Blog
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...
Pump Up Your Customer Service!
Simple ways you can create a better experience for your customers (leading to more traffic and better sales). We are in a weird consumer transitional time nationally and locally. Early...
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...
Transparency in Design: Seeing is believing (and makes you more accessible to your consuming public).
Our brains are hardwired with certain needs and preconceptions as we interact with our environment. Thousands of years of evolution have provided our subconscious with ways to help us judge...
Murals are More Than Paint
The Kansas Main Street network offers several different specialized trainings on topics relevant to community and economic development. Talking to area specialists on specialized topics can give us a better...
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...
Emporia Main Street Hires Fabrication Lab Manager
Emporia, KS – There is a new face in the Emporia Main Street Fab Lab. Harford native and Flint Hills Technical College graduate, Jeremy Wharton, started his position as the new...
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...
New Murals Installed Downtown
As we try to kick start 2022, we are excited to announce the installation of two new interactive murals downtown.In the spring of 2020 Emporia Main Street worked with Coffelt...
Year In Review -2021
The 2021 year started with some promise. Vaccines were coming on the market; restrictions meant to help our health care systems were starting to loosen up in the spring; and...
Christmas is on Saturday, and that day/date combination can change things for businesses.
When Christmas lands on a Saturday it can cause some adjustments for the before Christmas shopper, and after Christmas crowds. A lot of the consumer behavior adjustments are actually good...
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...
