Innovation and Entrepreneurship: The Popuphood

POPUPHOOD from Eva Kolenko on Vimeo.

Oakland, California is using an innovative strategy to revitalize its Old Town business district. Sometimes a fresh idea, a little support from the community, and a willing landlord can make the difference in filling storefronts and attracting shoppers. Now, this idea may not work everywhere. But, it is important to consider how thinking outside the box can support entrepreneurs and invigorate a community. I encourage you to read the excerpts below and watch the video, then think about what attributes your community has, and what opportunities exist for you to rethink how business is done.

"Many cities in America are facing the slow decline of their main streets and shopping areas. But a new program in Oakland might be the key to reviving vibrant, local commercial centers. All it takes is a little free rent and some entrepreneurial spirit.

In September 2011, local entrepreneur Alfonso Dominguez and his friend Sarah Filley, an urban planner, teamed up to create PopuphoodOakland, a project that is giving five new retail shops the opportunity to get six months of free rent at previously vacant storefronts on one block in the neighborhood. Dominguez and Filley didn't have to work too hard to convince the landlord that owns the storefronts to get on board. The spaces had been unoccupied for at least a year, and successful storefronts might stay out past the six month mark. The Oakland Redevelopment Agency, ever hopeful to revitalize downtown, pitched in with a $30,000 grant. And the pair have plenty of creative-minded contacts in the city, so finding tenants wasn't too difficult.

"The concept of simultaneously curated retailers that open all at once removes several of the barriers to entry right away," explains Filley. "One is being the lone pioneer in a transitional neighborhood. Another is the initial capital of buildout, rent, and staffing. The third barrier is, doing it on your own,you don't necessarily have a retail community. You can't control who comes in next to you. In this case the retailers have neighbors that they know will complement their business."

It was least to see how the strength of five new storefronts could invigorate a newborn old that as sporadically populated before. All of the retailers were enthusiastic about the potential to stay longer than the six month free rent period. A lot of people showed up during the December 9th launch making it look like the strategy of combining retail and entertainment with a no-risk lease seems to work here."

The Status of Women In Tennessee

There have been great advances in the economic status of women over the last 50 years. Women have gained greater access to education, career, earnings, and political participation. Women are pursuing goals that generations of women before could never have realized, such as business ownership, leadership roles in their careers, and election to state and federal political offices. However, obstacles still exist in the climb toward equality. Despite the great strides that women have made in the last 50 years, women have yet to achieve true equality with men. Women continue to earn less, to be less educated, to have higher rates of poverty, and to be less represented in political office than men.


Overall, women’s economic status is highest in metropolitan counties surrounding Nashville. Cheatham County ranks in the top ten in six of the thirteen indicators and never appears in the bottom half of any indicator. Women in Wilson and Sumner Counties also fared well, both ranking in the top twenty of ten indicators. 11 of the 13 counties within the Greater Nashville Development District rank in the top third of women’s economic status.

Women’s economic status is lowest in Grundy County, which ranks in the bottom ten in eight of thirteen indicators and only appears in the top half of indicators three times. Hardin County never appears in the top third of any indicator. In the Memphis Area Development District, Lauderdale County women rank 91st while their female counterparts in Shelby, Tipton and Fayette Counties never rank below the top half.

View the entire report, including a county by county break down here.

Despite Opportunities, Tennessee Lags in Combined Heat & Power Implementation

Washington, D.C. (September 28, 2011): The combined heat and power (CHP) market is growing unevenly in different states, and will require more efforts than just supportive policies to achieve greater deployment, according to a new report released today by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). The report, Challenges Facing Combined Heat and Power Today: A State-by-State Assessment, profiles CHP markets in each state and identifies which elements of the market are encouraging or discouraging CHP developers today.

CHP, sometimes known as cogeneration, is an important energy resource that produces electricity and thermal energy at the same time from a single fuel input and provides highly efficient energy by maximizing the energy value of a variety of fuels. CHP can produce energy twice as efficiently as standard centralized energy generation. The Department of Energy reports that CHP has been cleanly and quietly providing over 12% of U.S. electricity generation. Since 2005, over 1700 MW of capacity has been added due to new CHP system deployment, but that deployment has been unevenly distributed around the country.

"CHP markets differ considerably among states," said Anna Chittum, ACEEE Senior Policy Analyst and lead author. "This report shows that building a favorable CHP market requires more than just good policies, such as interconnection standards and tax incentives. The current economic recession and missing access to retail power markets continue to negatively impact CHP markets in many states, and prevent CHP from reaching its full potential around the country."

TENNESSEE: While there are many opportunities for successful CHP applications in Tennessee's industrial sector, the state has seen relatively little traction in this area, with zero new CHP installations occuring between 2005-2010. Tennessee ranks 45th in terms of New CHP Sites and CHP Capacity. However, with funding from the Pathway Lending Energy Efficiency Loan Program and federal and state incentives, the barriers to these programs are lowered. Co-generation projects typically have the quickest repayment periods and will benefit businesses for many years following implementation.

"CHP represents an important energy resource that could meet a significant portion of projected needs for new electricity generation investments over the coming decade," said Dr. Neal Elliott, ACEEE Associate Director for Research and author of the recent white paper Avoiding a Train Wreck: Replacing Old Coal Plants with Energy Efficiency. "This report identifies areas that each state and the country as a whole must work on to better encourage CHP so that we can realize the full benefits of this resource."

To learn more about CHP and your business, contact Pathway Lending @ info@pathwaylending.org or 615-425-7171.

The Kraft Advantage - The U.S. Government’s ‘Limited Time Offer’

From the Kraft Advantage Newsletter. [Sign Up]

Government Grants Make 2011 the Right Time To Invest In Alternative Energy Sources - Kevin Dostaler

...The United States government wants Americans to embrace alternative/renewable energy sources. To encourage us to do that, the government is temporarily subsidizing investments in projects that will help decrease our country's dependency on non-renewable energy sources.

Under Section 1603 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the United States Department of Treasury makes payments to eligible taxpayers who place in service specified energy property and apply for such payments.

...Generally, the qualified property must be placed in service between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2011, to receive Section 1603 payments (grants). The amount of teh grants ranges from 10 percent to 30 percent of the cost basis of the property, depending on the type of property.

For example, if you put solar panels on your roof, you could be eligible to receive a grant amounting to 30 percent of the cost of the solar panels.

Participating in this program can be good for the environment, our country, your civic image (Go Green!) and your bottom line.

Please contact Kevin Dostaler at Kraft CPAs for more information: kdostaler@kraftcpas.com

Or visit the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency

A Greener & Brighter Future With Energy Efficient Lighting

Manufacturers Industrial Group, LLC now operates a little greener — and brighter — with the aid of a Pathway Lending Energy-Efficiency Loan. The Lexington, TN based manufacturer has enjoyed more than just the energy cost saving benefits of the energy efficient lighting retrofit, and is considering similar upgrades for its other Tennessee facilities.

The process began with a study by the University of Tennessee Center for Industrial Services that recommended lighting improvements as the best proposal with the quickest payback. The loan will pay for itself in slightly more than two years through reduced energy costs.

While the quick ROI and long-term savings is a serious benefit, other benefits to this type of project should also be considered.

Employee Morale & Productivity: New lighting also provides a better environment for employees and MIG representatives report seeing a boost in morale. With improved light quality and improved worker morale, it is common to see corresponding increases in productivity.

Ease of Installation: While lighting projects typically have the quickest payback, they are also typically the quickest to install. The lighting retrofit at MIG, which has about 234,000 square feet of facilities in Lexington, began about a month ago and took three to four weeks to complete. This was completed during off-shifts and weekends, leaving the company's production unaffected.

Full Scope Audits Identify a Wide Range of Energy Efficiency Projects: The University of Tennessee Center for Industrial Services, as well as other audit providers such as the U.S. DOE Industrial Technology Program, look at more than just lights. They looked at wiring, air hoses, pumps, motors, power outlets and other areas that may yield significant energy cost savings.

Getting Ahead of Escalating Energy Costs: "You're going to get your best return in lighting," said Al Campbell, client manager for Pathway Lending. "There's a lot of folks doing it," Campbell said. "There's also going to be a lot of folks that will be doing it as energy prices rise. That's the long-term trend."

Learn more about the Pathway Lending Energy Efficiency Loan Program at www.PathwayLending.Org

DOE design guide aims to halve commercial building energy consumption

May 16, 2011—The U.S. Department of Energy has released the first in a series of design guides that aim to cut the energy consumption of commercial buildings in half.

The first of the 50% Advanced Energy Design Guides focuses on small and medium-sized office buildings, and is available for free download.

The DOE says the guides provide a practical approach to help architects and engineers design buildings that achieve 50 percent energy savings compared to the commercial building energy code used in many areas of the country.

The guidance also supports President Obama's goal to reduce energy use in commercial buildings 20 percent by 2020, and will help drive demand for energy-saving products made in the United States, the department says.

Remember - Reducing energy consumption by 20% is like boosting sales by 5%.

The guides recommend ways designers can choose energy efficient designs for daylighting, building envelope assemblies, and heating and cooling systems, among other technologies. They also recommend commonly available equipment.

The design guides provide recommendations for energy savings.
DOE says the guides are designed to reduce the time and money that designers would otherwise spend to individually model energy use for high performance buildings. The guides will also inform the development of future commercial building energy codes, the department said.

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), American Institute of Architects (AIA), U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) are all helping to develop the booklets.

The guide is now available for FREE DOWNLOAD HERE.

Three more guides, on large hospitals, medium to big-box retail buildings and K-12 schools, will be released in coming months.

EnergyStar Challenge Saves Over 2 Trillion BTU in Last Year

One year ago, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) challenged the manufacturing industry to improve the energy efficiency of their facilities by 10 percent or more within five years. Since that time, 240 manufacturing sites have responded to the Energy Star Challenge for Industry, and 34 sites have improved their energy efficiency by 10 percent or more, reports EPA.

Both small and large manufacturing facilities have met the milestone and have prevented nearly 119,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, demonstrating that efficiency opportunities exist across all sectors of industry including aerospace, food processing, pharmaceuticals, and motor vehicle manufacturing. Many of these sites also report that savings were achieved at low cost by strengthening energy management practices and improving operations with help from EPA's Energy Star program.

Under the challenge, manufacturing sites establish an energy intensity baseline, set a 10 percent energy efficiency improvement goal, implement energy efficiency projects, track energy use, and verify their savings. Hundreds of industrial companies across nearly a dozen manufacturing industries are working with EPA's Energy Star program to develop strong energy management programs, earn the Energy Star for their facilities, and achieve breakthrough improvements in energy efficiency.

The U.S. manufacturing industry is reportedly responsible for nearly 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and spends nearly $100 billion annually on energy. If the energy efficiency of industrial facilities improved by 10 percent, EPA estimates businesses would save nearly $10 billion and prevent greenhouse gases emissions equal to the annual emissions of approximately 12 million vehicles.

Article Link - FM Link May 2011