Topics from the Virginia Main Street Blog
Report from the Main Street 2.0 conference
Posted on March 13, 2009 by dhcdvms
While the Virginia Main Street staff was unable to travel to Chicago for the 2009 National Main Streets Conference, Becoming Main Street 2.0, Jessie Chase from Harrisonburg was able to attend and reported back that it was fun, interesting and worthwhile.
Historic building rehabilitation tax credits: 101
Posted on March 12, 2009 by dhcdvms
Did you know that you could receive a credit on your income taxes if you rehabilitate a historic building?
If your rehabilitation meets certain requirements, you could claim 20 percent of your qualified rehabilitation expenses as a credit on your federal income taxes. And, you could claim 25 percent of your qualified rehabilitation expenses as a credit on your state income taxes.
Keep your books in order
Posted on March 12, 2009 by dhcdvms
Want to be sure your small business never becomes a big business? A surefire method to ensure a lack of success is to have shoddy accounting practices. Knowing where your money is, how much of it there is, and when you can expect more are key to proper business planning. Without a plan, your endeavor is doomed to haphazard success, at best.
Focus and attitude
Posted on February 27, 2009 by dhcdvms | Edit
When times are tough, even the most successful retail business can have some trouble. Making the right business decisions is paramount when the margin for error is slim.
Home grown business
Posted on February 25, 2009 by dhcdvms | Edit
Think the talk of “green jobs” is malarkey?
Economic gardening: part II
Posted on February 23, 2009 by dhcdvms | Edit
Last week we discussed the first step of “Economic Gardening,” preparing your community for entrepreneurial success. Now lets focus on the next steps: planting the seeds and nurturing the sprouts.
Get noticed
If you are selling your charming and thriving business district, you will want to be sure that your Web site pops up when someone Googles the obvious things like “historic Virginia towns,” or “antiques + Virginia.” There are several ways to do this, some paid and some not.
Trading Faces: Building and caring for your online reputation
You’ve spent years building your professional reputation and protecting your organization’s good name, but in today’s interconnected, information-rich world it’s easier than ever for the actions of others to damage the goodwill you’ve established.
Virginia’s Main Street in the news
The Sunday, April 5 edition of the Richmond Times-Dispatch had several articles of note about Virginia Main Street communities. Get the scoop on these and others here.
A little entrepreneurial fun
What do Willie Wonka, Homer Simpson and George Jefferson have in common? Find out here.
Making lemonade
What do you do when outside forces toss your business plan out the window. Norm Brodsky relates his story here.