Join us May 6 – 8 in Birmingham, Alabama, for the 2024 Main Street Now Conference!
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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.
Chicago, Illinois © Main Street America
Looking for strategies and tools to support you in your work? Delve into the Main Street Resource Center and explore a wide range of resources including our extensive Knowledge Hub, professional development opportunities, field service offerings, advocacy support, and more!
Waterloo, Iowa © Main Street Waterloo
Your one-stop-shop for all the latest stories, news, events, and opportunities – including grants and funding programs – across Main Street.
Kendall Whittier — Tulsa, Oklahoma © Kendall Whittier Main Street
Join us in our work to advance shared prosperity, create strong economies, and improve quality of life in downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts.
The team at the 2023 Main Street Now Conference in Boston. From left to right (back row): Main Street Ottumwa (Iowa) Director Fred Zesiger, Oklahoma Coach Jarrod Foster, Main Street Wytheville (Virginia) Director Todd Wolford, Downtown Lewiston Executive Director Jim Zubler, Main Street Wytheville Administrative and Events Coordinator Charlie Jones, and Downtown LaGrange Executive Director Bill Hunnicutt. From left to right (front row): North Carolina Coach Tierra Norwood, Iowa Coach Lindsey Newland, Pennsylvania Coach Joshua Miller, Project Manager Monica Miller, Michigan Coach Teresa Heger, Oregon Coach Chelsea Brosterhous, Downtown Middletown Executive Director Jeff Payne, and Georgia Coach April Ross.
In 2023, Main Street America (MSA) helped business owners in rural communities gain new skills through implementing a team of ten digital marketing experts to deliver local training. These experts provided free live, hands-on coaching to small business owners in small towns and rural areas across ten states: Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia. Coaches worked closely with their local Main Street managers and their state’s Main Street Coordinating Program directors to develop relationships with local business communities.
Over the course of the year, our team of coaches offered regular workshops and one-on-one support to small business owners on topics designed to help their businesses grow and thrive, including connecting with customers, selling online, and improving productivity. In addition to their focused work with small business owners in rural areas, the coaches also provided virtual live and on-demand workshops available to small business owners across the country – all for free.
Since the program’s start, the coaches have impacted tens of thousands of small business owners across the country in both measurable and immeasurable ways.
“Led by local experts, these trainings equipped business owners with the skills needed to thrive in an increasingly competitive and digitally based economy,” said Main Street America Chief Impact Officer Hannah White. “Supporting local entrepreneurs is an essential component of our mission to create more vibrant Main Streets. This initiative has been instrumental in helping us continue to work towards this goal.”
Addressing Small Business Owners’ Needs
Owning a small business is rewarding, but also challenging. Small business owners frequently wear many hats: They may spend 12 hours a day running a restaurant, but they also need to be an accountant, a marketer, a customer service representative, and an IT support person. Small business owners also must contend with finding new customers, sustaining operations, and keeping pace with technological advances.
Moreover, most brick & mortar businesses had to pivot during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, Main Street America conducted research to see how they could help and found that businesses needed digital tools to survive and thrive. Findings showed that business owners needed free access to technical training and guidance on building more streamlined processes and advanced marketing through digital tools.
“The program grew out of a need for increased, tailored support for small business owners coming out of the pandemic,” Main Street America Chief Program Officer Matt Wagner, Ph.D. “Our coaches help lighten this burden by equipping business owners with the digital skills they need to adapt to shifting economic, societal, and technological trends.”
Expansive Impact Through Tailored Support
Through in-person training, individual coaching, and virtual live and on-demand workshops, the coaches provided small business training to over 115,000 people since the program’s launch in the spring of 2023. The average number of small business owners trained in-person in each state was 872, with some coaches training 1,500 or more over the year. The coaches also held virtual trainings for the national network, with over 370 small business owners joining live, and over 100,000 viewing the workshop recordings on-demand.
Throughout the year, Main Street America provided opportunities for participants to offer feedback about their experiences through optional surveys and testimonial submission forms. Of the participants surveyed, 94 percent of program participants said that the partnership’s impact on small business owners has been either somewhat or extremely positive, and 75 percent of the respondents indicated the impact was extremely positive.
A unique benefit of the program was its hyper-local focus, designed so each coach worked closely with a local Main Street program. By working closely with Main Street organizations and hosting in-person trainings and face-to-face meetings with business owners, coaches established strong and effective relationships with the local business community.
“We don’t always have the funding to offer business services to the community and some small business owners can’t afford classes, but the training sessions enabled our organization to offer a free business service to our local businesses,” said Ellen Martignetti, Main Street Manager of Building a Better Boyertown in Boyertown, Pennsylvania. “It was just another justification for having a Main Street program in place. The sessions were invaluable and well received by attendees. Our coach, Joshua, took his time to answer questions and help people individually, as well as the whole group. He was great to work with and came to Boyertown twice offering different session each time.”
Of the thousands of small business owners trained, many returned for multiple workshop sessions or even scheduled time with their coach for one-on-one sessions.
“[In my sessions], I learned how to use these tools to collaborate more effectively with my team, manage my time more efficiently, and improve my communication with customers,” said Springwater. “Overall, I’m very impressed with the training and resources … I highly recommend attending a workshop if you’re looking for ways to improve your business operations and grow your business.”
“We don’t always have the funding to offer business services to the community and some small business owners can’t afford classes, but the training sessions enabled our organization to offer a free business service to our local businesses. It was just another justification for having a Main Street program in place. The sessions were invaluable and well received by attendees. Our coach, Joshua, took his time to answer questions and help people individually, as well as the whole group. He was great to work with and came to Boyertown twice offering different session each time.”
Expanding Support for Main Street Businesses
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.
Beginning this spring, a team of four experts will offer quarterly 90-minute webinars, a series of short learning modules, and a weekly office hour for open dialogue and Q&A. Topic areas will include using SMS for marketing, creating video content for social media, choosing the right e‑commerce platform, integrating AI into your marketing, and much more.
“Our primary survey research as well as in the field focus groups and interviews clearly demonstrates that the pace of change remains accelerated and small businesses still need to transition and have access to know-how around digital tools,” said Wagner. “As such we are thrilled for MSA to continue offering small business training, but in a slightly different form and one that will allow for national reach at scale.”
These sessions will provide technical assistance and education to Main Street small business owners. However, we also highly encourage our Main Street managers, Coordinators, and economic development leaders to tune in and pass along these valuable resources to their local business base.
“As laid out in Main Street America’s Strategic Plan, the Main Street Movement is rooted in a belief that supporting entrepreneurs, small businesses, and small-scale development builds community wealth and creates meaningful investment in communities,” said Wagner. “Through our four Small Biz Digital Trainers, we are equipping small business owners and Main Street leaders with tailored support to build stronger local economies and healthier commercial districts.”
Later this spring, we will announce a full schedule of webinars and virtual events for small businesses. Until then, we invite you to learn more about the program by clicking the button below.
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.
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.
Learn how the Little Santo Domingo neighborhood of Miami is working with the Truist Foundation to strengthen pathways to small business ownership.
© Allapattah CDC
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?
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.
