Blog
A Window to your Building’s Soul
In 2004, Thomas Frank released his book "What's the Matter with Kansas?" This book held particular scorn for Emporia residents, not just because of the author's twist on the William...
20/20 Vision
Vision 2020 Emporia Main Street: Shaping the future of Emporia and Lyon County using re-development, rehabilitation and in-fill in the town center; making downtown a destination for dining, shopping, and entertainment;...
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,...
The Far Ranging Impacts of Community Design
I recently had the opportunity to attend the New Partners for Smart Growth Conference held in Portland, Oregon. I was invited to speak by a federal "smart growth" agency because of some...
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...
Survey Says!
A spot survey conducted revealed your thoughts In an effort to stay more "in tune" with your wants and needs, Emporia Main Street Special Projects Coordinator Shane Wilson recently hit...
Persistent Entrepreneur-ism
A mindset for growth, diversified income and sustained success The Emporia Main Street newsletter often focuses on how to improve existing businesses, take advantage of business opportunities (market gaps) that...
2015 Emporia Main Street Annual Meeting
The Emporia Main Street Annual Meeting tends to emulate the organization itself. We have a group of super busy people that get together to honor productivity and offer thanks to those...
