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Marion, Iowa © Tasha Sams
We work in collaboration with thousands of local partners and grassroots leaders across the nation who share our commitment to advancing shared prosperity, creating resilient economies, and improving quality of life.
Emporia, Kansas © Emporia Main Street
Made up of small towns, mid-sized communities, and urban commercial districts, the thousands of organizations, individuals, volunteers, and local leaders that make up Main Street America™ represent the broad diversity that makes this country so unique.
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In January, Main Street America announced the launch of the Where It Starts: Breaking Barriers to Business project, a $6.3 million, multi-year program to strengthen small businesses and open career pathways for individuals in five cohort cities across the U.S. Funded by the Truist Foundation and in partnership with Living Cities, the program will uplift entrepreneurs by providing them with tools and resources as well as collaboration opportunities with community leaders to break down barriers for local small business owners. The five cohort cities are Atlanta, Ga., Charlotte, N.C., Memphis, Tenn., Nashville, Tenn., and Miami, Florida. Within each city, Main Street America and Living Cities are partnering with select corridors to deepen their impact with local support.
Throughout the duration of the program, we will be featuring each city’s corridor to highlight the work they’re doing to support and uplift local business owners and entrepreneurs. We’ll also tap into how the Breaking Barriers to Business program will help develop, strengthen, and grow their existing resources. To kick off this series of articles, we’re featuring The Allapattah Collaborative (TAC), a historic neighborhood and the only Main Street community in the city of Miami.
Allapattah, located northwest of Downtown Miami, is one of Miami’s oldest and most diverse neighborhoods. Allapattah is also home to Little Santo Domingo, an area along the 17th Avenue commercial corridor that has been revitalized by Dominican immigrants. According to TAC’s website, “The area has gone through many transitions regarding its population and prosperity. Until the 1950s, the neighborhood was primarily populated by non-Hispanic white individuals, but the construction of I-95 through Overtown led to the migration of black individuals to the area. It would later become home to an influx of Cuban immigrants following the Cuban Revolution in 1959 and then an influx of Dominicans in the 1980s and 1990s. Allapattah is now considered a melting pot of residents from the Caribbean and Latin America.” To read more about Little Santo Domingo's historic business legacy, see this recent article from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The neighborhood is continuing to undergo significant transformation. Allapattah is currently a largely working-class area, with 8 out of 10 households qualifying as low- and middle-income. The historic neighborhood is now beginning to see signs of gentrification and displacement due to rising rental costs for both residential and commercial properties. Real estate developers and investors are beginning to show increased interest in the area due to its proximity to high-demand areas like Miami’s Downtown, Edgewater, and Wynwood, along with its relatively high elevation above sea level. Due to the rising threat of overdevelopment and displacement, the neighborhood was designated on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places for 2023.
According to TAC Executive Director Mileyka Burgos-Flores, displacement of residents and business owners and cultural erasure are among the critical challenges the neighborhood is facing – and the single most crucial problem she and her team are working to remedy. TAC is leading a number of efforts to preserve and protect the cultural identity of Allapattah and Little Santo Domingo. Among them, providing tailored and culturally competent resources, education, and opportunities to small business owners and entrepreneurs living and working in the district – with the ultimate goal of implementing placemaking techniques to foster identity and support wealth-building strategies for marginalized communities of color.
“Part of everything we do, and something we continue to collaborate with the City of Miami on, is thinking through, what is displacing people? What are the issues that are making this business leave rather than stay? Why can’t they pay the rent increase and how can we mitigate that? We’re going to the core of the problem,” said Burgos-Flores. “We’re being very thoughtful about the core issues and finding a way to resolve them.”
Through the Breaking Barriers to Business partnership, TAC is working with Main Street America and Living Cities along with leadership within the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County, to further address gaps in access to capital, shift private and public policies, and provide technical assistance to entrepreneurs. Since the Breaking Barriers to Business launch in early 2023, the group has engaged in an Undoing Racism workshop, conducted an initial site visit, and hosted interviews with local business owners, culminating in an evaluation report. Next steps include the development of an action plan informed by their initial evaluation, along with additional site visits and on-going technical guidance and support.
"Creating equity in community building, and supporting the development and strength of small businesses is the cornerstone of building a brighter, more inclusive economic future,” said Alycia Levels-Moore, owner and founder of ASL Creative Firm, the consulting agency managing the project through Main Street America. “It is about paving the way for dreams to flourish and opportunities to thrive in our local communities. The work of the Allapattah Collective under the leadership of Milyeka is bound to make an indelible mark on the building up of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in her city and business corridor. This is the power of the Breaking Barriers to Business initiative, ensuring that business corridors in the Southeast are supported and provided the tools to build lasting change that can affect growth and policy for long term impact."
To learn more about the Where It Starts: Breaking Barriers to Business program, please visit the program landing page here.
Urban Impact Inc., harnesses strategic investments and collaborative efforts to foster a vibrant and sustainable future, from visionary adaptive reuse ventures to transformative development grants for small businesses and property owners in Birmingham, Alabama's historic 4th Avenue Black Business District.
In the last episode of season two of Main Street Business Insights, tune in as host Matt Wagner breaks down how to understand and synthesize local market data.
Sterling Main Street launched a brick and mortar retail incubator spaces. Executive Director Janna Groharing shares lessons they learned about organization, fundraising, and outreach.
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt sits down with Glen Ellis, owner of Sycamore Education, Dominion Catalyst Services, and Milady Coffeehouse in Fremont, Nebraska.
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt sits down with Jaime Courtney, President of Shoalwater Seafood, Derek King, Oyster Farm Director of Shoalwater Seafood, and Shane Thomas, Tribal Council Vice Chair of the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe.
Sarah Cole, owner of Abadir’s in Greensboro, Ala., was a 2023 Backing Small Businesses grantee. Abadir’s is a pop-up eatery specializing in seasonal and wholesome baked goods influenced by Egyptian traditions and flavors combined with inspiration from true Southern cuisine.
In this episode of the Main Street Business Insights podcast, Matt sits down with Casey Woods, Executive Director of Emporia Main Street in Emporia, Kansas.
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt sits down with Nicole Fleetwood and McKinzie Hodges, co-owners of Scratch Made Bakery in Amarillo, Texas.
Tylisya Gober, owner of Barbie Behavior Boutique in Oak Park, Mich., was a 2023 Backing Small Businesses grantee. Barbie Behavior is a women’s clothing boutique specializing in celebrity-inspired attire.
Tiffany Fixter, owner of Brewability in Englewood, Colorado, was a 2023 Backing Small Businesses grantee. Brewability is an inclusive brewery and pizzeria that employs adults with disabilities to brew craft beer.
We’re excited to announce that Main Street America will continue to offer virtual and on-demand small business training in 2024 through an evolved program, the Small Biz Digital Trainers program.
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt sits down with Tiffany Fixter, owner of Brewability, an inclusive craft brewery and pizzeria that employs adults with disabilities based in Englewood,
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt sits down with Jennifer Jones, co-owner of Good Times Coal Fired Pizza and Pub in Big Stone Gap, Virginia.
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt sits down with Bobby Boone, founder and Chief Strategist of &Access. Based in New Orleans, La., &Access creates data-driven and design-centric retail real estate solutions for historically excluded entrepreneurs and under-invested neighborhoods.
New Orleans, Louisiana © Bobby Boone
Tasha Sams, Manager of Education Programs, shares highlights of phase one of the Equitable Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (E3) in Rural Main Streets Program and the biggest takeaways from the workshop experiences.
In this video, learn more about the Williams’ family story, how the business is helping to revive downtown Helena, and the impact they’re having on a national level.
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt sits down with Janet Hurn, co-founder of Future Ready Consulting in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Cincinnati, Ohio © Janet Hurn
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt sits down with Derrick Braziel, owner of Pata Roja Taqueria and co-founder of MORTAR, in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Matt Wagner, Ph.D., shares his predictions for the trends impacting small businesses in 2024.
Chief Program Officer Matt Wagner, Ph.D., shares his predictions for the trends impacting small businesses in 2024.
A podcast featuring some of the best advice we heard from entrepreneurs and community leaders across the country.
Our research team shares the results of the Fall 2023 Small Business Survey.
Learn how local entrepreneurs have leveraged the power of a Main Street community to establish, maintain, and grow their ventures.
Learn how this organization is uplifting business owners and preventing displacement.
Charlotte, NC © Pixabay
Small Business Saturday is an important opportunity to show your support for local businesses. We asked business owners across the network what your support means to them.
Laramie, WY © Laramie Main Street Alliance
Meet the latest recipients of the Backing Small Businesses Program from American Express!
Matt sits down with Jamie and Jerry Baker, co-owners and founders of Trendy Teachers, a teaching boutique and educational toy store located in downtown Rome, Georgia.
This holiday season, rally your communities around the small businesses that help make your downtown thrive.
Small Business Saturday is Nov. 25! Check out these five strategies to celebrate shopping small.
Middlesboro Main Street in Middlesboro, Ky., Puerto Rican Cultural Center in Chicago, Ill., and Sugar Creek Business Association in Charlotte, N.C., have each been awarded $100,000 through The Hartford Small Business Accelerator Grant Program in partnership with Main Street America.
Matt sat down with Anette Soto Landeros, co-owner of Casa Azul Coffee and President and CEO of the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Fort Worth, Texas.
Matt Wagner sat down with Danny Reynolds, president and owner of Stephenson's, an independently owned high-end fashion retailer in downtown Elkhart, Indiana.
Matt Wagner sat down with Harvey Williams, Co-Founder and CEO of Delta Dirt Distillery in Helena, Arkansas.
Get ready to support your small business owners and encourage people to shop small this November!
Matt Wagner sat down with the CEO of Keith McDonald Plumbing in Milledgeville, Ga., Lindsay Goodson McDonald.
Learn how the South Carolina Coordinator Program is uplifting small businesses across the state with their dedicated e-commerce platform.
© Main Street South Carolina
Matt Wagner sat down with The Barbershop Conversation podcast team, co-hosts Kenneth Bentley and Davion Hampton along with executive producer Emory Green Jr., in Goldsboro, Florida.
From a cat cafe to a computer repair shop and museum, check out these innovative small businesses from across the Main Street network.
© Historic Valley Junction
This three-week live, online course will prepare local leaders to more effectively work with small business owners in their districts and create an environment that is supportive of entrepreneurship.
© Notice Pictures
Main Street America has a podcast! Tune into Main Street Business Insights to hear from small business leaders across the country.
Meet the 2023 recipients for the Backing Small Businesses grant program, presented by American Express, to provide financial support to small business owners to address critical needs and make a positive impact in their local communities.
In partnership with Grow with Google, our digital coaches will work with businesses in their home states, with a focus on those that operate in small towns and rural communities.
Congratulations to these innovative Shop Small events from across the Main Street network.
Stockbridge, GA © Stockbridge Main Street
Spencer Main Street's Main Street Micro Grants is injecting key funding into their small business ecosystem.
Spencer, IA © Spencer Main Street
Check out a deep dive into the results of our Spring 2023 Small Business Survey, plus insights to help inform the work of local leaders supporting entrepreneurs on Main Street.
Meet the communities who have been chosen to receive entrepreneurial support from Main Street America and the Kauffman Foundation.
We spoke to Debbie Ho, Executive Director at Chinatown Main Street, to learn about the history of women in Boston Chinatown.
Boston, MA © Kyle Klein
From program budgets to big achievements, here's the latest data on the Main Street Movement in 2023.
Franklin, TN © Brandon Jean
Learn how Downtown Inc and York County Economic Alliance are supporting marginalized small business owners in their community
York, PA © Sully Pinos
Meet Backing Small Businesses grantees Kim and Chris Casteel of Anew Life Prosthetics and Orthotics based in Detroit, Michigan.
Short stories about small business owners from Evart, Michigan.
Evart, MI © Storyville
Matt Wagner looks back at his small business predictions for 2022 and shares predictions for 2023.
Learn about the City of Boston’s efforts to invest in economic equity.
Learn how this West Virginia community redirected façade improvement funds to revive local commercial kitchens.
Matt Wagner wrote an article for the OECD blog on how can small business owners can combine digital tools with the power of place to find sustainable success.
Inspired by a session at the 2022 Main Street Now Conference, Main Street Ottumwa has launched the Business Builder Academy, an entrepreneurship course to help aspiring business owners start their ventures.
Ottumwa, IA © Main Street Ottumwa
Whether you are a seasoned American Express Small Business Saturday Neighborhood Champion or an entrepreneur joining this national movement for the first time, we’ve gathered a roundup of resources to support your “shop local” marketing efforts.
We spoke to three women who were awarded Inclusive Backing grants to learn more about their passions, their businesses, and their advice for other women.
Wixom, MI © Carissa Serylo
From social media scavenger hunts to downtown passports, the Main Street network has used countless innovative ways to encourage their communities to Shop Small®—and had plenty of fun doing it.
Oceanside, CA © Road West Photography
Main Street Franklin is leading the way in showing how women business owners can be a powerful force for change in their communities.
#EquityRising, Old Algiers Main Street Corporation's new job training program, seeks to combat rising cost of living by helping residents train for careers that will allow them to stay in their neighborhood.
Learn how the Small Business Census pilot project explored the demographics of the small businesses that call Main Street districts home.
Colville, WA © Colville Together
We spoke to three Black business owners who were awarded Backing Small Businesses grants from Main Street America and American Express to better understand their challenges, successes, and the kinds of support that have helped them the most.
Camden, AR © Kimberly Moore Davis
Main Street leaders and local development practitioners from around the world participated in this exciting webinar hosted by the OECD.
Learn how Silver City MainStreet is using Story Hours to connect local business owners with the community.
Silver City, NM © Silver City MainStreet
Main Street Skowhegan opened their new Skowhegan Center for Entrepreneurship, a downtown space for co-working, meeting, entrepreneurial support, trainings, and education.
Skowhegan, ME © Kristina Cannon
Main Street America is proud to support the Revitalizing Small and Local Businesses Act
Main Street America's research team shares the results of the 2022 Small Business Survey.
© JENNIFER E. WOLF
Learn about Show of Hands, an entrepreneurial program in multiple Main Street communities.
Wheeling, WV © Wheeling Heritage
Chief Program Officer Matt Wagner, Ph.D., shares his predictions for the trends affecting small businesses in 2022.
Is your Main Street ready for the biggest small business shopping day of the year?
Main Street Charles City organizes their annual 'WonderFall' event, a business decorating contest designed to have some fun with the autumnal season as well as provide a reminder of the importance of curb appeal in attracting the public’s attention.
Charles City, IA © Mark Wicks
Leverage NC, a partnership between North Carolina Main Street and the North Carolina League of Municipalities, hosted a four-part webinar series titled Better Community Planning & Economic Development led by Ed McMahon, Chair Emeritus of Main Street America and a leading national authority on land use policy and economic development.
Main Street Arkansas has brewed a new engaging way for tourists and residents alike to explore local Arkansas commercial districts: the Main Street Arkansas Coffee Trail.
Little Rock, AR © Main Street Arkansas
Matt Wagner explores how Main Streets can navigate workforce concerns in the post-pandemic economy.
We spoke with two Black entrepreneurs in UrbanMain commercial districts: L. May Creations in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago and The Four Way in south Memphis, Tennessee.
Memphis, TN © Four Way
Heart of Biddeford shares the strategies they developed to support Black-owned businesses in their community.
Biddeford, ME © Heart of Biddeford
We heard from organizations across the nation about the incredible impact their markets have had on community engagement, entrepreneur and small business support, and keeping their district vibrant.
The global pandemic gave us all a glimpse of a further dispersed future – a time when you don’t sit in a classroom at school, watch movies in a theater, or even go to the grocery store. Where do Main Streets fit in that model?
The COVID-19 pandemic has long-lasting effects on the economy. Here are 11 changes that small business owners should continue to remain competitive.
This May marked the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre in the Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma. We explored the impact and legacy of this tragic event.
Tulsa, OK © Dr. Tiffany Crutcher
Learn about the various programs and initiatives that Fremont is using to promote inclusive economic development.
Fremont, CA © Fremont Economic Development
BDOs are place-based organizations that help small businesses and entrepreneurs to flourish. They have been on the frontline of support for the country’s hardest-hit entrepreneurs throughout the pandemic and have been working to enable thriving commercial corridors throughout the crisis.
Matthew Wagner, Ph.D., Chief Program Officer at Main Street America, was featured on Breaking Down Barriers: a podcast from Startup Space highlighting stories of community leaders who break down barriers to entry for underserved and unrepresented entrepreneurs.
A vacant storefront is the perfect stage to creatively promote the available space or to showcase other businesses and events in the area.
Ripon, WI © RetailWorks, Inc
We heard from 289 business owners in 35 states plus the District of Columbia in our new text message-based survey of small business owners across the network.
The Batavia Boardwalk Shops are freestanding, purpose-built structures acting as seasonal pop-up locations for entrepreneurs, offered in tandem with a business incubator program.
Batavia, IL © April Duda Photography
For Black History Month, we want to recognize and celebrate the Black business owners and entrepreneurs who have overcome challenges and obstacles in launching and running their own businesses, thanks to resilience, creativity, and hard work.
As a vital place factor within an entrepreneurship ecosystem, pop-up programs allow for emerging businesses to test their product, gain consumer feedback, and promote their brand at an extremely low cost. In essence, allowing for a ‘fail-fast’ product development cycle.
Asheville, NC © Ablohkin
In early December, as the COVID-19 crisis intersected with a peak moment in the holiday shopping season, we surveyed small business owners and Main Street programs to learn more about how they were managing.
© Cindy Shebley
New research by Main Street America suggests greater returns on our missions and resources can be had by transitioning to more deliberate economic vitality work centered on cultivating new business development from within our own communities and neighborhoods.
Fredericksburg Virginia Main Street (FVMS) is taking storefront activation to a new level with their new initiative, the Scan & Love Project, which tells the stories of business owners through personal and engaging videos.
The Berkley Downtown Development Authority (DDA) proudly debuted its Downtown Berkley Shopping Bag for a Cause through a partnership between Better Life Bags.
Supporting new and existing small businesses, and the entrepreneurs who run them, represents a vital aspect of the revitalization of downtowns and neighborhood business districts.
The Equitable Economic Development Fellowship is a two-year, one million-dollar effort funded by the Surdna Foundation and the Open Society Foundations to help equity, transparency, sustainability and community engagement become driving forces in local economic development efforts.
The Jefferson Rotary Club partnered with Jefferson Matters: Main Street to offer mini-grants for building facades and storefront signage to two dozen businesses for up to $500 each.
The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) partnered with Retailworks, Inc., a commercial interior design, display and branding firm headquartered in Milwaukee, to launch Wisconsin’s Main Street Makeover Contest.
Kelly Tompkins of Main Street Enid shares more about the Maker Trail project and how it inspired creativity and helped people discover downtown.
Too often, as we’re strolling our favorite Main Street, we pass empty or dark shop windows that make us want to hurry home a little bit faster. Imagine instead, a charming streetscape adorned with vibrant, lively window displays, showcasing retailers’ favorite products and seasonal gift ideas.
Small Business Saturday promo pic from Downtown Goldsboro, North Carolina, showing all the folks who took the pledge support a small business in their community.
We’ve put together a practical list of some of the things that local store owners can do right now to help them capitalize on this increasing trend in local searches.
From authentic comfort food to farm-to-fork fresh and everything in between, these restaurants, bars, and cafes are key to the thriving social, business, and residential life in the historic commercial districts in Main Street Iowa communities.
Located in southeast Kansas, Independence (pop.8,799) is home to Fab Lab ICC, which is on track to be the world’s leading innovator in combining entrepreneurial mindset education with a fab lab maker space.
The craft beer industry is playing a key role in the rebirth of Main Streets and neighborhood commercial districts across the county.
Appealing to mobility-challenged shoppers yields benefits beyond the store.
Being the only person in the know can be fun, exhilarating even. Except when you are the one person out of 600+ in a room and you know bad news is coming.
Fritz the dog has made his way into the hearts of the residents of LaBelle, Florida, and helped our Main Street Community find a way to make what we do more noticeable.
Altavista On Track, the local Main Street organization, is working to cultivate and sustain local entrepreneurs with an educational business launch competition, Pop-Up Altavista 2.0.
In Winchester, Virginia, one woman’s vision and commitment to downtown’s revitalization created an innovative community space for the Creative Class.
A business retention and expansion plan, properly implemented, not only helps keep businesses open but possibly even helps them expand.
The first rule of conducting business is “make it simple.” The easier it is to pay for merchandise, get entertainment or obtain a service, the more likely it is that people will take advantage of those options.
Main Street communities across the country are no stranger to seeking creative strategies to solve their most nagging issues – vacant buildings, marketing downtown, bolstering retail to name a few.
To understand the role that immigrant business owners play in Boston’s small business ecosystem, you need only to walk through any Boston Main Streets district.
Façade appearance is a critical aspect of the overall aesthetic appeal and unique character of downtown.
A lot of signs are necessary to make a downtown work well, but not every community knows what a good sign system looks like, or how instrumental it can be to the creation of a successful downtown.
Main Street Iowa, a program of the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s Iowa Downtown Resource Center, created a one-of-a-kind three-year program to provide help for performance venues located in Main Street districts.
