Finally there are some good news reports saying that the economy is on the rebound. But the bad news is that for the 7.2 million people who are unemployed, the job market will remain tight for a while longer.
Locally and nationally there might not be an overabundance of jobs, but it should be noted that there are career opportunities.
Recently the Gazette published an interview with Emporia Main Street director Casey Woods. He said one of the group’s goals this year was to focus on business transitions.
On main street and around town there are many business owners nearing retirement age, and a fear is that those businesses will just close their doors instead of trying to transition the business to a new owner.
It was sad to hear that Dryer’s Shoes will close its doors. We wonder whether, with the business on Commercial Street for more than 50 years and having an established name and clientele, someone might have wanted the opportunity to continue that business.
Businesses are vital to our community, and they improve our quality of life. It is good that our community invests a lot to attract new businesses to town. But we also need to be progressive in helping retain and transition our current businesses.
It is good to see Emporia Main Street stepping forward to make business transition a part of their organization, but it really needs the efforts of other business community organizations and the city.
Our community needs to work as a team to bring together people who are interested in selling their businesses with people who want to own businesses. With unemployment at an all-time high, this is a unique time in history to bring those parties together and grow our business community.
If you have a business you want to sell or if you want to buy a business, call Emporia Main Street director Casey Woods at 340-6430.
Chris Walker
Editor & Publisher
hickory (anonymous) says...
I couldn't figure out why Dryer's didn't sell to someone either. Apparently they weren't making any money or no one had the money to buy them out.
October 28, 2009 at 5:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )