Tim Eaton talks about why he chose downtown for the Science Project during the Downtown Re-imagined event at The State Theatre in Logansport on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022. Photo by Jonah Hinebaugh | Pharos-Tribune
“I think we always had this grandiose idea that downtown Logansport could be like downtown Wabash or downtown Kokomo,” Matt Swisher said Tuesday night, Oct. 11, during the Logansport Re-imagined event at the State Theatre. “I think we are definitely getting there.”
The event drew approximately 40 people and was a mix of information for those interested in starting a business downtown and those already running one. Updates on current and future downtown projects were also provided.
The Logan's Landing Economic Vitality Committee and the Logansport Re-imagined Committee joined together to offer the event. It was broken into two segments with panelists and hosted by Arin Shaver, Logansport Planning Department executive director.
Swisher, who co-owns Bonus Pints with his wife Katya, was part of a panel of business owners during the second half of the program that included Stacy Angle from The People’s Winery, The Science Project’s Tim Eaton, and Tom Patridge, co-owner alongside his wife of The Partridge Gallery.
One of the things stressed early on in the panel was how local businesses help each other out. Angle said that Judy Masters, owner of Judy’s GoodLife Emporium, gave her a copy of the business plan used to open the Emporium.
Partridge said one of the keys to being successful in business is that you must be a people person.
“You have to be able to talk to people,” he said. “But you really need to be able to listen to people and solve their problems.”
He said both he and his wife love Logansport and felt they owed the town something and that they could do something good for the community.
“It’s not just us doing it,” he said. “It’s Arin, it’s the mayor, the grant (providers) — it’s everyone. It took a village to make what has happened downtown happen.”
Angle suggested future business owners find their lane and stay in it, focusing on what they are passionate about.
“We’re all different and unique and we bring strength to downtown,” she said. “Stay in your own lane. When you (are a new business) and money is coming in everyone is telling you how to spend it. Then you start seeing what other people are doing. Stay in your lane and do what you are good at, even if you don’t grow as fast as you want to grow.”
The first panel focused on finding resources and help for starting a business along with marketing tips. The panel included Lindsey Miller, a local photographer with a background in marketing, Jordan Jicha, the regional director of the Hoosier Heartland Indiana Small Business Development Center at Purdue University, Lynne Ness, Security Federal Savings Bank senior vice president and business development officer, and Memi Rennewanz, an owner and also broker at MPR Reality.
Jicha said the Small Business Development Center at Purdue was a great place to start for those seeking to open a business. He said the center could help potential owners put together a business plan and prepare for asking banks for a loan. The center can also provide market research and connect new business owners to other helping hands in the community.
Rennewanz also said that people could find help in finding spaces to lease by calling the Chamber of Commerce or Logan’s landing.
If buying an already established business, Ness suggested that a potential purchaser should ask to see at least three years worth of tax returns to understand the potential flow of profits and to see if the business can account for any loans that are taken out to buy it.
Swisher hoped that a time will come when people will look forward to coming to downtown Logansport on Friday and Saturday nights. But he cautioned there was still a lot of work to do.
“There’s 18,000 people in Logansport and a small fraction of them know what we are doing down here,” Swisher said. “This is going to be a long burn. It’s going to take awhile.”
© 2024 Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.