MAIN STREET PROVIDES RESOURCES FOR BUSINESS GROWTH

By riChArd BurkArd richard@emporia.com

Emporia Main Street businesses are shifting out of coronavirus recovery mode.

“We’re getting back to where we were in 2019,” Executive Director Casey Woods said Wednesday. “Our big push in 2023 will be resource oriented.”

That means providing money and expertise to help the members grow and expand their businesses.

“That expertise is based off real data. It’s not just our opinions,” Woods said. “We’re not trying to throw out marketing fads. We’re trying to offer real help.”

One way Main Street is promoting expertise is through the Fabrication Lab, which opened last April for members at 727 Commercial Street. Woods spent time this month giving tours of it to interested people.

“We’re already seeing a lot more traffic than we would have expected,” Woods said. “We’re helping entrepreneurs and existing businesses create new products to drive traffic and diversify their sales.”

Woods said the “Fab Lab” can help businesses develop new sidelines that brings more income to the Emporia area. It includes 3D printers and scanners, large format printers, a CO2 laser engraver and electronics testing equipment.

“We have people coming in every day that have products in mind,” he said.

In 2022, it was used to create everything from the PDGA World Championship trophies to chocolate molds.

Main Street is also big on events that can attract people from around the region. The organization’s homepage shows scheduled activi - ties from mid-February through late September.

“We’ll focus on more event growth, calibrating those events to grow visitors from outside the area,” Woods said.

One local event which had immediate success in 2022 was “Show of Hands,” where potential start-ups offered pitches of their products and services to an audience willing to provide funding.

“We saw seven of the eight participants actually start their businesses or expand their businesses,” Woods said. Show of Hands will return Thursday, March 9. Applications are available now on the EMS website, and are due by Friday, Feb. 24.

Woods is also concerned about the Emporia area slowly losing population, especially young adults taking high-tech jobs in larger areas.

Emporia Main Street added the new Apella reunion weekend last summer, with activities designed to bring former Emporians back to see the jobs and opportunities available.

“We think bringing people home is an effective strategy,” Woods said.

This year’s second Apella is moving to Emporia High School homecoming weekend, Sept. 22-23.

“That was at the request of some of the different Emporia High graduating classes,” Woods explained.

“That’s our target market.” A “Family Park Party” is on the drawing board as part of that.

One large goal for Woods in 2023 is improving contacts with surrounding counties, not simply larger metropolitan areas such as Topeka and Wichita.

“We’ve got to work with our neighbors to make sure we support their needs as well,” he said.

Woods also wants the area to have a better “holistic” understanding of everything Emporia Main Street offers and does.

“I don’t think we want to be the or- ganization that just focuses on one big idea,” Woods said. “We want to be the organization that gets things done.”

Among other things, Main Street holds classes for people curious about starting their own business. A class last fall filled quickly. A new course for tech-based entrepreneurs is planned in April.

“We want to be the most entrepreneurial-friendly city in Kansas,” Woods said.

In short, Woods thinks this is a good time to start a business in Emporia. Especially if an owner thinks something locally is missing.

“Those entrepreneurs that see market gaps — something that they want here that isn’t here — it’s an opportunity for them to start that business.