Your first step to a new website Many of you know that our product (Maestro) is built by our marketing firm, Rokusek. You may not know much about Rokusek, and that’s okay...if you’re passionate about downtowns then we’ll get along just fine! I mention Rokusek because we have worked with hundreds of companies across the… Read More →
Getting your properties noticed When it comes to properties downtown, there were always things to learn for me. One of them is another tool, our Property Pro Forma, which really helped me understand the economics of property development. But understanding everything there is to do with property development and maintenance (which I can assure you… Read More →
Property Pro Forma - The Economics of Downtown Property Development Being new on Main Street, there was a lot to learn for me. Having worked for the Boy Scouts for the previous eight years, I had honed my skills in event management, budgeting, communications and volunteer recruitment. However, there is a lot more to do… Read More →
Planning Your Marketing When you think about your organization’s marketing, how much planning goes into it? Do you do it with purpose, or is it something that you do when you have time? I know….time! But in reality, most downtowns are very good at event marketing, but often lack a message or strategy for marketing… Read More →
Tools to manage your Farmers Market Farmers Markets have become a staple of Main Streets throughout the country. It’s a wonderful event that brings people from all over the area into the downtown, while at the same time highlighting local foods and growers. When I came to Main Street our vendor manual was a couple… Read More →
Business Retention on Main Street One of the most important things I learned when I worked for the Boy Scouts was retention. Every Scout that I recruited was one more I didn’t need to recruit to attain my year-end goals. Every dollar I saved was one I didn’t need to raise to balance the budget.… Read More →
Business Recruitment on a Budget Business Recruitment can often be one of those overlooked items on Main Street. Sure, we all have the packet for prospective businesses with information about the downtown, maybe some vacant units, and more. But how many downtown organizations have an active business recruitment strategy? Making sure that we are recruiting… Read More →
Downtown Board Membership for "Dummies" Ok - let’s start with the title. If you are being asked (or currently on) a downtown Board of Directors there is very little chance that you are, in fact, a dummy. You’re likely a smart, talented, and driven person who wants the best for their community, and specifically your… Read More →
How to direct an Executive Director When it comes to downtowns, and Main Streets in particular, the Executive Director is the person in charge. This is the way it’s supposed to work. The Executive Director is hired to run the day-to-day operations of the organization. They’re responsible (usually) for staffing, running events, balancing the budget,… Read More →
Getting the most from conferences I just spent a few days in the great State of Virginia for their Main Street Conference. Now, if you are from Virginia you would quickly correct me to tell me it is the Commonwealth. First and foremost they, like nearly every Main Streeter I’ve ever met, are great people.… Read More →