On the first night of the conference, the Waypoint Accelerator program had six entrepreneurs present their pitches for funding in “Shark Tank” style. All of these businesses had spent time going through the mentoring program. Each business had an outdoor economy focus and was at a point of growth. To grow their businesses, they needed additional funding to reach the next level.
First of all, “Waypoint Accelerator is an outdoor entrepreneurship and innovation accelerator program for early-stage, outdoor-focused companies who have recently embarked on their journey or are still at the trailhead waiting to take the first step”.
Asheville Wellness Retreats & Tours offers services such as Guided Forest Bathing & Nature Therapy, and Fun Hiking Yoga Tours.
North Cove Leisure Club bought a golf course and had turned it into a Disc Golf (frisbee) and Pickle Ball entertainment venue.
Timber Ninja makes lightweight, carbon fiber, mobile hunting gear such as tree stands.
Urban Outdoors is an Online Media Business that offers online guides to cities across the nation.
Green Moose Fuel makes energy supplements for outdoor adventure activities.
WNC Outdoor Collective is A Gathering Place For Outdoor Makers, Retailers, Enthusiasts & Adventurers.
The reason I found this session interesting is that I have recently begun to discuss with local community and economic development leaders an idea on How to Create Weldon Into a Tourist Destination. Many of the ideas I had put on paper are some of the same things the Waypoint Accelerator is already doing. This is a model to follow.
In my search for support and ideas, I talked with Simon Jones, Founder, and President of NatureScapes, which Specializes in Nature Travel Destination Development. His business is developing a program called UPLIFT NC which has a goal to “boost tourism to rural and under-resourced communities in NC by strengthening and connecting tourism sites, services and business in targeted regions within the State. This will include natural, recreational, cultural, agricultural, culinary, built and other tourism experiences”. This too will be a model to follow.
I also met Shane Williams who is with The Small Business and Technology Development Center. While he pointed me to seek assistance with their program from their Raleigh office, we did connect on the fact that he once owned a River Rafting business. So I picked his brain as it would relate to opportunities in Weldon. And it turned out he is familiar with Weldon because he has been an instructor in a High Water Rescue Training that was held at the Weldon boat landing for first responders.
One of his suggestions, that he said would be easy to start, is a short trip tubing adventure. The entrepreneur would be able to run several trips a day doing this.
To Create Weldon into a Tourist Destination, Weldon needs to have tourism-related businesses. Think,
Tour Guide services of
Historic Homes
Railroad and River History
Fun Experiences related businesses, such as
Ax Throwing
A campfire and storytelling experience
River Boat tours with storytelling
Adventure Experiences
Canoe, Kayak, Tubing Rental, and Guide Service
Fishing
Lodging
Airbnbs
Traditional Bed & Breakfast Inns
Campgrounds
Dining
A High-End restaurant
I believe that if we as a community were to put together
a mentoring program for these types of businesses,
cast a vision of what we want to happen,
with a Launch Date for several businesses to start at the same time
make suggestions on the types of businesses that we believe will work in the area,
seek entrepreneurs to start these businesses
give them support with a mentoring/business incubator program,
provide marketing support,
Weldon would be well on its way to becoming a destination where visitors will come and enjoy the area, spend money and grow our economy.
The contacts made and the ideas learned have made attending the conference invaluable in pursuing these goals. Let’s Make It Happen.
As I have reported, recently I attended the Outdoor Economy Conference in Cherokee, NC, which stressed the importance of building local economies with outdoor-related tourism opportunities.
I truly believe that Weldon needs to become a destination for visitors. We have so much to offer for them to come and enjoy what we have and what we can develop. So, many of the ideas I will be presenting will be colored with that thought process.
I came away from the conference believing that Weldon needs to have a Downtown and Recreation Master Plan. Having a Grand Plan for everything we are trying to make happen will go a long way in our ability to seek funding for many different things.
While we have plans for some individual projects, such as the River Walk and the Town Square, these projects will need to be encompassed into a Master Plan which will need to include everything we have been wanting to happen. All the ideas of creating a riverside trail from the boat ramp all the way around to Riverside Mill, the ideas of creating a venue to host concerts at the river, lodging at the river, and, as will be mentioned below, a Streetscape plan for Downtown. In a future blog, I’ll write about a business recruitment plan, a corridor improvement plan from I-95 through downtown and to the river.
These are ideas. We don’t need to wait till we have a grant that we have an opportunity to apply for, then scrabble and try to create a plan to apply for it. If all of these ideas were included into a Master Plan, it would show that we as leaders in the community have given forethought to what we want to happen and have planned it out.
I’m not suggesting that we spend months re-planning. I’m suggesting that we take all the ideas that have already been envisioned and put them into a well-packaged plan (with pretty pictures).
I would like for us to also consider these projects.
Downtown Streetscape. Currently, a committee is working on making improvements to the sidewalks.
But consider this.
A streetscape plan that converts our street with sidewalks into an attractive and inviting Avenue. New trees and planting areas, and sidewalks that deal with the elevation challenges and connect these to the green spaces of Central Park, Rockfish Capital Hill, the Town Square, and the Canal Trail.
Washington Avenue could be so much more inviting and attractive.
While at the conference, I met several companies that were vendors that offered these services.
Gary Warner and Warren Ladbrook with Withers Ravenel, a Civil Engineering firm, could assist with Master Planning and with getting funding to make the project happen. They could also provide assistance to owners of some of the big building projects that need to happen downtown.
This company has been working with Four Oaks, NC on a Downtown Streetscape Master Plan. Here’s a link to that plan http://fouroaks-nc.com/economic-development/ Please take a few minutes to look over the web page and then click the link at the bottom of that page, it will open the actual report and “pretty pictures”.
Tim Johnson, Senior Planner with Destination by Design, specializes in creating Downtown Revitalization Streetscape Designs with Public Spaces. They also can create Recreation Master Plans.
The plans for the future Town Square project in the 100 block of Sycamore Street is a very attractive plan and worthy to be pursued and developed. But I believe that we need to give some attention to our current green spaces downtown. These are Rockfish Capital Hill and Central Park (the area between the apartments and Sunshine Grill)
I have been floating some ideas for these areas to local leaders that include improving the landscaping, installing a sidewalk from the top of Rockfish Capital Hill, and connecting it to Central Park. Relocating the shelter from the center of the lot to the back of the lot. This will allow for the shelter to be used as a “bandstand” and the yard for attendees.
We should also consider this, currently First Street, from Hwy 301 to Walnut Street, (near Riverside MIll) is the designated Canal Trail. And to be frank, it’s quite barren and not attractive. So much more could be done to make this a very inviting and attractive corridor leading visitors and trail walkers to downtown, the future Town Square, and the riverfront.
But all of these ideas and visions will need a “plan” in order to seek funding to make them happen.
At the Conference, there was a lot of excitement around the unprecedented amount of funding that is now available that can be used to develop outdoor economy opportunities. Money for all sorts of tourism-related projects that will lead to the growth of a communities economy. BUT the overlaying comment that was made over and over was “ You Need To Have A Plan”
That’s my belief. We need a Master Plan.
Look for the next Blog “To Become a Tourist Destination”
Recently I had the opportunity to attend the Outdoor Economy Conference in Cherokee, NC.
The Outdoor Economy Conference “connects, educates, and inspires leaders and doers working to grow the outdoor industry and craft an economy that’s intimately tied to the well-being of their places and communities”. There was a strong focus on how Tourism Development around outdoor activities is good for local economies.
We learned that the Outdoor Economy is a $689 Billion industry and that represents 2% of the GDP.
Since the conference was hosted by leaders in the Outdoor Economy in Western NC, there was a heavy enhasses on hiking, camping, biking, and river sports, such as canoeing, kayaking, and tubing.
Here are some of the “Takeaways” that I learned and potential ways we can apply and benefit from those ideas.
*In Western NC, Tourism is a driving force of local economies. They promote the natural and historical assets of the area to grow their economies and communities. We can do the same thing as Weldon.
*All communities want to be a Thriving Community with attractive neighborhoods, enjoyable parks and recreation areas, and successful business districts. Tourism can be an element to make all this happen, creating quality of Life and a Sense of Place for the citizens and a Great Experience for Visitors.
*To grow an economy through tourism, communities need to have places for visitors not only to visit but places for them to spend money.
*People will come and visit, but when they come they will want and need amenities. Some of these will be convenient restrooms, places to eat, and a WIFI connection are just a few. Weldon needs to consider public restrooms downtown and provide WIFI for all.
*And with visitations, there will come the need for maintenance and updates.
There was a lot of excitement around the unprecedented amount of funding that is now available that can be used to develop outdoor economy opportunities. Money for all sorts of tourism-related projects that will lead to the growth of a communities economies. BUT the overlaying comment that was made over and over was “ You Need To Have A Plan”
I came away believing that Weldon needs to have a Downtown and Recreation Master Plan. Having a Grand Plan for everything we are trying to make happen will go a long way in our ability to seek funding for many different things. While we have plans for some individual projects, these projects will need to be encompassed into a Master Plan which will need to include everything we have been wanting to happen.
I’m not suggesting that we spend months re-planning. I’m suggesting that we take all the ideas that have already been envisioned and put them into a well-packaged plan (with pretty pictures). A future article will speak more about this topic,
One of the programs I found most interesting is the Waypoint Accelerator and the “Shark Tank” type business pitches of six businesses that had gone through their program. First of all the Waypoint Accelerator is a mentoring program for outdoor entrepreneurs who have recently started businesses and are wanting to expand them or are seeking to start a business.
The reason I found this session interesting is that I have recently begun to discuss with local community and economic development leaders an idea on How to Create Weldon Into a Tourist Destination. Many of the ideas I had put on paper are some of the same things the Waypoint Accelerator is already doing. This is a model to follow. A future article will discuss this idea and project further.
As with any conference that one goes to, sometimes the best information learned does not always come from the sessions and the speakers but from random meetings with attendees. Conversations where you find out what someone else does and you realize that is the exact type of information we need.
I met with Lynn Fuhler, who is a Festival and Event Management Expert, Author & Speaker. She has written a couple of books about festival planning and the things to avoid.
Wanda Maloney is the Executive Director of the Blue Ridge Parkway Association, Inc. She also owns a company called Corridor Solutions which has a focus on creating and enhancing Scenic Byways and Visitor Experiences.
Eric Haggart wears several hats, he owns a Photography and Commercial Drone business. He became a Chamber Board Member which has led to him doing Social Media posts for the Franklin NC Chamber of Commerce. We talked about how I could improve the social media presence of several of the businesses I own. This was very helpful information for me.
And I met several others that will be mentioned in future articles.
All in All, it was a great experience with an overload of information. Now to figure out ways to gain benefit and growth from what has been learned.
This will be another post that will have a personal vibe to it, but it too is all for the good of Weldon.
To recap the last blog post, I spent the fall months working on facade improvement on two of my building, gaining some Social Media training that has lead to the development of the “Find Great Treasures’ marketing campaign, worked on serval projects to begin implementing that program and had a lot of fun as Santa Andy.
I had planned to spend the winter months working on two of my storefronts that are not rentable because they need work. I get inquiries almost weekly from people seeking a place to open a business. And while Weldon has several vacant buildings, I can assure you that they are vacant because they need a lot of work done to them to make them rentable. So it had been my plan to get my two storefronts rentable to provide the opportunity for a couple more businesses to locate in Weldon.
One of these storefronts needs most of the 130-year-old wooden floor replaced. It has rotted out in several places and is not safe to occupy. This storefront is about 2000 sq ft and will be a big job physically and financially.
The other storefront will be in the building that was a former gas station on the corner of 2nd Street and Washington Avenue. The former gas station had an office area and 2 garage bays. The office area had been converted to a carryout restaurant several years ago. One of the garage bays has been renovated to be a dining room or can be used as a small retail shop. The other garage bay is still unfinished. It has been my plan to fix this space up and rent it as another small retail shop.
Then I learned in late December that two of my properties will be going through some significant transitioning.
For the past three years, The Downtown Weldon Flea Market has had one vendor that has occupied 75% of the building, about 4500 sq ft. That vendor has decided to rent a building of her own and has moved out.
I also learned in late December that the restaurant in the former gas station building has decided to close.
With these two significant changes, my plans have needed to change also. Instead of working on getting the two storefronts fixed up, I will need to hold onto the money I have until the loss income has been recovered.
Therefore, I will now be spending most of my time recruiting new vendors to the flea market and a new tenant for the restaurant building.
There will be some work that needs to be done on the restaurant building to get it ready for the next tenant that will include repainting with a new paint scheme.
While these are significant transitions, they do open up opportunities for many others.
At the Downtown Weldon Flea Market, there are several rooms and booths, all can be secured when the vendor is not there. The vendor can be present and sell their own stuff or the market’s attendant will sell it for them. The rents are affordable and there are no commissions of the sales.
The restaurant is being promoted as a carry-out kitchen only at this time. Due to the pandemic restrictions on restaurants and the number of guests they can have in the dining room, it will be better for the dining room not to be included with the restaurant opportunity. That space will be rented as a small retail shop.
Know of someone that would like to take advantage of one of these opportunities? I can be contacted by calling 252-532-7504 or emailing andywhitby789@gmail.com.
The “strikethrough” text was written in early January and not posted at that time because I’ve had a lot of stuff going on. The “stuff” has resulted in 10 new vendors at the Downtown Weldon Flea Market where there will be An All-New Shopping Experience.
I also talked with many people about the restaurant building and received written proposals from three. After careful consideration of who I felt had the best ability to build a successful business, a new tenant has begun getting ready to open in early February.
There have been many projects to get both buildings ready but progress is happening.
Find previous blog posts at www.weldonnc.com/blog.
Next time, we’ll begin to learn more about each of the Treasured Businesses of Downtown Weldon.
Please share this email with others.
Shop these Treasured Businesses of Downtown Weldon
OPEN
Riverside Mill, Antiques-Arts-Outlets 200 Mill St 7 days 10-6
That Pops Thrift Boutique 231 Wash. Ave Thur-Sat 10-4
Treasure Chest Thrift Store 321B Wash. Ave Thur-Sat 10-4
Nature’s Manna: Herbs, Kefir and Other Healthy Stuff 321 A Wash. Ave Tue-Sat 10-6
Trends: Urban Clothing 214 Wash. Ave Mon-Sat 12-7
Stepin’ High Clothing 212 Wash Ave Mon-Sat 12-7
This N That Thrift Shop 104 E 2nd St 1st Weekends
Holloman’s Auctions 207 E 2nd Most Sat 10-until
Weldon Mills Distillery Tours, 200 Rockfish Dr. Sat 1-8
51 Sycamore Restaurant & Bar 51 Sycamore St Fri-Sat 5pm-11pm
Andy Whitby (252-532-7504) has been an advocate for Weldon and a local historian for many years. Whitby has been involved in Downtown Revitalization efforts through tourism and economic development for nearly 30 years. As the owner of several downtown commercial properties, Whitby seeks to provide attractive and affordable rental space for locally owned businesses and entrepreneurs.
If you know of others that would enjoy this type of information on the revitalization of Weldon, please forward their email address to andywhitby789@gmail.com with ADD in the subject.
If you want to be removed from receiving these emails. send a request to the same email address with REMOVE in the subject line. AW
This post will have more of a personal vibe to it but it’s all for the good of Weldon.
The development of this marketing campaign of “Find Great Treasures” has, at times, put me into a bit of a squeeze to make progress on all fronts.
Back in the summer, I decided that I would devote the fall months to giving some of my buildings a facade improvement. Mostly a fresh coat of paint, but it’s never that easy. There’s always some rotten wood or re-glazing of windows and of course, scraping paint and washing and… and…. and.
And let me preface this with the fact that I work a 3rd shift job, getting up at 10:30 pm and getting back home around 5 am. I get my best sleep in the mornings and usually get up for day work around 10 am. So this only gives me a few hours in the afternoons to work on buildings or other activities, since I try to wrap up the day in time for dinner, a shower and bedtime by 7 pm.
In late August I began work on the storefront of the Mane Attraction Beauty Salon at 306 Washington Avenue and completed it in mid-September.
Then I moved on to a big project of preparing and repainting the corner building of Washington Avenue and 3rd Street. If you’ve seen my Facebook post
( https://www.facebook.com/andywhitby1/ ) in October and November on the progress of this project, you can tell there’s been extensive paint scraping with impressive results on the cast-iron pilasters.
The number of days I had to work on this project was limited by the fact that the business in that building is open and busy on Fridays and Saturdays. It would not have worked out too well with customers going in and out with me having ladders and scaffolding on the front of the building. Then there was rain/remnants of hurricanes and now the colder temps have gotten in the way of fully completing this project. It had been my hope to complete this project before it got too cold to paint. The weather stayed warm thru mid-December, but now that we are into January, I will have sporadic opportunities to paint.
Before and After First Coat of New Colors
When I finish the corner building, it’s my plan to repaint the building on the corner of Washington Avenue and 2nd Street.
As a result of these improvements, I’m seeing other businesses making improvements and some have asked me to work on their facade. I’m hoping that by the Spring of 2021 we will see several facade improvements taking place.
I also spent quite a bit of time in December in a Red Suit as Santa Andy meeting and doing a lot of family photoshoots.
As a result, of all these “irons in the fire”, I know that I have not accomplished everything I had envisioned with the marketing campaign of Find Great Treasures in Downtown Weldon.
It was late September when Kelly Barber with the Small Business Center at Halifax Community College called offering Social Media Marketing training. While I saw the value in it and wanted and needed the training, I was just thinking that it would be great if I could finish the big painting project I was doing on the two-story corner building before I took the training. But the funding had deadlines and for me to take advantage of the training I had to do it before the end of October. So I did that training each Wednesday from 1:00 to 2:00 pm. Some days I was able to get out and go work on the building for an hour or so but most days I continued to flesh out the ideas we had just discussed in the training.
During this time I began putting together the plans for developing the Find Great Treasures marketing campaign. I had planned to begin getting all the businesses on board and gather their input with this theme after the first of the year.
But then we got the opportunity to work with Les Atkins and do a photoshoot with the businesses and some of the sites to see in Downtown Weldon. This would need to be completed before the end of November and due to Les having other commitments, the photoshoot needed to occur on November 7th.
Well, this meant all of the businesses had to be contacted, gotten on board, and informed of the photoshoot. This became the best time to gather information on each business that will be used to create a Business Directory and write-ups on the businesses.
To go along with this theme, was the plan to have each business display a large OPEN sign with a header proclaiming “Find Great Treasures Here”. I have the equipment to make such signs, so some time has been spent getting these signs made and installed before the photoshoot.
In the meantime, the days were getting shorter and colder and there’s still painting that needs to be done on the corner building.
While I know I need to be working on some long-term goals for the growth and betterment of Downtown Weldon, I find myself frustrated with so many things that need to be done today to keep the income coming in and the bills paid in the short term.
While it’s been a bit busy for me, I see the progress being made on all fronts and the support from everyone has been great.
Find previous blog posts at www.weldonnc.com/blog. Next time, read about Transition Opens Opportunity.
Nature’s Manna: Herbs, Kefir and Other Healthy Stuff
Trends: Urban Clothing
Stepin’ High Clothing
This N That Thrift Shop (Davis)
Holloman’s Auctions, 207 E 2nd St
Weldon Mills Distillery, Small Batch Bourbon Maker
51 Sycamore Restaurant & Rockfish Bar
Andy Whitby has been an advocate for Weldon and a local historian for many years. Whitby has been involved in Downtown Revitalization efforts through tourism and economic development for nearly 30 years. As the owner of several downtown commercial properties, Whitby seeks to provide attractive and affordable rental space for locally owned businesses and entrepreneurs.
If you know of others that would enjoy this type of information on the revitalization of Weldon, please forward their email address to andywhitby789@gmail.com with ADD in the subject.
If you want to be removed from receiving these emails. send a request to the same email address with REMOVE in the subject line. AW
Recently, with funding from the Small Business Center and Kelly Barber, Les Atkins did a photoshoot throughout Downtown Weldon. Those photos will be used to create marketing materials to promote Find Great Treasures in Downtown Weldon, NC.
Click this Youtube link to view a 2-minute slideshow of some of those photos.
Stay tuned for printed materials that are being produced.
Find previous blog posts at www.weldonnc.com/blog. Next time, read about Making Progress with a Full Plate.
Weldon Mills Distillery, Small Batch Bourbon Maker
51 Sycamore Restaurant & Rockfish Bar
Andy Whitby has been an advocate for Weldon and a local historian for many years. Whitby has been involved in Downtown Revitalization efforts through tourism and economic development for nearly 30 years. As the owner of several downtown commercial properties, Whitby seeks to provide attractive and affordable rental space for locally owned businesses and entrepreneurs.
If you know of others that would enjoy this type of information on the revitalization of Weldon, please forward their email address to andywhitby789@gmail.com with ADD in the subject.
If you want to be removed from receiving these emails. send a request to the same email address with REMOVE in the subject line. AW
I also spent quite a bit of time in December in a Red Suit as Santa Andy meeting and doing a lot of family photoshoots.