Small biz pilot program to aid Phoebus retailers

Five small retailers in Hampton’s Phoebus downtown historic district will receive micro grants and nearly a year of free professional guidance, thanks to funding from a state grant awarded to The Retail Alliance, a nonprofit trade association in Norfolk.

The Retail Alliance and the Phoebus Partnership, a nonprofit organization bolstering area small businesses, won the $100,000 grant in October 2023 from the Department of Housing and Community Development to launch a pilot program designed to help businesses in the 86-acre Hampton community grow.

Phoebus is already part of a Main Street program helping small businesses succeed, so it made a good candidate for the pilot program, says Jenny Crittenden, president and CEO of The Retail Alliance. The goal is to create a scalable model that can be replicated in multiple communities across the state, serving as a resource for small businesses.

The grant will pay for consultants with expertise in merchandising, e-commerce and preservation of historic building facades to conduct deep dives into the five selected businesses’ physical stores, online presences and financial health. 

At the end of January, organizers were scheduled to host an information session for interested retailers, and five winning businesses were expected to be selected in March. 

Through October, owners of the five businesses will meet with The Retail Alliance and consultants and receive data and insights on their customers. At the end of the process, they will receive grants of $3,000 to $5,000 to make suggested changes.

The DHCD grant is part of the Virginia Business District Resurgence Grant program, which leverages federal American Rescue Plan funds allocated to address post-COVID recovery needs. In addition to assisting the five businesses, the grant will fund three regional business improvement workshops to be held in Hampton through the fall.

Crittenden, who has 16 years of experience working with independent downtown businesses, notes that local shop owners have differing ranges of experience and knowledge, and the grant program will take that into account as it helps them improve their processes.

“Each retailer brings a set of skills to the table, but then there are things that they could learn to do better,” she says. “And as customers, we see small businesses from the outside and enjoy the experience, but we don’t understand everything behind the scenes.” 

Virginia Business Associate Editor Robyn Sidersky contributed to this story.