Editor's Note: For the sake of brevity, we are suspending our normal format of the contributors name, title, yada, yada, yada. We will be using first and last names only. Once the conference is over, we will return to our regularily scheduled format.
Joe Borgstrom- We arrived late yesterday afternoon to the beautiful Palmer House Hotel off of State Street in Chicago. If you haven't been here before you really should, especially if you are into historic preservation. My friend Todd Barman from the National Main Street Center put it perfectly when we spoke yesterday and he called it, "the Sistine Chapel of hotels." Its hard not to walk into people here because everyone is looking at the ceiling!
Last night was the first unofficial function of the conference with a dinner of the state coordinators. I fully acknowledge I am NOT the coordinator of the program (Laura is) but these are wonderful and smart people, so I naturally want to pick their brains over a good meal. I had the good fortune to sit next to the legendary Thom Guzman from Iowa's Main Street program. Thom is widely regarded as the "godfather" of Main Street and Iowa's program the best in the nation. They've been a coordinating program for 20+ years. Our program has been doing this for six. I learned a few things last night. First, Thom is one of the most genuinely open and honest people I've met. Second, I was pleasantly surprised to hear we were doing many of the same things in regards to approaches with local communities. Every state program does things differently. When we're doing many of the same things as one of "the best" that gives me confidence we're doing right by our communities. Lastly, there's still a lot more we can do.
I'm looking forward to picking the brains of some more of our collegues here like Jeff Seigler from Ohio's Main Street program, Cary Tyson from Arkansas, Stephanie Redmond from New Mexico, Jeff Sandler from Virginia and a ton others. Stay tuned! Another packed day is ahead!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Day 0? (The Official Conference Starts Tomorrow; State Coordinators/Architects Meetings Last Night and Today)
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
MMSC@MSHDA Blogging From National Main Streets Conference
Starting on Saturday, the Michigan Main Street Center @ MSHDA staff will be blogging live from the National Main Streets Conference in Downtown Chicago. Look for staff to share some of their experiences and opinions on the sessions and happenings in Chicago!
Stay tuned!
Stay tuned!
Friday, February 20, 2009
Downtowns as Economic Clusters
By Dace Koenigsknecht
Economic Restructuring Specialist
Michigan Main Street Center
Michigan State Housing Development Authority
Clusters, as defined in a March 2006 report from the Brookings Institution, are “a group of firms and related economic actors and institutions located near one another and that draw productive advantage from their mutual proximity and connections.”
The idea of clusters has been recognized and studied for over a century, and people inherently understand the basic concept of mutual advantage. As an example from my previous life, General Motors constructs a new, state-of-the-art assembly plant on the west end of Lansing, in Delta Township. As a result, dozens of suppliers – big and small – construct facilities within a couple of miles, buying-in to GM’s philosophy of just-in-time delivery. This hub-and-spoke cluster concept benefits from close proximity; short distances keep shipping costs down, all firms benefit from local labor talent, and specialization reaffirms quality and innovation. As today’s economy shows, however, a single-industry cluster can have its down sides too.
In contrast to the highbrow definition of a cluster above, I offer a simplified version in a layman’s term: Downtown. Historically, downtowns were founded on the cluster model, be it a lumber mill or rail-side grain elevator, and grew to serve the local market demands. Through the decades, however, the complementary scene of a customer-focused downtown was supplanted by the mall and mass production. Much market research has been conducted over the past decade or two regarding the shift from sterile ‘Fordism’ to niche markets of high-quality, custom products. As anyone involved with the Michigan Main Street Program can attest, this harkens loudly to our position on authenticity. People are seeking the unique and different, whether they are customers or entrepreneurs, and downtowns should be the place to find just that.
Each downtown is unique in its physical environment, that’s well known, but how does your downtown (cluster) fare in the social aspect of community? Are your downtown interests competing with one another, rarely engaging in transactions, and intentionally not cooperating? OR, do they compete only to innovate and improve, and seek out cooperation due to a long list of mutual interests and benefits? I argue that the latter is the firmly-packed soil upon which creatives (people and ideas) can sprout. Our historic downtowns developed as centers of commerce due to proximity of creatives, one bouncing off the other until the result was cooperatively better than the original.
An example I heard recently illustrates my point: Niles’ Downtown Wedding Walk to be held in March. A local bridal shop initiated the idea of hosting a retail event focused on weddings, what I see as a themed cluster. Clusters are not static and rigidly confined, but rather dynamic and overlapping in scope and content. In this case, someone took an objective look at downtown Niles and saw all the components of a great wedding in the spaces surrounding them. Will Niles forever be known as the wedding capital? No, but I’m sure this creative approach will result in cash registers ringing – and not just for those businesses directly involved.
I leave you with an additional quote from the Brookings report I mentioned earlier. It describes an alternative method of defining a cluster that I find particularly applicable:
“…practitioners compose industry clusters on an ad hoc basis from among the firms (and related institutions) that they find close at hand. They frequently define cluster existence and membership by the attendance of firm owners or managers who agree to show up at meetings and who have enough common interest to be able to articulate and possibly act on some agenda of actions that will be to their mutual benefit. These operationally defined clusters may be...”
…called Michigan Main Street Programs!
Economic Restructuring Specialist
Michigan Main Street Center
Michigan State Housing Development Authority
Clusters, as defined in a March 2006 report from the Brookings Institution, are “a group of firms and related economic actors and institutions located near one another and that draw productive advantage from their mutual proximity and connections.”
The idea of clusters has been recognized and studied for over a century, and people inherently understand the basic concept of mutual advantage. As an example from my previous life, General Motors constructs a new, state-of-the-art assembly plant on the west end of Lansing, in Delta Township. As a result, dozens of suppliers – big and small – construct facilities within a couple of miles, buying-in to GM’s philosophy of just-in-time delivery. This hub-and-spoke cluster concept benefits from close proximity; short distances keep shipping costs down, all firms benefit from local labor talent, and specialization reaffirms quality and innovation. As today’s economy shows, however, a single-industry cluster can have its down sides too.
In contrast to the highbrow definition of a cluster above, I offer a simplified version in a layman’s term: Downtown. Historically, downtowns were founded on the cluster model, be it a lumber mill or rail-side grain elevator, and grew to serve the local market demands. Through the decades, however, the complementary scene of a customer-focused downtown was supplanted by the mall and mass production. Much market research has been conducted over the past decade or two regarding the shift from sterile ‘Fordism’ to niche markets of high-quality, custom products. As anyone involved with the Michigan Main Street Program can attest, this harkens loudly to our position on authenticity. People are seeking the unique and different, whether they are customers or entrepreneurs, and downtowns should be the place to find just that.
Each downtown is unique in its physical environment, that’s well known, but how does your downtown (cluster) fare in the social aspect of community? Are your downtown interests competing with one another, rarely engaging in transactions, and intentionally not cooperating? OR, do they compete only to innovate and improve, and seek out cooperation due to a long list of mutual interests and benefits? I argue that the latter is the firmly-packed soil upon which creatives (people and ideas) can sprout. Our historic downtowns developed as centers of commerce due to proximity of creatives, one bouncing off the other until the result was cooperatively better than the original.
An example I heard recently illustrates my point: Niles’ Downtown Wedding Walk to be held in March. A local bridal shop initiated the idea of hosting a retail event focused on weddings, what I see as a themed cluster. Clusters are not static and rigidly confined, but rather dynamic and overlapping in scope and content. In this case, someone took an objective look at downtown Niles and saw all the components of a great wedding in the spaces surrounding them. Will Niles forever be known as the wedding capital? No, but I’m sure this creative approach will result in cash registers ringing – and not just for those businesses directly involved.
I leave you with an additional quote from the Brookings report I mentioned earlier. It describes an alternative method of defining a cluster that I find particularly applicable:
“…practitioners compose industry clusters on an ad hoc basis from among the firms (and related institutions) that they find close at hand. They frequently define cluster existence and membership by the attendance of firm owners or managers who agree to show up at meetings and who have enough common interest to be able to articulate and possibly act on some agenda of actions that will be to their mutual benefit. These operationally defined clusters may be...”
…called Michigan Main Street Programs!
Friday, February 13, 2009
Maintenance: The Downside of Social Media and How to Keep It Current
By Joe Borgstrom, Director
Specialized Technical Assistance
& Revitalization Strategy Division
Michigan State Housing Development Authority
Last fall, the Michigan Downtown Conference was lucky enough to have social media gurus Marianna Hayes and Andy Chapman from Team HALO as our keynote speakers. Their presentations on the new wave of social media created a lot of excitement among conference goers. As I sat in the back of the room ferociously taking notes, I knew right away we at the Michigan Main Street Center @ MSHDA needed to be at the forefront. Almost overnight (literally), Michigan downtown organizations began to pop up on Facebook. Within a few weeks, the MMSC@MSHDA had a Facebook group (now a fan page), a blog, a LinkedIn group, and even a Twitter account. Trust me, folks, we are ON the social media forefront. We even got props from the folks in the Buckeye State (and you know how much they like us.)
There was only was problem: With all these platforms, how were we going to keep things fresh and new without making it a full-time job? One of the most important things we were told during the aforementioned sessions was the need to keep content current. A Facebook page or blog with old information on it said more negative about your cause then none at all. I personally had already written three posts and was starting to wonder how I was going to keep up. We’ve now been doing this for nearly four whole months (which is like 4 YEARS in Internet time) and I think we have a pretty good system in place. Here are a few tips your downtown organization can use to keep your social media current:
Spread the Work Around- Though you may want to have only one person as the key contact person for your social media platforms, the content can be generated by multiple people. Here at the MMSC@MSHDA, our staff has been taking turns writing blogs (Ok, I’ve taken more then my share, but we do take turns.) A few weeks ago we reached out to one of our Advisory Committee members, Nancy Finegood, and asked her to write one for us. We are just now scratching the surface on having folks from outside our staff write too. This does a couple of things: 1) Spreads the work around. 2) Increases the audience for your blog and 3) gives you a great opportunity to allow a partners (or board members) to have the spotlight. Nancy did a great job and she was honored to be asked. We both won.
Search Engines Are Your Friend- We set up “Google Alerts” around our program and staff names. If anything gets posted on the web, especially from news sites, we know almost immediately. We then post as a new note or link on our social media platforms. Viola! Third party content that gives additional credibility and coverage to our programs while providing minimal effort on our end.
Don’t Assume the Users of One Site Use All of Them- One of the things I’ve been the most surprised about is the number of people who belong to only one of our platforms. Granted, some belong to multiple or all of them, but a surprisingly few. Furthermore, the audience tends to be different, especially between Facebook and LinkedIn. Facebook tends to be community volunteers, urban planning students, and downtown enthusiasts, while LinkedIn are more the economic and community development professionals. We make sure that when we post a new blog, article or photos we let everyone on every platform know. We don't feel like we have to create different content for each platform.
Stay on Top of It- It is really easy to put updating this stuff off. When you do, it becomes an hour or two hour job instead of 10 or 15 minutes a day. Be tenacious about doing something little everyday.
While this isn't maintenance related, you should also look to promote your social media in everyday ways. Our staff include links to each platform as a part of our email signatures below our contact information.
I hope this helps. By all means this isn’t an “end-all-be-all.” We’d love to hear your tips and tricks to. Feel free to post below!
Specialized Technical Assistance
& Revitalization Strategy Division
Michigan State Housing Development Authority
Last fall, the Michigan Downtown Conference was lucky enough to have social media gurus Marianna Hayes and Andy Chapman from Team HALO as our keynote speakers. Their presentations on the new wave of social media created a lot of excitement among conference goers. As I sat in the back of the room ferociously taking notes, I knew right away we at the Michigan Main Street Center @ MSHDA needed to be at the forefront. Almost overnight (literally), Michigan downtown organizations began to pop up on Facebook. Within a few weeks, the MMSC@MSHDA had a Facebook group (now a fan page), a blog, a LinkedIn group, and even a Twitter account. Trust me, folks, we are ON the social media forefront. We even got props from the folks in the Buckeye State (and you know how much they like us.)
There was only was problem: With all these platforms, how were we going to keep things fresh and new without making it a full-time job? One of the most important things we were told during the aforementioned sessions was the need to keep content current. A Facebook page or blog with old information on it said more negative about your cause then none at all. I personally had already written three posts and was starting to wonder how I was going to keep up. We’ve now been doing this for nearly four whole months (which is like 4 YEARS in Internet time) and I think we have a pretty good system in place. Here are a few tips your downtown organization can use to keep your social media current:
Spread the Work Around- Though you may want to have only one person as the key contact person for your social media platforms, the content can be generated by multiple people. Here at the MMSC@MSHDA, our staff has been taking turns writing blogs (Ok, I’ve taken more then my share, but we do take turns.) A few weeks ago we reached out to one of our Advisory Committee members, Nancy Finegood, and asked her to write one for us. We are just now scratching the surface on having folks from outside our staff write too. This does a couple of things: 1) Spreads the work around. 2) Increases the audience for your blog and 3) gives you a great opportunity to allow a partners (or board members) to have the spotlight. Nancy did a great job and she was honored to be asked. We both won.
Search Engines Are Your Friend- We set up “Google Alerts” around our program and staff names. If anything gets posted on the web, especially from news sites, we know almost immediately. We then post as a new note or link on our social media platforms. Viola! Third party content that gives additional credibility and coverage to our programs while providing minimal effort on our end.
Don’t Assume the Users of One Site Use All of Them- One of the things I’ve been the most surprised about is the number of people who belong to only one of our platforms. Granted, some belong to multiple or all of them, but a surprisingly few. Furthermore, the audience tends to be different, especially between Facebook and LinkedIn. Facebook tends to be community volunteers, urban planning students, and downtown enthusiasts, while LinkedIn are more the economic and community development professionals. We make sure that when we post a new blog, article or photos we let everyone on every platform know. We don't feel like we have to create different content for each platform.
Stay on Top of It- It is really easy to put updating this stuff off. When you do, it becomes an hour or two hour job instead of 10 or 15 minutes a day. Be tenacious about doing something little everyday.
While this isn't maintenance related, you should also look to promote your social media in everyday ways. Our staff include links to each platform as a part of our email signatures below our contact information.
I hope this helps. By all means this isn’t an “end-all-be-all.” We’d love to hear your tips and tricks to. Feel free to post below!
Friday, February 6, 2009
Attitude is Everything- YOU Can Help the Economy!
By Jamie Schriner-Hooper
Organizational Specialist
Michigan Main Street Center
Michigan State Housing Development Authority
Ok, so this week I really just want to rant a bit. I have a few pet peeves, as everyone does. Mine include people using the word “over” when they really mean “more than,” as well as the word “towards,” which isn’t really a word. Lose the “s” and you’re in business. So, while I seem to be going off on a grammar rant, I really do have a point...
My latest pet peeve is the economy, or more to the point, the constant reinforcement that our economy is terrible and that our state is going to pot. I hate that every conversation somehow turns to the economy. You might be talking about what you had for dinner last night and somehow, some way, someone will turn the conversation to the negative state of our state. I’m getting tired of being the only person in the room saying “It will get better!”
While many households in Michigan have been hit by the bleak economy, we’ve been going through this for the last few years. It’s nothing new. My family has been hit by the poor economy. My husband’s previous employer decided that Michigan was no longer a viable market. We disagreed and he took the plunge and opened his own company. My father, grandfathers, numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and other family members worked for GM. That is no longer the case, but they are all finding ways to remake and remodel their careers. The nation’s media is just now picking up on the fact that the rest of the country is now facing the same issues and dilemmas that Michiganders have been facing for some time.
Yes, I agree that the economy is bad, but dwelling on in and reinforcing it in every way you’re able certainly isn’t going to make it any better. Our downtown business owners know that dwelling on the negative is not a way to succeed. The rest of the country needs to learn this. Small business 101 says that you put your best face forward. When a customer walks into a small business, the proprietor certainly doesn’t load them down with how terrible things are, their hours are long, product isn’t selling, they need to go to the bank, etc. If they do, they certainly won’t be in business for long. No one wants to give their hard-earned dollars to a business that they don’t think will be around next month. We need to learn to do the same.
Instead of dwelling on the doom and gloom of the economy, look at what is good. The simple fact is that things will get better. Our state is diversifying. It might not be today or tomorrow or even this year, but things will get better. And, better yet, you personally can help to make things better. What, you ask, can one person do? It’s simple. Spend your pennies with the businesses and people you want to see remain open. Like that coffee shop on the corner? Go there for lunch instead of the fast food joint. Enjoy the distinct gift store downtown? Purchase your gifts there instead of at the big box store at the mall or online. Chances are, you’ll have a much better shopping experience downtown than at the alternative. Personally, I’m not a fan of a teenager chomping their gum and ignoring me until I hand them my cash. I much prefer going to a small, locally-owned and unique boutique where I can chat with the owner and know that my money is staying in the neighborhood. Plus, as an added bonus, you usually get a beautifully-wrapped and distinct end product.
So, as my husband would say, buck up there little camper. Things will get better, but in the mean time, take a cue from your favorite small business owner: stop your yammerin’ and put on a happy face!
Organizational Specialist
Michigan Main Street Center
Michigan State Housing Development Authority
Ok, so this week I really just want to rant a bit. I have a few pet peeves, as everyone does. Mine include people using the word “over” when they really mean “more than,” as well as the word “towards,” which isn’t really a word. Lose the “s” and you’re in business. So, while I seem to be going off on a grammar rant, I really do have a point...
My latest pet peeve is the economy, or more to the point, the constant reinforcement that our economy is terrible and that our state is going to pot. I hate that every conversation somehow turns to the economy. You might be talking about what you had for dinner last night and somehow, some way, someone will turn the conversation to the negative state of our state. I’m getting tired of being the only person in the room saying “It will get better!”
While many households in Michigan have been hit by the bleak economy, we’ve been going through this for the last few years. It’s nothing new. My family has been hit by the poor economy. My husband’s previous employer decided that Michigan was no longer a viable market. We disagreed and he took the plunge and opened his own company. My father, grandfathers, numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and other family members worked for GM. That is no longer the case, but they are all finding ways to remake and remodel their careers. The nation’s media is just now picking up on the fact that the rest of the country is now facing the same issues and dilemmas that Michiganders have been facing for some time.
Yes, I agree that the economy is bad, but dwelling on in and reinforcing it in every way you’re able certainly isn’t going to make it any better. Our downtown business owners know that dwelling on the negative is not a way to succeed. The rest of the country needs to learn this. Small business 101 says that you put your best face forward. When a customer walks into a small business, the proprietor certainly doesn’t load them down with how terrible things are, their hours are long, product isn’t selling, they need to go to the bank, etc. If they do, they certainly won’t be in business for long. No one wants to give their hard-earned dollars to a business that they don’t think will be around next month. We need to learn to do the same.
Instead of dwelling on the doom and gloom of the economy, look at what is good. The simple fact is that things will get better. Our state is diversifying. It might not be today or tomorrow or even this year, but things will get better. And, better yet, you personally can help to make things better. What, you ask, can one person do? It’s simple. Spend your pennies with the businesses and people you want to see remain open. Like that coffee shop on the corner? Go there for lunch instead of the fast food joint. Enjoy the distinct gift store downtown? Purchase your gifts there instead of at the big box store at the mall or online. Chances are, you’ll have a much better shopping experience downtown than at the alternative. Personally, I’m not a fan of a teenager chomping their gum and ignoring me until I hand them my cash. I much prefer going to a small, locally-owned and unique boutique where I can chat with the owner and know that my money is staying in the neighborhood. Plus, as an added bonus, you usually get a beautifully-wrapped and distinct end product.
So, as my husband would say, buck up there little camper. Things will get better, but in the mean time, take a cue from your favorite small business owner: stop your yammerin’ and put on a happy face!
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