" behind those...
A Tax Break Opportunity
Thriving communities develop unique ways to enhance the ability of local entrepreneurs to start up and expand. Local businesses simply do more business locally. They hire local accountants, utilize local...
Holiday Retail 101
Because fourth quarter sales help push retailers into the black (profitability), the day after Thanksgiving is referred to as "black Friday". But, many retailers and restaurants miss the mark when...
The Future of Point of Sale
Revolutionizing an Integrated & Seamless Buying Experience By Shane Wilson - Special Projects Coordinator Remember this old thing? During its time and place, it served a very valuable purpose -...
The Donation Dilemma
Giving purpose to your donation strategy By Shane Wilson - Special Projects Coordinator Let's face it - it's the time of year where every business is seemingly bombarded with donation...
Millennials – Generation “Why?”
The "Me Me Me Generation" & Our Community By Shane Wilson - Special Projects Coordinator At Emporia Main Street, we have daily discussions about how to move the community forward...
Are You An Artisan Or An Entrepreneur?
The vast majority of the articles included in the newsletter are geared towards businesses and organizations. I thought we'd take a break from that for a week to simply explain...
The Future Economy
Are you (and your business) prepared? Part of the Economic Restructuring point requires us to "look ahead" for future economic trends based on social, technological, environmental, governmental or demographic projections....
Seven Deadly Mistakes That Impact Your Business
Mid-sized communities definitely have their advantages. We get the best of the "small town feel" while we have a variety of different business and organizational opportunities available. Within smaller communities,...
Social Media Insights
Get the most out of your online engagement efforts! By Shane Wilson - Special Projects Coordinator Buffer. SocialBro. Bubbly. Frilp. Am I making up words on the spot, or is...
Building a Business Culture
Modern successful businesses are focused on lifestyle branding - are you? Through the Start Your Own Business Class, countless business start up meetings, and business funding programs, I've had the...
Back to School
Tips to capture an important market! While at the Anderson Building dedication on Sunday, I ran into an area teacher that was speaking with a group of friends. An individual...
