may 3, 2024

5/3/2024

Friday | May 3, 2024

Small Business Week

Next week is National Small Business Week. If you are a small business owner, this is your week. If you, the consumer, want to support small businesses, this is a great week to start or continue doing just that. And here is a little secret: According to recent data from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), 33.3 million businesses in the United States qualify as small businesses. That means 99.9% of all U.S. businesses are small business. In other words: small business is big business.

Small businesses play critical roles in our community. Generating employment and contributing to economic stability, especially in micropolitans (25,000 populations) like Ponca City. Small businesses employ almost half of the employees in the United States. This represents 45 percent of the entire U.S. workforce. Even though over 80 percent of these small businesses operate without any staff (owner-operated), their impact on job creation and economic vitality is significant.

Next week, visit and shop with small businesses in the area. Share their Facebook posts to boost visibility. Leave a good review on a business's website or refer someone to a local business. All of these little bumps assist our small businesses to grow, stay open and prosper in our Ponca City community; which in turn keeps the economy humming right along.

You Are Invited

Business on the Balcony, the Health and Wellness edition, is Tuesday, May 14th here at City Central. From 7 to 9 am, come and go and have a chat with local wellness and health providers. Yoga, weight training, nutritionists and local health professionals have been invited for a little breakfast and a whole lot of networking.

You know where we are: on the balcony, second floor, Suite #200. Bring a friend. Whether you stay an hour or 15 minutes, you will be in good company at Business on the Balcony.

City Central Welcomes Sunny Creek

Sunny Creek Trading Post, a 2024 Business Plan Pitch off participant, has set up their Farm Hub Store in City Central. Sunny Creek's primary location is the Pioneer Technology Business Incubator Kitchen. To better serve the community and its vendors, Sunny Creek now has store hours at City Central every Monday, 10 am to 6 pm.

Fresh produce, eggs, baked goods, jams & jellies, nuts and all types of homemade items can be purchased at the Sunny Creek Farm Hub Store. Make time to swing by every Monday as new vendors and items are added each week. There's always something tasty at the Farm Hub.

Girl Power Camp Sign up

Girl Power Camp signup is now. If your 7th or 8th grade daughter, niece or sibling is looking for an interesting week of hands-on STEM activities and field trips, look no further than Girl Power Camp.

Happening the week of June 3-7, your 7th soon to be 8th grade girl will visit local manufacturing, engineering and medical businesses, participate in hands-on projects with power tools and welding (staff promise lots of adult supervision) and will know more than you do about job opportunities in the Ponca City area.

Get your girl signed up here. See flyer below for more information. Become one of the few, the proud, the Ponca City Girl Power Camp brigade.

Exciting News

The Ponca City Main Street Economic Vitality Committee is thrilled to introduce our latest project: Time Frame! In light of May being National Historic Preservation Month, we're excited to launch Time Frame, celebrating and honoring the rich heritage of our city.

Step back in time and delve into the fascinating history of Downtown Ponca City like never before with Time Frame! Embark on a leisure stroll spanning approximately one mile and discover 16 stops showcasing nearly 100 historic photos through immersive augmented reality. Each stop features detailed narration by our esteemed Board Chair, Jeff MacKinnon.

Ready to embark on this captivating journey? Head to our website for more information, locations, and download links for the Time Frame app here.