Business Guild of Seminole Heights Needs You!

Since moving to Seminole Heights in 2000, I have watched the residential districts improve and blossom. Home by home, the peeling paint is removed, rotted wood is replaced, yards are cleaned up, and the character and charm of the architecture shines through. People who once were shocked that I purchased a home East of I-275 are now envious of the area. However, the commercial corridors have changed very little in the last decade. We are blessed with a few new resident-serving businesses like and , but the majority of the streets look the same.

Over five years ago a bunch of neighbors lead by Sherry King and Susanne Prieur met at a local cafe and talked about ways we could encourage some change in our commercial corridors. I met there with many of my friends and neighbors interested in seeing the formation of a business association that would be open to any business but would focus on resident-serving businesses in particular. One of the themes of discussion was how difficult it was for “Mom and Pop” businesses to open in Seminole Heights. Viva la Frida's, , , and other new businesses were having trouble navigating city code, parking requirements, liquor licenses, and other restrictions. At this first meeting, we talked about the yet-unnamed business association constructing a resource for helping people interested in opening a business in Seminole Heights. This guide would included advice on who to contact, what codes to be aware of, and other information provided by existing business owners through their own experience.

That unnamed business association became the Business Guild of Seminole Heights (BGoSH). In a , I read that their volunteer levels are down and they made a plea for volunteers to come and help move the organization forward. I agree with BGoSH president Larry Drane; the primary culprit for the slow-down in local organizations is the current economic climate. I see all of the local organizations going through this but none more than BGoSH, whose members are probably hit hardest by the recession. Larry comments that the $35 membership fee is more than paid back through marketing opportunities and I have no doubt that is likely true. 

Unfortunately, Seminole Heights is overflowing with inexpensive marketing opportunities and businesses can choose from free to a couple hundred dollars a year reaching audiences as low as 100 per month in blogs to 2000 per issue in the association newsletters. Do Seminole Heights businesses really need more marketing or would they be better off with a more customized file of information on opening a businesses in Seminole Heights that goes over our unique risks and ways to turn them into opportunities? There is a wealth of information on running a business in Seminole Heights stored within the memories of the 125 members of the organization. With volunteer hours dwindling as people redouble their efforts to keep their business competitive and profitable, perhaps BGoSH could use this lull to build more powerful tools and resources to provide to the local community once the economy heats up again and they are flush with volunteers and projects.

Over the past ten years, I have seen surveys and participated in front porch conversations that show frustration in the lack of resident-serving businesses within Seminole Heights. The Old Seminole Heights Neighborhood Association contacted the city in 2009 and had a  marketing report on business demand in Seminole Heights drawn up by the firm Social Compact. The report concluded that within a one-mile radius of Nebraska Avenue alone, the area was losing $600 million dollars of retail revenue per year as residents drove outside of the area to shop and dine. I firmly believe that BGoSH is the neighborhood's best weapon in our fight to keep that revenue in Seminole Heights. If all you might do is volunteer one Sunday afternoon to staff their market booth, or spend a few hours a month helping BGoSH collect and disperse information, you would be doing a great service to the neighborhood. Please consider volunteering.