Last night I attended a preliminary informational meeting for sponsors of The Shops of Monmouth Retail Business Competition at Market Alley Wines (http://marketalleywines.com/) here in Monmouth.
I went as a result of recently hearing of a few details of this Competition. I was interested in finding out more (and thought that as a professor who teaches an entrepreneurship class here, I might be able to steer a few prospective entrepreneurs toward the Competition).
I was blown away!
I knew the gist of the nature and objectives of the Competition going in… This is a program designed by the City of Monmouth to provide incentives to entrepreneurs to locate—or relocate—their retail businesses to Monmouth, IL.
What blew me away was the level of organization and, most notably, the incentives being offered. Quoting from the Competition’s webpage (http://shopsofmonmouth.com/index.php/retail-awards).
“There will be three competition winners. Each will receive:
– Up to $5,000 in free commercial rent
– $2,000 cash to go toward build out/improvements
– Local broadcast advertising with Prairie communications (value: $500)
– Local print advertising with the Daily Review Atlas (value: $500)
– 1 year free URL, website hosting and Joomla CMS install (value: $250)
– Professional Joomla template and basic site set up (value: $400)
– Professional logo development through DesignCrowd (value: $300)
– Facebook business page setup
– Monmouth Business Council after-hours event at your new business
– Spring ’15 intern from Monmouth College for 10 hours per week
– Frontier will offer free Install on standard Business DSL and up to 2 phone lines, a 50% discount on the 1st 3 months of local phone service & DSL service and a 15% discount on a Mitel or Avaya phones or phone system (value: up to $500).”
WOW!!… That first point is a big one… $5,000 in rent goes farther than you might think here in Monmouth; possibly up to six full months.
And there is even more… Competition participants will attend a Retail Innovation Workshop wherein they will be guided through “the ten important steps to turn that great idea into a business reality.” Further: “This proven program will help you realize your true potential as a retail entrepreneur and help you get the results you want. The Retail Innovation Workshop provides tools to help you define the value proposition, set revenue goals, analyze the market, and identify the competition.” See http://shopsofmonmouth.com/index.php/retail-seminars for further details.
As I said to Paul Schuytema—the Competition’s primary organizer—and several of the sponsors last night: “This a great opportunity for someone ready to start a new business or wondering if they are ready to start a new business.” With the incentives being offered, anyone with any fears of starting a retail business up in Monmouth might just have had their risk significantly reduced. Of course, as I always stress in Midwest Entrepreneurs (and other classes), entrepreneurial success is predicated first and foremost on (1) having a product that there is sufficient demand for, and (2) focusing on continual customer satisfaction. The incentives do not ensure success; they reduce inevitable start-up risk and enhance the probability of both short- and long-term success.
So… If you are thinking of starting up a retail business or know of someone who is, this Competition may be just the thing you or they need to get up and running and on the path toward entrepreneurial success!!
Further details on the Competition as a whole can be found at its main webpage: http://shopsofmonmouth.com/index.php/retail-business-competition-main.
Finally, thanks to Paul Schuytema and his wife Susan—proprietor of host Market Alley Wines—for a very informational and enjoyable evening!
Regards,
Prof. Gabel
PS: Although school is out for summer here and the Midwest Entrepreneurs class is not offered in the Fall semester, I plan to provide periodic updates to the blog as entrepreneurial events and other happenings come to my attention.
