Operating a small business is always a cycle of hope and opportunity. With the World Cup in town, KC small businesses are getting an unprecedented new opportunity to show off, and the city is stepping in to help with a program that connects thousands of international visitors to small businesses at one of the best venues in town—Union Station.
From June 11 to July 12, the City of Entrepreneurs, a local business initiative by the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, is creating a marketplace of curated small local businesses, entrepreneurs, artists and entertainers in the station’s Grand Hall.
Tracey Lewis, president and CEO of EDCKC said in a press release that by leveraging a global moment like the World Cup, “we are creating pathways for local entrepreneurs to grow, reach new audiences and be part of the city’s broader economic momentum.”
The marketplace promises to include a diverse mix of business types and sizes while prioritizing inclusivity and a well-balanced representation of the community. Smaller makers, artists and pop-up businesses will be able to participate by sharing spaces with others, allowing for a very accessible and collaborative environment.
The marketplace was a natural result of the success of Open Doors, EDCKC’s storefront vacancy initiative. Open Doors paved the way for 20 businesses to set up shop in empty commercial spaces around town during the World Cup, but there were many more that wanted a store but didn’t make the list, according to Nia Webster, the assistant director of the Neighborhood Services Department for the city. “We wanted to figure out what else we could do with those folks,” Webster says. “We stumbled across the opportunity with Union Station, which was not a part of the original idea of what efforts or what activations or initiatives we could be doing for the World Cup that could help impact small businesses. So we’re kind of building the plane as we’re flying it.”
Webster expects high visitor foot traffic inside Union Station due to the World Cup’s FanFest at Liberty Memorial. “FanFest is only doing food-based businesses that might be local, and they have their own process for that,” Webster says. “So we’re kind of complementing that with retail at Union Station, with an indoor marketplace in an air-conditioned setting.”
Companies will be required to pay a vendor’s fee for booth space. EDCKC hopes to invest any money made from the Union Station marketplace back into Open Doors.
“We were leveraging sponsorships and things to kind of do that heavier lift of using the space,” Webster says. “But just because you’re a small business doesn’t mean it’s free, and I want people to stop thinking just because they’re small doesn’t mean they’re not capable. So this may not be the best thing for a startup, per se, but it is good for a local business or any business that has the capacity to do it.”
