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 Emporia Main Street Calendar of Events 

February 8

Promotions Meeting

8:00 a.m. in the Emporia Main street office.

Design Meeting

Noon in the Emporia Main Street office.

February 13

RAIL Meeting

4:00 p.m. in the Emporia Main Street office.

February 14

Start Your Own Business Class at

Flint Hills Technical College

February 15

Board Meeting

8:00 a.m. in the Emporia Main Street office.

February 18

Historic District Meeting

9:00 a.m. in Topeka

 February 22

Business Enhancement Meeting

8:00 a.m. in the Emporia Main Street office.

Home Based Business Meeting

12:30 p.m. in the Emporia Main Street office.

March 17

St. Patrick's Day Parade in downtown Emporia

April 1-4

National Main Street Conference- Baltimore, MD

April 13-15

Glass Blown Open Disc Golf Tournament by Dynamic Discs

April 19-20

Kansas Main Street Quarterly Training, Dodge City

April 21

The Taste

Civic Auditorium

May 19

Downtown Car Show by the Flatland Cruisers

June 2

The Dirty Kanza

June 9th

Symphony in the Flint Hills

  
Do you have an upcoming event for your business or organization?  Let Emporia Main Street  know and we may include it on our upcoming calendars! 

Benefactors 

The City of Emporia

Lyon County

Bobby D's BBQ

Caribbean Sun Tanning

CoreFirst Bank & Trust

The Emporia Gazette

ESB Financial

Emporia's Radio

StationsKVOE, 104.9, Country 101.7

Longbine Auto Plaza

Roberts Blue Barnett Funeral Home

T2 Verizon Wireless

AKA Marketing/The Sports Fan

Amanda's Bakery

Applebee's

Ash, LLC.

Atherton & Huth Attorney at Law

Barden & Thompson

Bath Expressions

Bennett Dental Group

Best Western Hospitality House

Brown's Shoe Fit Co.

C & J Woodworks

Cable One

Cable One Advertising

Capitol Federal

Cassell Insurance

Chester Press, Inc.

Clark Carpet & Tile

Coffelt Sign Co. 

Commercial Street Diner

Complete Works

Country Mart/Price Chopper

Dan's Hands

Dorsey & Wise Family Eye Care

Douglas Chiropractic Center

Dynamic Disks

Emporia Chamber of Commerce

Emporia State Federal Credit Union

ESU Memorial Union

E-Town Solutions

First Community Bank

Flint Hills Eye Care Associates

Flint Hills Lanes

Flint Hills Music

Flint Hills Tech College

Flint Hills Mall

Forget Me Not Productions

Four Seasons Apartments

Furniture Loft

Genesis Health Club

George Groh & Sons

Gerald Schumann Electric

Glendo

Granada Coffee Company

Granada Plaza & Lofts

Graves Drug Store

Hair Krafters

Helbert & Allemang Attorney's at Law

High Gear Cyclery

Hornet Residential

IM Design Group

Inno-Vest Corporation

Java Cat 5

Jimmy John's

Kansas Radio 96.1 The Wave

Kari's Diamonds by Design

KISS 103.1

Krueger & Williams Law Office

L & L Pets

Little Acorns

Little Caesers Pizza

Lyon County State Bank

Lyon County Title

Marion National Bank

Mark II Lumber

Mathis Physical Therapy

McDonald's on 6th Ave.

McKinzie Pest Control

Menu Foods Midwest Corp.

Midas Touch Golden Tans

Modern Air Conditioning

Muckenthaler, Inc.

Nature's Paradise

Navrat's Office Products

Pizza Ranch

Plum Bazaar

Poehler Mercantile

Pool & Wright

Prairie Sage Apartments

Prairie Land Partners

Pro Cuts

Pyramid Pizza

Redi Upholstry

Redline Trucking

Ru Yi

Sauder Custom Fabrication

Scheller's Lawn & Landscape

Simmons Pet Food

SS Graham Insurance Agency

Stanley Jewelry

Studio 11

Subway

Sunflower Gymnastics

Symmonds & Symmonds Attorney at Law

The Help Desk

The Henrikson Team

The Medicine Shoppe

The Sweet Granada

The Villiger

The White Rose Inn

Thompson Auto Repair

Toso Appraisal Service

Total Technology, LLC

Town Crier Bookstore

Town Royal

Wash House

Water's True Value

Westar Energy

Wheat State Pizza

Williams Automotive

 Big Brothers Big Sisters

Community Theatre of Emporia

Corner House

Emporia Arts Council

Emporia Farmer's Market

Emporia Granada Theatre Alliance

Emporia High School Future Business Leaders of America

Emporia Public Library

ESU Foundation

Small Business Development Center

First Presbyterian Church

Flint Hills Optimists Club

Jayhawk Area Council (Scouts)

Lyon County Historical Society

National Teachers Hall of Fame

Plumb Place

The United Way 

Boyzen Bunny Fiber Arts- Tracey Graham

Energy Innovators

Family Jewels-

Leticia Rust

Gold Canyon Candle- Stephanie Morgan

Green Door Recycling- Amy Becker

Independant Longaberger Consultant- Judith Dieker

Interdependent Web- Ben Stallings

Joe the Furniture Doctor- Joe Kurzen

Kynda Kreative- Amanda Mendoza

Mary Kay- Brenda Braynard

Pampered Chef- Chelsea Gerleman

Patti Cakes- Patti Lipson

Paula's Creations

Paula Roper

Premier Designs Jewelry- Nikki Simmons

RossTography

Mike Ross

Scentsy- Deann Rose

Scentsy- Kelly Long

Stampin-Up

Darcy Johnson

Tastefully Simple- Vanessa Apodaca 

Anne Strobel

Brad Harzman

Dale and Carolyn Davis

Erin Woods

Fred and Patricia Gilligan

Julie Johnson

Kayla Oney

Mark & Amy McAnarney

Mary & Tim Helmer

Matt & Val Zimmerman

Pam & Fred Stephenson

Peggy Mast

Rob Gilligan

Sue Blechl

Tyler and Melanie Curtis

Victoria Partridge 

Emporia Main Street E- Newsletter

The Start Your Own Business Class is a joint effort between Flint Hills Technical College, the Small Business Development Center at Emporia State University and Emporia Main Street.  Classes run from February 14th through March 15th. For more information on the class CLICK HERE! 

The Taste is April 21 at the Civic Auditorium in Downtown Emporia.  Last year, we sold out of Tickets...  We want to make sure that YOU have the first chance to purchase Taste Tickets, so you can either contact the Emporia Main Street office, or click HERE for the on-line purchase option! 

Flint Hills Mall Upcoming Events

"Cutest Couple Contest"....Entries taken at the Mall up to February 9th, with the Winner announced on February 11th.  The Winner receives a "$100 Gift Certificate" to the Mall!

"3rd Annual Kansas Hunting & Fishing Expo"....March 3rd & 4th .   Activities for all ages.

Last week, reached out to a few entrepreneurial prospects for Emporia (two contacts were positive, one changed direction and wasn't interested at this time), we met with a potential large scale developer, we hosted a board meeting, we met with an individual looking to save/adaptively reuse an area building, we had an area business pick our brain for product development, we met with a group looking to create an art event in June, we discussed development theory with the East Side Coalition, we met with a couple of groups concerning a potential community wide mobile application group project, we discussed alternative financing techniques with city officials on potential upcoming projects, we spoke with a couple of potential new members and we participated in a Department of Commerce training session on Economic Restructuring and Promotion.  All weeks are busy, but last week was even more hectic than normal...  But, it provided us with good questions from all of you!

1.  "What is the best way to set an appointment with you?"  From a business member.   Generally, e-mail is the best way to contact me for an appointment.  I check the main.street@emporia-kansas.gov account before, during and after work both on week days and week ends.  I don't mind meeting before or after traditional working hours.  An e-mail contact allows for file sharing and other information that can provide a more productive meeting.  As always, walk-ins are more than welcome, but with a very small staff and a demanding schedule, I want to make sure that we are available and give you the attention you deserve.  We have a lot of businesses that are looking at expanding, potential new businesses looking at Emporia as a place to open a business and other businesses that are going through normal (but complex) growing pains.  If we don't have the office covered, it means that we are off site trying to help someone just like you, but all of our members are important.  So, if you need anything at all, please contact us and we will do what we can to help. 
 

2.  "When do Taste Tickets go on-sale?"  From a few e-mails. Right now...  The Taste is on April 21st from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Civic Auditorium in downtown Emporia.  For those of you that have never attended a Taste Event, the event consists of local food vendors, area music and Kansas Wineries, Breweries and Distilleries available for a "Taste".  Tickets are $35, and we do have a cap (last year we sold out), so make sure you purchase your tickets EARLY.  Click HERE for the on-line purchase option, or you can contact the Emporia Main Street office to purchase tickets.  

3.  "What all does your "consulting" work entail?" From a business member. Emporia Main Street has always worked hard to adapt to the needs of our members.  Instead of constantly pulling you into our office, we generally create tools that reach out to you.  Instead of events focused on 12 E. 5th Avenue, we are much more likely to promote events out in the community in areas where businesses can receive benefits.  Instead of a "one-size-fits-all" approach, we are much more likely to adapt to the individual needs of our members.  Last week, we sat down with a few members (some in our office, some at their businesses and some on "neutral" territory).  During those meetings, we talked about concerns and opportunities for each of the businesses and different ways we could help.  Sometimes, the help we provide is natural.  Our office has a wealth of experience in certain areas.  Sometimes, the help a business needs is beyond our initial skill set but within the skill set of our Main Street network.  In those instances, we research and connect businesses to give them the tools and information they need for success.  No individual or organization is omnipotent, but it is our job within our membership to do more than invite people to events, shake their hands and say "good luck".  We need to actively put you into a position to achieve success, and for that, we encourage you to communicate what you need with us.  Over time, those stated needs consistently are: money, expertise on emerging trends, customer traffic, jobs and a litany of more business specific areas.  Within our tool box, we try hard to meet your individual and group needs without the generic "we are pro-business" (who isn't?), "we are pro-Emporia" (again, who isn't?) or "we are pro-growth" (everyone is, but what does that mean?).  We want to work with you to create real results through benchmarked steps.  Contact us if you need specific help, or simply comment on areas where you see additional effort needed. 

4.  "What do you think is the best area for our business?" From business person looking to locate in Emporia. Location, location, location...  While not the end-all-be-all of business success, location is a significant contributing factor.  The problem is, successful geographic placement goes well beyond traffic counts or square footage.  One of the most important factors for successful long term business placement is the development of "nodes" or "clusters" of like businesses.  We see a significant disconnect nationally in this type of "node" behavior for several reasons.  1. It is counterintuitive (why would I want to be close to a perceived competitor?).  2.  It is sometimes more difficult to achieve a real estate transaction.  3.  It is an area of development that just isn't taught much.  But, the evidence is clear.  Entrepreneurs are more successful when they locate around other entrepreneurs.  Like businesses should locate around each other, simply because shared traffic improves everyone's sales.  Businesses that can share demographic customer groups can also help achieve success for everyone in the area. 

Generally speaking, independents that try and mix it up with identified "chain" areas have a higher failure rate.  Similarly, businesses that locate within close proximity of similar business types (ownership structure and products/services offered) have a higher success rate).  Of course there are exceptions to every rule, but we are seeing national trending against the "freestanding independent" and certain development types are simply going away.  Furthermore, we see evidence of big boxes targeting subset groups of businesses that pop up in their proximity (phones, games, tech, clothing), and it is hard to form a cooperative environment with those that seek to dominate the market.

So, when asking yourself where should you locate, answer these basic questions: 1. Are their owners like me in this area?  2.  Are their businesses like mine in this area?  3.  Are their target customers like specific targeted audience in this area?  Then add the items like rent, if you have to share your sales percentage with the property owner, traffic counts, resources available, atmosphere and more to your decision making process.  Those of us working in commercial development need to understand that honest answers to these questions lead to more long term community success. 

5. "What is your conversion rate for entrepreneurs (how many do you work with versus how many start businesses)?" From a Main Street Volunteer.  Working with entrepreneurs is a difficult process.  From a volunteer standpoint, people want to know how many "leads" are converted into store-front businesses.  My answer is "around 40%"  While that number may sound low, people need to understand that sometimes we work with potential entrepreneurs that simply can't achieve their concept because of financing, unrealistic market expectations or lack of commitment (many people are shocked at the hours most entrepreneurs work).  Frankly, I would rather an entrepreneur learn about their commitment level during business planning, cash flow analysis and conversations within their industry than simply going into their business concept "blind".  The follow up to that question from this particular volunteer focused on "frustration" and "wasting time".  

Frustration is a natural emotion, especially when you see a really solid business concept where the potential entrepreneur simply won't pull the trigger, but working with entrepreneurs is NEVER a waste of time.  I'm in economic development.  It's what I choose to do.  If I start dictating that I want to only work with certain business types that meet certain criteria during certain time frames, its time for another occupation.  Some of the entrepreneurs that decide against opening a businesses offer referrals to others they are connected to, or they eventually decide to open a business (either their original concept, or something completely different).  I always learn something by helping an entrepreneur through the development process, and you are assured of failure if you don't try.