I sort of feel like a tornado is coming through all of our lives right now too. The impact of COVID-19 on our small businesses feels like a tornado. There is no choice but to rebuild. But how we rebuild and whether we create something that is stronger than before is up to us.

Small-scale manufacturing businesses prepared overnight to help fight the pandemic and fill the gaping holes in our domestic supply chain. It’s time to invest and create a secure supply chain. Here’s 4 steps to get there.

Our smaller cities and towns are hitting the financial wall. A really big, really hard, cement wall. We need to focus on the investments that will help local economies rebound the fastest and help local jurisdictions start to pull in revenues as soon as possible. Here’s what we need to do.

Business owners of color, women-owned businesses, and immigrant-owned businesses historically have not been at the front of the line for federal and state small business support. Why do we think this time is any different? In a time of crisis, the first instinct is to just get the money out the door. But now we need to do better.

Senator Van Hollen’s staff gave us an overview of the SBA’s Emergency Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) on Monday 3/30/20. Links to the newly released PPP details (announced 3/31/20) included!

The Senate passed the bill (as of Thursday afternoon 3/26) and the House is expected to pass it tomorrow. Here is a brief summary of parts of the Senate bill that relate to small business and unemployment. And some other parts I think are most interesting. Let’s use this funding immediately to help our small business find relief and pivot to answer immediate needs in our communities.

Local governments, philanthropy, and non-profits across the country are coming to the aid of small businesses to help them survive this crisis. The need is urgent as more states close nearly all businesses to contain the spread of COVID-19. But access to information and resources is spotty at best, and there is an overwhelming need to fund relief for small businesses. Here is triage in 3 steps that we discussed on Monday with 100 people on zoom.

“It’s not just that we’re slowing down things. We’re actually hitting the pause button, and there is no precedent, there is no mold for that.” Diane Swonk made it vividly clear that this isn’t about a quick emergency. This is our economy hitting pause – something for which we have no precedent and no model. There are three steps we can take now to make a big difference.

For the third time this month, I find myself explaining to someone why I don’t do market analyses for small-scale manufacturing. At least not the way they’re imagining it.

“There was this hidden economy already chugging along that no one had capitalized on.” Those words were like lightning bolts on the phone. I was talking to my client in Columbia, MO (The Business Loop – a community improvement district), and all of a sudden Carrie (the exec) said it about our work to bring small-scale manufacturing businesses into the community development project.

Too many downtowns, or at least the decision makers who represent downtowns, think that the one thing that will bring them back from vacancy and neglect is an H&M. Let that sink in a sec.

My mother’s birthday is today. She would have been 79 years old. She died just over a year ago. In honor of my mother’s birthday and the RC anniversary, here are a few lessons from my mother that guide my days, my work, and honestly, my life. I hope they help you too - with your community, your work, and your life.

Commercial displacement means that as new development and investment comes in, legacy businesses get kicked out. But do we have a responsibility to address it like we take on residential displacement?

Everyone wants a busy main street with packed stores and lots of shoppers strolling the sidewalks. You can picture it, right? Shoppers strolling the street, people looking into store windows and running into neighbors, visitors marveling at the beauty of main street.

People are talking about downtown and reinvestment all the time now. But are they getting anywhere? Are they making places that include everyone in the economy? Are they building a place with a resilient economy and more good paying jobs?

Etsy and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth announced this week the 2019 recipients of the Etsy Maker Cities grant program. Recast City is thrilled to be part of the Etsy team and to provide the recipients with the Recast City Masterclass.

Transforming an appliance warehouse into a combination co-work space, performance venue, art gallery, and cafe takes more than just construction chops. It takes vision, hard work, and a deep and personal belief that this place matters.

Redevelopment means bringing a neighborhood back to life. And it’s hard to do. Really hard. When your Main Street or downtown is struggling, the idea of ever becoming a thriving place again can seem like a completely insurmountable challenge. But you can do it.

Every Saturday morning, the Cherry Street neighborhood in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma fills with a rainbow of flowers and produce, the smell of freshly baked bread and roasted coffee, and the sound of neighbors and families chatting. The neighborhood wasn’t always this thriving, though.

The economy is much different today than it was 50 years ago. But you wouldn’t necessarily know it based on some communities’ approach to economic development.