Tune in February 9 to Small Business Revolution to see if Frostburg makes the Top FIVE Finalists! Voting begins February 9 – February 16
Cast your vote for Frostburg at smallbusinessrevolution.org!
Vote once per day, per device, and per browser!
Use these tabs to find out what this could mean for Frostburg if we win!
Be sure to see the “Useful Links” at the bottom of the page!
What is Small Business Revolution on Main Street?
Small Business Revolution (SBR) is a project sponsored by Deluxe Corporation, a small business growth engine and resource center. As they celebrated their 100 year anniversary in 2015, they wanted to find a way to give back to the small businesses that create the fiber of America, and they chose to do this by offering the winning town of the Small Business Revolution a $500,000 Main Street Makeover. Season 1 features SBR winner Wabash, Indiana. You will find a link to Season 1 at the bottom of this page.
How did Frostburg get nominated, and how were we selected as a shortlist finalist?
In September, SBR asked for nominations for inspiring small towns across America. This year, they received 14,000 nominations, and from there, they sorted through nominations to find the towns that they found most inspiring. Frostburg was nominated by Katie Morgan, a Frostburg State University alumna currently living in Southern Maryland. Katie saw the call for nominations, and because she fell in love with Frostburg while here for school, she nominated Frostburg as a way to show support for our small town. Her nomination caught the eye of SBR, and they sent her a series of about 15 follow-up questions that required in-depth knowledge of the town. Because she did not know how to answer these questions, she sent them to John Kirby, our City administrator, and he sent them to us here at FrostburgFirst. After the questions were answered, we received a follow-up phone call a few weeks later. We had a 20 minute phone interview discussing the challenges we face as a community, how we have overcome these challenges, what challenges business owners face, what type of economic activity we have on our Main Street, and what is the story of our town. Two weeks after the phone interview, we received a phone call saying we were selected as a top 8 ‘shortlist finalist.’
What does ‘shortlist finalist’ mean?
We are not yet a top finalist! We are among seven other communities selected as a ‘shortlist finalist.’ SBR is currently visiting each community to tour, visit with business owners, and get to know each community. They are taking this time to whittle down the nominations to the top 5 communities. They will announce their top 5 finalists on February 9, and the nation will have ONE WEEK to vote for their favorite community to win the Small Business Revolution.
Why is Small Business Revolution Visiting on January 9?
A crew of six Small Business Revolution team members, including Amanda Brinkman from Deluxe, will visit on Monday, January 9, to tour the town. They will film interviews in the morning with the two selected town representatives. This interview will be condensed into a two minute promotional video to use if we are selected as a top finalist. After filming, the crew will split into two groups to visit with business owners, meet with as many people as possible, and film their journey throughout the day. You can show your support by coming to Frostburg to dine and shop during their visit.
What happens if we win the Small Business Revolution?
If we win the Small Business Revolution, Amanda Brinkman from Deluxe Corporation and entrepreneur Robert Herjavec from Shark Tank will choose six businesses in the Main Street district to consult with during their time here. For the six businesses they choose to work with, Small Business Revolution will offer the professional services of their expert team at Deluxe to include help with marketing, design, branding, accounting/financial consulting, etc. In addition to choosing six businesses, they will work with city leaders to find aesthetic projects to complete around town to spruce the town up. Small Business Revolution will also create an eight episode documentary series to be aired on Hulu and on their website smallbusinessrevolution.org
How will this benefit the whole community/region?
As part of the Small Business Revolution $500,000 Main Street Makeover, the team will film eight episodes documenting their time and work spent here in Frostburg. This will be available on Hulu and on their website for free. The exposure we will receive will be monumental in helping to draw visitors, prospective students, prospective business, etc. The services that Deluxe will offer to six business owners will give a few of our businesses the tools in their tool box to truly succeed. These business owners can share their experience with other business owners to uplift the entire community.
What we can we do now to help this process along?
As Small Business Revolution visits each community, they will ask for community members and all supporters of Frostburg to use social media to express why they love Frostburg using the hashtag (#) #MyFrostburg. Make sure you mark you post as public! Showing your support on social media will help the team see the support we have for this nomination, thus increasing our likelihood of getting a top finalist position. Take pictures, think of memories, post on facebook, Instagram and twitter. Tag @FrostburgFirst. Tag @Small Business Revolution. Use #myfrostburg.
How do we win this competition?
The top 5 finalists will be announced on Facebook on February 9, 2017. If Frostburg is announced as a top 5 finalist, the nation will have ONE WEEK to vote, which is where you come in! To win this competition will take a true community effort. We will need the help of all of you and every person you know to share voting information and to vote every single day, on multiple devices a day. You do NOT have to live in Frostburg, be from Frostburg, or have anything to do with Frostburg to vote for Frostburg. Share this information far and wide! Think of the more broad network we share outside of our community. Tag as many influential people you know on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The town with the most votes will win the competition. Dream big!
Useful Links:
Watch Season 1 of the Small Business Revolution on Main Street
Frostburg, MD Small Business Revolution Facebook Group
Frostburg, MD Small Business Revolution Facebook Event
Small Business Revolution Official Website
Deluxe Corporation Official Website
