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The Shifting Market – What to watch as you reposition your business
It sounds trite to repeat the old adage that "the only constant in life is change", but it's true. For entrepreneurs, the ability to manage changing markets, consumer expectations, legislative...
Upcoming Opportunities – RSVP or Sign Up for Some Chances to GROW!
Emporia Main Street listens to our community partners, particularly when they express an interest in learning more about a topic, improving traffic, or generating community pride. With that said, there...
Spring Cleaning Mentality – Looking forward to a new opportunities in the second quarter
The first quarter has been weird. Strange weather patterns caused more shut downs and traffic variability than in recent memory. Local, regional, and national trends have people attempting to keep...
When Windows are More Than Windows – The impact of revitalization efforts and the choice to reinvest
Legend has it that the American Revolution was planned in a pub. While that may seem like a random way to start an article, it perfectly underscores an exciting transformation...
Grant Opportunities – One local and one regional grant workshop may help set area organizations and communities up for successful projects
Two grant workshops recently opened for registration that can help organizations and communities seek funding for related projects. Utilizing alternative finance is important as we seek to build a better...
The Big Picture – How our strategies impact the tax base
At a recent meeting, we discussed various economic approaches, and it became clear that many people don't see the connection between our development choices and the tax base. This realization...
BOOMS Tracker – A new more extensive inventory system to allow for more building assistance.
Federal and state assistance programs work at a much faster pace than a decade ago. New incentives may pop up with a very limited timeframe in which to act on...
Show of Hands. The 4th Annual Business Pitch Event.
Five 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...
User Stats for 2024. Understanding Shifts in the Marketplace.
Third party analytics are an important part of understanding the local market. Understanding how consumers react to a region can help businesses adjust hours, staffing, marketing plans, product/service priorities, and...
2024 Year In Review
Here’s a comprehensive bullet point list of accomplishments for the Emporia Main Street program from January through December 2024, organized by month: January 2024 Submitted year-end reports to the state....
K-State Selects Emporia Main Street for K-State 105 Entrepreneurial Blueprint Initiative!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Emporia, KS — Emporia Main Steet is one of 11 projects across Kansas that has been selected for the first cohort of the K-State 105 Entrepreneurial Blueprint...
Local Partners Launch Beyond the Banners Volume II -Publication Honors over 400 Service Men & Women
Emporia, KS — Emporia Main Street, KVOE Radio Stations, and IM Design Group are proud to announce the release of the second edition of Beyond the Banners, a commemorative book celebrating over...
Fourth Quarter Entrepreneur Skills-What areas should you focus on improving as the holidays approach?
Inside the Emporia Main Street office, we often talk about "coaching" skills and improvement. A lot is asked of today's entrepreneurs, and understanding the skills that small businesses need to...
Grant Opportunities – Financing Available for Special Projects
Grants are relatively rare and require a well thought out plan, the ability to execute, matching funding, and adherence to grant parameters. Dollars invested through grant platforms are generally designed...
How are metrics looking half way through 2024?
Can you believe we are half way through 2024? As we gear up for an August through December run that is chalk full of initiatives, let's take a moment to...
Business & Organizational Evolution- How Are You Changing to Meet Different Needs?
It's interesting how seemingly unrelated fields can help us improve entrepreneurship. Small businesses are often cited as part of an "ecosystem" by modern business experts, and the reference to a...
The Charge: Community Connectivity.
Main Street programs impact several elements of the community. We train and finance entrepreneurs, help develop the physical spaces of communities, develop and execute promotional activities, enhance volunteer efforts to...
Emporia Main Street Nominated for Best main Street in the Nation-Cast YOUR Vote Today!
A panel of industry experts and editors at USA TODAY 10Best Readers' Choice Awards has chosen Emporia, KS as a nominee for Best Main Street. The intention of this award is to celebrate...
Show of Hands! The third year of the business pitch event will feature a new location, new concepts, and some new support elements!
Four 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...
2024 Annual Public Improvement Auction – this Saturday
Emporia Main Street is a local non-profit organization (501C 6) that focuses on both economic vitality and community development to Emporia and the surrounding area. Proceeds from the evening will...
New Year, New Business Opportunities
A calendar change often presents the opportunity for a symbolic shift in attitude. A reset button that corresponds with a clock striking midnight can be a great thing for business...
December – It’s Fine, I’m Fine, We’re Fine!
I don’t know about everyone else, but those ten plus inches of snow on Small Business Saturday really put a damper on the launch of the Holly Jolly season. Casey...
2023 Veterans Banner Placements
We are excited to announce that all the Veterans Banners are officially hung for 2023! Click here for the Veterans Banners 2023 list for the downtown banner map. Click esu banner list for the...
HEAL Grant Updates: A Huge Opportunity for Qualifying Downtown Projects.
The Department of Commerce and Kansas Legislature are working through the Office of Rural Opportunity, Kansas Main Street and the State Historic Preservation Office for a new round of the...
Capacity Building-Long term regional improvements require a strategic approach.
Community building is a lot like any other investing. You need a diverse portfolio, it's important to grow your own wealth as opposed to hoping someone just gives wealth to...
Building Momentum: Achieving Results
In today's rapidly changing world, rural communities, faced with the challenge of keeping up with the ever-evolving economic landscape, must respond to these challenges by adopting innovative approaches and generating...
Unbound Gravel – Expo and Finish Line Festival Details.
You might have noticed some extra lycra in town with new cyclists getting their legs ready for the Unbound Gravel events. There are a variety of things you need to...
Thinking Ahead: How futurism can help you build a better business or organization.
I'm kind of a nerd. I admit it. Growing up I watched and read a healthy diet of science fiction that fed my personality. As a Gen X'er, the science...
Emporia Main Street Names as an 2023 Accredited Program!
EMPORIA MAIN STREET RECEIVES 2023 MAIN STREET AMERICA ACCREDITATION Emporia, Kansas (May 2, 2023) – Emporia Main Street has been designated as an Accredited Main Street America™ program for meeting rigorous...
Identifying the top threats to rural small businesses, and what Main Street is doing to mitigate issues.
In businesses and organizational speak; many leaders use a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats). For those with the mind of an entrepreneur, they understand that a "threat" and an...
How Can Your Business Thrive with Upcoming Events?
Over the past several years, people have wondered aloud about the same strange behavioral issue. They say, "Casey, I don't understand why people park the equivalent of two blocks away...
One perception changing conference session that people need to understand
I'm more of an evidence based thinker. I am willing to change my mind or stance on an issue if there is data to back up a shift, so it's...
Changes in Property Use- New data highlights a changing landscape in commercial property.
The ability to track form and function of property in relation to traffic gives us better tools to guide development. Property usage evolves over time. Buildings function differently than they...
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...
2022 Year in Review
Year end reviews are important. We take time to converse with staff, volunteers, and advocates to cover activities on a monthly basis, look at metrics, and determine if we met...
Downtown Emporia Looking Merry and Bright
Local Organization, Foundation and City Government Collaborate on Holiday Décor Refurbishment project. Emporia, KS – As another Holiday season fast approaches, Emporia Main Street, The City of Emporia, and the...
Rural Rise Rewind – Lessons learned and connections made during the summit.
Last week we had national leaders in the realm of "entrepreneurial ecosystem" building that attended the third Rural Rise Summit. The first summit took place in a very small community (700...
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 -...
Back to School – Support Local Educators & Businesses
August is here and that means school is right around the corner. Although we have several large events that pull people into the area during summer months, I think we...
Leadership Goals for the Coming Year
One of the best parts of the Emporia Main Street Annual Meeting is honoring award recipients. We always enjoy highlighting the doers in the community. Another favorite part of the...
Make growing our local educational institutions a community affair!
Students contribute substantially to our local economy. They are renters, customers, employees, volunteers, event attendees, and may become permanent residents. Each student that moves to the area contributes approximately $15,000...
Imaginarium to be Next Business in Emporia Main Street Incubator Space
Emporia, KS – The Incubator Space at Emporia Main Street will be filling up soon with engineering materials, robotics, and science supplies for kids to tinker with. Founded by two certified teachers,...
Emporia Main Street RECEIVES 2022 MAIN STREET AMERICA ACCREDITATION
Emporia Main Street has been designated as an Accredited Main Street America™ program for meeting rigorous performance standards. Each year, Main Street America and its partners announce the list of...
The 22-23 Membership Year is HERE!
New Year, New Name and Things Are Looking Up! Time to register. As we move into another year for our community and Emporia Main Street, we say things are “Looking...
Unbound Gravel Slate of Activities.
The basics about scheduling and activities this week for the Unbound Cycling event. A lot of people have asked about various elements of the Unbound Gravel event over the past...
Information from the Main Street Now Conference that we can use in our region.
It has been two years since Main Street America was able to host their national conference due to pandemic protocols. Staff and volunteers were able to attend this year's Main...
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...
Shop Local for Mother’s Day
With events, proms, upcoming graduation ceremonies and more we thought that it was very important to deliver a critical message: DON'T FORGET MOM!!! This Sunday is Mother's Day, and it...
Upcoming Event Street/Lot Closures. Emporia has A LOT of activities coming up in the next few weeks; here are the closures you need to know about.
Event season is in full swing, and that means street and parking lot closures will occur for certain activities during certain times of the day. Please look through the following...
