Communities naturally ask “are local retail businesses reaching their fullest potential or are there weaknesses that need to be addressed?” In order to address these basic questions communities need to have basic insights into the relative strengths and weaknesses local retail and service markets.
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It is widely reported that most new businesses and jobs are created by the economic activities of existing enterprises. For that reason alone it makes sense to be attentive to the needs and interests of a community’s existing business base. This guide offers a complementary “middle-ground” approach that is less formal than a BR&E program, and more purposeful than very casual approaches.
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The program provides communities different approaches to address economic and community capacity issues. Surveys are predominantly used to gather information needed for decision makers.
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The purpose of the report is to identify action strategies that can be implemented by the Town Board, Planning commission and other committees in Phelps as an aid to the revitalization of their downtown and the community.
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The market analysis toolbox helps you study downtown business and real estate development opportunities in an era of large format stores and online shopping.
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Through a series of PDF articles, this toolbox offers ideas on how to create a vibrant downtown in a small community. The publications analyze the benefits and difficulties of downtowns on topics ranging from competing with Big Box Stores to space utilization.
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This resource is designed to provide innovative ideas for local business expansion and recruitment efforts. It also serves as a companion resource to the Downtown & Business District Market Analysis toolbox by providing to the user examples of thriving businesses in similar communities.
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The University of Wisconsin-Extension (UWEX), through its statewide network of county-based UWEX educators, is a leader in helping Wisconsin communities examine and evaluate how Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) can support their economic development plans.
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What makes a community special? Principles and Practice of Community Placemaking (G4083) serves as a guide for local officials, community development professionals, citizen groups and more who want to make their communities the best they can be. Includes many photos and real-life examples (56 pages; January 2016).
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