A GOOD SESSION ON RETAIL INCUBATION...AS FAR AS IT WENT
I was told by a senior staff member of the Main Street Center at the National Trust for Historic Preservation that when I write about the Main Street Program, people email them copies-- GOOD! So I hope they get this one. As regular readers of this blog know, I am an economic development maverick--I push the envelope, because for crying out loud not enough people in the field do! .................................
I call them as a I see them and I do so with 25-years plus of economic development experience under my belt. I was told that writing negatively about them cost me the chance to be a speaker at their annual conference just held. First, I am a big fan of their organization and was first a Main Street Manager in the early 1980's, second, I have gotten several people to join, three I do a lot--a lot-- of pro bono work for Main Street communities, four, I don't recall writing many negative pieces and 5, isn't it ok to be critical of an organization from time-to-time?
I am a little ashamed of myself, because for the first time ever I took down a post--but in the final analysis it was the right thing to do. I actually took a break from this blog for a month or so, but am back in the saddle again--more determined than ever to change the face of economic development and commercial district revitalization--including downtown revitalization. Or if I can't change it--I can comment on it.
Anyway here is the story. I put up a post about an upcoming session at the National Trust's Main Street Program's annual conference(which just ended). I did not mention the organization sponsoring the conference or the person conducting the session(who is a great guy--and I am saying that sincerely) but I was expressing the opinion of many people I heard from or talked to.
As you all know I am HUGE believer in entrepreneurship as a tool for downtown and commercial district revitalization. I also believe retail incubators can play a role in that. Too little is know about Retail Incubation(although I now have a site www.retailincubation.com and I put together a team of academics, downtown revitalization pros, economists and yes even a former librarian to conduct a study on Retail Incubation). I will not bore you with it--but you can to my other site to get info.
So anyway, the Main Street Program of the National Trust had a session scheduled for their annual conference that was titled something like CAUTIONARY TALES ABOUT RETAIL INCUBATORS(ion?). I thought the title was a little negative and still think so. They did not have to do a "how to" session on retail incubators, but they could have made the title a bit more positive(but--look, we all do make mistakes--so no big deal) I also contended in my post that the session was not rooted in the most up-to-date research. They knew I had just completed research and they never called. Certainly they did not have to use my research or even give it the time of day. However, if I heard of someone involved in a major study on a topic and I was about to do a presentation on said topic I think I might, oh I dunno, contact that person. Moreover, if I knew that person had a long-standing interest in the topic I might call and spend 5 minutes on the phone picking their brain and trying to get some linkages to others who know the field. What the hell is the downside??? Particularly since they pay dues to be a member of said organization.
That said, I went to the annual conference which was superbly run(and I am not saying that because I pissed a couple of people off--I am after all a bit of a maverick--we piss people off sometimes). The speakers were great and this organization is short-staffed and they all pulled together to do a great conference in Philadelphia. Anyone in this field who is not a member of the National Trust's Main Street Program is missing a great deal.
So..................I went to the Retail Incubation session. It was one of the few session I could attend because I took a trade show booth and needed to attend to that. I had a flyer at my booth that was critical of the Retail Incubation Session. Off I went to the Retail Incubation session fresh from having copied more of the flyers(they were popular at the booth--the most popular in fact)--and I saw that other consultants had put their literature outside various sessions on tables set up for literature--so I placed a few flyers there--and brought the rest into the session ready to take to my booth afterward--they were in a manila folder.
The session turned out to be GOOD. The speaker was good, it was well organized, he was witty, he kept things moving--he took questions and comments from people--including me. It was informative--although again, a little info from those of us in the field of Retail Incubation could have helped--but the session was good and he turned out to be a very nice, bright, committed professional --I hope the Main Street Center can hang onto him because he obviously contributes a lot.
After the session, I had many people crowd around me to ask me questions about incubators--it was obvious I was well-informed(the speaker of course had people around him). I had NO INTENTION of distributing my literature--it was headed for my booth. However, people started asking for copies of it--and like any good marketer I obliged. Hardly the end of the world, but it was not my session and I would not have liked it had someone done the same(by the way it was not like I was distributing the stuff while the guy was presenting).
A week from now--will anyone really care?
However he was pissed and then it came out that he was pissed about the blog post that I did when I heard about the session. I got my hands slapped by the appropriate people, took my lumps and moved on. So I offer, of my own free will, an apology to the National Trust's Main Street Center and to the speaker, who did a really nice job and is a great guy. My intention was not to advertise my services after his session--although they will probably not buy that--which is just too bad--get over it. I made a mistake when people started asking for info. It was a free exchange of information that RANDOMLY SPRUNG UP--if I had wanted to market I would have hired some temps to stand outside the session and pass my info out!!
So I have to eat a little crow and say it was a good session(but still horribly titled--I will not back down from that).
Also, HEY POTENTIAL SPEAKERS AT EVENTS--if you know a member of your organization is an expert in a certain field --it might be wise to call them and pick their brains. You do not have to use what they say--but a call or an email may help you out.
So, since apparently when I write stuff about the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Main Street Program it gets emailed to them(by the way--I haven't even figured out how to email my BLOG POSTS!), here it is Main Street Staff--I ate crow--it was a good session--with a good presenter who is nice guy--and my criticism of the session title stands. So while I did not mention the name of the organization in my original post--I did here.
I am sincere in saying that they are good organization--I urge people literally daily to join --they are a great resource on downtown revitalization--so join the NATIONAL MAIN STREET CENTER.
The End.
Chuck
Chuck D'Aprix
Principal
Economic Development Visions
DAPRIX BLOG
The Retail Incubation Group
The Downtown Entrepreneurship Project
http://www.economicvisions.com
http://DAPRIXBLOG.com
http://www.retailincubation.com
http://www.downtownproject.com
I call them as a I see them and I do so with 25-years plus of economic development experience under my belt. I was told that writing negatively about them cost me the chance to be a speaker at their annual conference just held. First, I am a big fan of their organization and was first a Main Street Manager in the early 1980's, second, I have gotten several people to join, three I do a lot--a lot-- of pro bono work for Main Street communities, four, I don't recall writing many negative pieces and 5, isn't it ok to be critical of an organization from time-to-time?
I am a little ashamed of myself, because for the first time ever I took down a post--but in the final analysis it was the right thing to do. I actually took a break from this blog for a month or so, but am back in the saddle again--more determined than ever to change the face of economic development and commercial district revitalization--including downtown revitalization. Or if I can't change it--I can comment on it.
Anyway here is the story. I put up a post about an upcoming session at the National Trust's Main Street Program's annual conference(which just ended). I did not mention the organization sponsoring the conference or the person conducting the session(who is a great guy--and I am saying that sincerely) but I was expressing the opinion of many people I heard from or talked to.
As you all know I am HUGE believer in entrepreneurship as a tool for downtown and commercial district revitalization. I also believe retail incubators can play a role in that. Too little is know about Retail Incubation(although I now have a site www.retailincubation.com and I put together a team of academics, downtown revitalization pros, economists and yes even a former librarian to conduct a study on Retail Incubation). I will not bore you with it--but you can to my other site to get info.
So anyway, the Main Street Program of the National Trust had a session scheduled for their annual conference that was titled something like CAUTIONARY TALES ABOUT RETAIL INCUBATORS(ion?). I thought the title was a little negative and still think so. They did not have to do a "how to" session on retail incubators, but they could have made the title a bit more positive(but--look, we all do make mistakes--so no big deal) I also contended in my post that the session was not rooted in the most up-to-date research. They knew I had just completed research and they never called. Certainly they did not have to use my research or even give it the time of day. However, if I heard of someone involved in a major study on a topic and I was about to do a presentation on said topic I think I might, oh I dunno, contact that person. Moreover, if I knew that person had a long-standing interest in the topic I might call and spend 5 minutes on the phone picking their brain and trying to get some linkages to others who know the field. What the hell is the downside??? Particularly since they pay dues to be a member of said organization.
That said, I went to the annual conference which was superbly run(and I am not saying that because I pissed a couple of people off--I am after all a bit of a maverick--we piss people off sometimes). The speakers were great and this organization is short-staffed and they all pulled together to do a great conference in Philadelphia. Anyone in this field who is not a member of the National Trust's Main Street Program is missing a great deal.
So..................I went to the Retail Incubation session. It was one of the few session I could attend because I took a trade show booth and needed to attend to that. I had a flyer at my booth that was critical of the Retail Incubation Session. Off I went to the Retail Incubation session fresh from having copied more of the flyers(they were popular at the booth--the most popular in fact)--and I saw that other consultants had put their literature outside various sessions on tables set up for literature--so I placed a few flyers there--and brought the rest into the session ready to take to my booth afterward--they were in a manila folder.
The session turned out to be GOOD. The speaker was good, it was well organized, he was witty, he kept things moving--he took questions and comments from people--including me. It was informative--although again, a little info from those of us in the field of Retail Incubation could have helped--but the session was good and he turned out to be a very nice, bright, committed professional --I hope the Main Street Center can hang onto him because he obviously contributes a lot.
After the session, I had many people crowd around me to ask me questions about incubators--it was obvious I was well-informed(the speaker of course had people around him). I had NO INTENTION of distributing my literature--it was headed for my booth. However, people started asking for copies of it--and like any good marketer I obliged. Hardly the end of the world, but it was not my session and I would not have liked it had someone done the same(by the way it was not like I was distributing the stuff while the guy was presenting).
A week from now--will anyone really care?
However he was pissed and then it came out that he was pissed about the blog post that I did when I heard about the session. I got my hands slapped by the appropriate people, took my lumps and moved on. So I offer, of my own free will, an apology to the National Trust's Main Street Center and to the speaker, who did a really nice job and is a great guy. My intention was not to advertise my services after his session--although they will probably not buy that--which is just too bad--get over it. I made a mistake when people started asking for info. It was a free exchange of information that RANDOMLY SPRUNG UP--if I had wanted to market I would have hired some temps to stand outside the session and pass my info out!!
So I have to eat a little crow and say it was a good session(but still horribly titled--I will not back down from that).
Also, HEY POTENTIAL SPEAKERS AT EVENTS--if you know a member of your organization is an expert in a certain field --it might be wise to call them and pick their brains. You do not have to use what they say--but a call or an email may help you out.
So, since apparently when I write stuff about the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Main Street Program it gets emailed to them(by the way--I haven't even figured out how to email my BLOG POSTS!), here it is Main Street Staff--I ate crow--it was a good session--with a good presenter who is nice guy--and my criticism of the session title stands. So while I did not mention the name of the organization in my original post--I did here.
I am sincere in saying that they are good organization--I urge people literally daily to join --they are a great resource on downtown revitalization--so join the NATIONAL MAIN STREET CENTER.
The End.
Chuck
Chuck D'Aprix
Principal
Economic Development Visions
DAPRIX BLOG
The Retail Incubation Group
The Downtown Entrepreneurship Project
http://www.economicvisions.com
http://DAPRIXBLOG.com
http://www.retailincubation.com
http://www.downtownproject.com
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