Northside Business Walk

Northside - Madison Business Walk

Click Here to Read the Report

Presented By: City of Madison and Madison Gas and Electric

The City of Madison Office of Business Resources and Madison Gas and Electric partnered with the Northside Planning Council, Northside Economic Development Coalition, Northside Business Association, Northside News and the Madison Region Economic Partnership to present the first Northside Business Walk on September 8, 2016.

A Business Walk is an economic development initiative that, in a short amount of time, allows local leaders to get the pulse of how a business community is doing. The premise behind each walk is to “locate the successes and obstacles the local business community is facing and then track that information and provide assistance.” In total 47 business and civic volunteer's were divided into 12 different groups (two to three people per group) + 3 large employer groups. The 47 volunteers visited 146 businesses in three hours.

                  Their conversation was focused around five basic questions:

·       How’s Business?

·       What do you like about business on the Northside?

·       What can be done to improve business on the Northside?

·       Will your business be affected by the closing of Oscar Mayer?

A few members from the business walk planning committee.

Business and Civic Volunteers - Training for the Business Walk

Business and Civic Volunteers - Training for the Business Walk

Business and Civic Volunteers - Training for the Business Walk

Business and Civic Volunteers - Training for the Business Walk

Mayor Paul Soglin

Business Walk

Business Walk

Business Walk

Thank you Willy Street - Co-op North for being our bag sponsor!

Each group was assigned a specific area, 12 areas + three large employer groups.

When the business walk was completed, 40 companies were followed up with directly. These companies addressed needing additional help or mentioned a major problem to the volunteers. The City of Madison Office of Business Resources coordinated the City’s response to a number of municipal issues brought up by business owners. The Engineering Department, Madison Police, Community Development and Economic Development Departments were connected to the businesses owners and ongoing follow-up is occurring.

The Northside Economic Development Coalition and the Northside Business Association look forward to collaborating with the City of Madison and other economic development partners on Northside projects for the next one to two years and using the report to guide these efforts.

A final report with the business walk findings will be added to the blog very soon. Here are a few pictures from the event.

Community Blueprint - Business Walks - PART 2

(Click Here for Part 1)

How does it work?
The program features a half-day blitz of a business community by trained volunteers who ask business owners/managers a very short list of four questions (see below).

a.)   How is business?
b.)  What do you like about doing business in your area?
c.)   What can be done to improve doing business in your area?
d.)  Would you like someone to follow up with your company after the walk?  

This brief format allows for 100-200 businesses to be reached in two to three hours. A typical half -day Business Walk will include breakfast/registration, training for the volunteers, a business walk in the community, lunch, and a debrief session.  Overall, coordination of the event from start to finish typically takes two to three months.

Why?
The Business Walk Program helps communities create a unified voice and build a stronger relationship between the business community and local government. The program has also initiated change of burdensome regulations, created crime prevention programs and the 3/50 project. But most importantly, it has allowed communities to target and assist companies at risk: saving them from going out of business, relocating to another community, and saving local jobs. Contact Blueprint Events to see how the Business Walk Program can jump start your community’s business retention and expansion efforts!