April 2009 - Neighborhood Business Fellows, Regional Entrepreneur Analysis

Morgan Zehner has been named the Director of the Neighborhood Business Fellows (NBF), a program of CHANCE at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. Under Morgan’s leadership, in the Fall of 2009 the Neighborhood Business Fellows will undertake a Regional Entrepreneur Perception Analysis on behalf of West Bank business owners.

The West Bank is the commercial district directly abutting the University of Minnesota campus on the West Bank of the Mississippi River. By interviewing successful Twin Cities retail and restaurant entrepreneurs, the NBF program will assist The West Bank business community to begin using market based approaches to proactively managing the commercial district. The findings of these first-person interviews will assist the West Bank business community with the design and implementation of the following strategic programs:

Local Government Advocacy – The public sector is responsible for public safety, trash removal and cleanliness, and public space management and maintenance. Public sector partners can also assist with small business technical assistance, commercial district marketing and branding, parking management, and public transportation. In order to best leverage public partnership, the needs of the commercial district must be prioritized and well communicated to elected officials and public agencies.

Technical Assistance – The retail and restaurant marketplace is always changing and the resources of many small businesses are severely limited. By surveying best practices businesses in the region, NBF will be able to highlight key improvement areas for individual businesses that can make both participating businesses and the entire commercial district more competitive.

Business Recruitment – The average commercial district in America turns over at a rate of 15 to 20 percent each year. This means that one out of every five storefront spaces needs to be filled every 12 months. Better understanding how the commercial district is viewed as a business opportunity will help The West Bank to determine what business models are viable in the district and how to attract them.