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March 5, 2026 Growing a Farmer’s Market and New Businesses
The Greater Des Moines Partnership aims to attract both established vendors and startups, but the event is so big that it can be intimidating. The solution led to a pipeline of new businesses for the market and for brick and mortar locations. In 2022 the Partnership launched the Spark DSM Business Incubator. The initiative sets aside three booths for new vendors and tutors them on the basics of business planning, financial management, marketing, regulatory compliance, and networking. Participants also receive a custom banner with their branding, two stools, a whiteboard, a six-foot table, a tent, and T-shirts. More on the Spark DSM Business Incubator appears in the March issue of Downtown Idea Exchange newsletter. Click below to learn more about Downtown Idea Exchange and other resources for revitalizing downtowns and commercial corridors. 
8-1/2" x 11", softcover,
270 pages, $43.95. Recommended ReadingThe Community Economic Development HandbookComprehensive, realistic, and easy-to-use, The Community Economic Development Handbook is just what you need to turn a neighborhood or business district around. Author Mihailo Temali has distilled over twenty years of experience in community-based economic development into this practical, jargon-free handbook which presents a proven approach to making every community a better place to live, work, and play. Temali focuses on what he calls a "pivot point strategy" to start or expand economic development. The four pivot points are:
Temali explains how to choose your first pivot point, then guides you, step-by-step, through the process of tackling each one. Case studies of successful community economic development provide inspiration. Sidebars explore related issues. And appendices point you toward useful resources, show you how to research your regional economy, and include dozens of worksheets that will help you put the material in the book into action. The Community Economic Development Handbook is just one of the many books on Downtown Economic Development available from the Downtown Development Center. |
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By any measure, the Downtown Farmers’ Market in Des Moines, IA, is massive. One of the largest markets in the nation, it has grown to span 12 downtown blocks.