Research
950 Main Street • Worcester, MA 01610
Tel: 508-793-7711 •

Active Learning and Research
As a member of the University Park Partnership (UPP), Clark University has received national recognition for its efforts to improve the urban neighborhood of which it is a part. The UPP provides management professor Mary-Ellen Boyle and her students with a fertile laboratory for research on local business and management practices, as well as a chance to give back to the community.

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Community Enterprise Profile: University Park Partnership Area, Worcester, MA.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Understanding the nature of existing businesses is an important initial step in crafting an economic development strategy, and is especially necessary now as the University Park Partnership considers intensifying its efforts with regard to economic and workforce development. While there is general agreement that the neighborhood surrounding Clark University could benefit from economic revitalization, there is little hard data on which to base future plans. Consequently this community enterprise profile has several aims:

describe the businesses in the University Park Partnership area
summarize the local business owners' needs with regard to business/management assistance
recount their perceptions of the neighborhood business climate
offer suggestions for UPP involvement in neighborhood economic development efforts

Overall, this profile reveals a diverse neighborhood, with a range of small retail firms and a few large companies. These enterprises are vital, working concerns, though many are only marginally profitable. Most are satisfied doing business in the neighborhood, and would like to grow and prosper further. The casual observer would not identify this as a college area, nor is it an ethnic enclave. The proprietors perceive that UPP businesses are negatively stereotyped because of their location, even as they benefit from their proximity to Clark. While litter, handmade signs, and graffiti persist, this is not a blighted or dangerous urban area, and most business owners have noted improvements in safety and cleanliness in recent years. A detailed report follows this summary.

SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS

Characteristics of the neighborhood enterprises:

the majority are located on Main Street and Park Avenue
the 74 firms that answered the survey employ approximately 644 people

nearly ¾ of these are full-time workers
45 employ neighborhood residents, about 60%
41 business (over half) employ family members

56 businesses provide service, 29 are retail, and 3 are manufacturers

of the 16 restaurants, there are at least 7 ethnicities represented
10 firms are part of national chains
there are 8 small markets/convenience stores
there are 7 auto body shops, and several other automobile-related firms

The typical UPP business:

90% are male-owned
over 80% of the business owners speak English as a first language
55% are family-operated
51% employ fewer than 5 workers, the average employing 9 and the maximum 275
over half (59%) have been located in this neighborhood since start-up; the others chose this area after beginning elsewhere
average number of years in the UPP area is 11
the majority do not own their property

Business practices:

nearly all advertise, using a wide variety of methods
almost half have a business plan
55% rely upon Clark students, faculty and staff as their customers
19% primarily serve the local ethnic community
51% use computers
30% funded their businesses with bank loans
while only 20 answered the questions about profitability, with the combined gross annual revenues of these firms approximately $12.9 million

Management and business assistance needs:

nearly 60% would like to expand
20 (over a fourth) would leave if they could
nearly half would like computer training (Internet, bookkeeping, word processing)
additional training is desired in banking/finance, legal, language/ literacy, immigration/citizenship
58 of 74 respondents expressed familiarity with at least one local economic development assistance agency, with over half aware of the SBA and SBDC
several are still cash businesses, with no credit record

Observations about the neighborhood:

44 of the 74 agreed that the neighborhood had improved with regard to cleanliness, safety, maintenance, prostitution, and drugs
Most (29) attributed the improvements to Clark; half attributed to the UPP
Of those who did not note an improvement in the neighborhood, only a few thought it had deteriorated within the past five years.
Park Avenue merchants differed from those on Main Street with regard to various aspects of the neighborhood business climate

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS

Local economic development agencies should:

Continue business assistance and management training efforts, with special attention to educating merchants regarding realistic expectations of economic development agencies and offering basic economic literacy education where needed.
Increase awareness of the lesser-known local economic development agencies
Coordinate outreach and assistance activities among the various local agencies

The UPP should:

Encourage individual merchant and property owner's continued work to battle blight and improve appearance
Assist with target group advertising campaign: ex. restaurant coupons for students; listing of various auto services in area; ethnic business flyers, etc.
Plan and implement an image enhancement public relations campaign for Main South and Clark
Support a neighborhood merchants' association to lobby the city on desired improvements in services (litter, policing, lighting, trees, permitting, etc.)
Hire an outside group to craft a strategic plan for economic development, to include business attraction, an incubator, and workforce development plan. Through this process, each partner should clarify its intended role in the economic development of the neighborhood.

Clark University should:

Reconsider the Park Avenue gateway project and/or processes by which decisions will be made
Establish property ownership program for local business owners currently in university owned premises
Add transparency to the property acquisition process
Continue to sponsor research about existing businesses and their needs. Further studies should address:
- the types of jobs available in the neighborhood
- the education and skill levels of the existing workforce
- the degree of underemployment
- transportation needs of residents
- the barriers (ethnic, gender, and class) to accessing economic development assistance
- reasons for business failure and relocation
Create a campus office to coordinate various community outreach projects and research efforts

DETAILED FINDINGS

PART 1: Descriptive Characteristics

Location: (see scatter plot map)
The majority of the businesses in the UPP area are on Main Street (51%) and Park Avenue (24%).* This distribution is not surprising given that these streets are the major thoroughfares and are zoned for commercial use. Of the remaining 26%, most are clustered south of Main Street, in the mixed-use areas around Grand, Gardner, Herman, and Beacon Streets. The Park Avenue and Main Street area businesses differ considerably on management assistance needs and perceptions of the neighborhood business climate. * Only one side of Park Avenue is included in the UPP area, so that limits the number of businesses profiled.

Types of Business
Of the 88** companies that were identified in the area, the type of industry is as follows:

Service	56
Retail	29
Manufacturing	3

**Not all 88 participated in the survey, so later statistics will be based on a total of 74 respondents

Restaurants, 16 in total, dominate the service establishments. There are three coffee/lunch places, two chain establishments (McDonalds & Scarlet O'Hara's), Peppercorns, two Vietnamese restaurants, a Chinese restaurant, a Caribbean restaurant, a Brazilian restaurant, a Cajun restaurant, Indian food, and two pizza shops. There are two independently owned and long established bars.

Auto body shops are the second most common type of service: there are seven firms of this type, along with an auto rental company. A wide variety of types of services are available, from hair replacement to apartment rentals to funeral homes. See Appendix A for a complete listing by category.

There are no bank branches, though several ATMs are available. Nor is there a large grocery store or copy shop. There is currently no health care facility, though one is being planned on Main Street just outside of the UPP area.

Ownership
55% of the firms in the UPP area are family owned and operated. There are 10 chain establishments in the neighborhood. They are:

Byramen (Moynihan's Pharmacy)	AMR (American Medical Response)	Barnes & Noble (recently changed to Tatnuck)
Enterprise	Gourmet Donuts	Texaco
Family Dollar	McDonalds	Scarlet O'Hara's
Honey Farms

The property ownership is distributed as follows:

Owner occupied property (includes franchises)	38%
Clark owned property	7%
CDC owned property	5%

Realty trusts and absentee landlords owned the remaining business property.

Longevity
For the most part, these are stable, established businesses. The average number of years in operation is 21 and the average number of years in the neighborhood is 11.

> 1 year	11%
> 5 years	43%
> 10 years	65%
> 20 years	88%

Several business openings and closings have been observed in the time since the surveys were completed, exemplifying of the fate of many small businesses. Of significant interest is the fact that 41% of the companies moved to this area after beginning elsewhere. Reasons stated were as follows:

Better (larger) space (11 mentioned)	More customers in the new area
Opportunity to own the building (4 mentioned)	Better parking
Temporary rental space	Better area to serve the city of Worcester
Better area	Change of ownership
Easy access

Nearly 60% want to expand, while over 25% would move out if they could. Our interviews did not determine the nature of the desired expansion, nor did we inquire as to why others wanted to leave the neighborhood. Several business owners volunteered this information, stating that they wanted to be in a safer, cleaner location.

Employees and Working Conditions
Of 74 companies interviewed, 69 answered questions about employees. In total, these firms employ 644 people, only .5% of those of working age in the city. The average number of employees in each firm (full time and part time) is 9, with a minimum of 1 and maximum of 275. The average number of full-time employees is 7 and the average number of part-time employees is 2. The mode is lower, with 51 companies employing 5 or fewer total workers.

45 out of the interviewed companies employ neighborhood residents and in total 20% of the employees are from the neighborhood. 41 out of the interviewed companies employ family members, who comprise 13% of the total workers.

The majority of the business owners speak English as a first language, though there are approximately 10% who speak Vietnamese, 5% Spanish, one Chinese, and a Portuguese (Brazilian).

We did not ask about employee pay, benefits, or working conditions. Nonetheless, some assumptions can be made: It is unlikely the jobs in the industries profiled are high wage jobs, since most firms are service or retail. Union membership is also doubtful given the nature of the industries.

Business Activities
28 companies (just over half) have a written business plan. 48 use marketing strategies. Below is a list of methods used for advertising:

Media:	Other:
cable TV	Key chain
Clark's newspaper	billboards
condo media	business cards
Hispanic newspapers/radios	posters
internet	sign on car
magazine ads	vending machine
radio	word of mouth
Catholic Free Press	catering
college magazines	coupons
Telegram & Gazette	direct mailing
Yellow Pages	flyers
	give-aways
	health fair

Profitability and Financial Data
Of the 14 companies that disclosed gross revenues, 5 reported over $500,000 annually. 4 of these firms had been in business in the neighborhood 20 years or more, with the fifth in existence for 10 years. Presumably the newer firms are less secure in their revenue generating capacity, and less willing or able to share financial information.

Of the 21 firms that answered any financial questions, approximately half were begun with a bank loan; the others received funding from family, credit cards, and/or savings. As a whole, the borrowing capacity was not great: only the large restaurant reported over $50,000, and the others were much lower. Typically these firms used their real estate as collateral, though in the auto dealership was able to use its cars.

Financial and Professional Relationships
Half of those who identified their primary bank were customers of Fleet or Bank Boston, the two banks that have since merged. Other banks used include:

Commerce	13
Sovereign	4
First Massachusetts	7
Family	1
Flagship	1
Millbury Credit	1
Webster Five	1

That so many (16) did not answer the question may indicate that they are cash businesses, in which case there is need for education prior to further investment and/or business development efforts.

Manager/owners were also asked about relationships with insurance agents, accountants, and lawyers in order to determine if such business services were satisfactory in the neighborhood. The firms with corporate ownership accessed their home office; the majority of other firms went to downtown Worcester. Several used neighborhood professionals, typically from their own ethnic group. Some relied upon family members.

Customers/Suppliers

55%	serve Clark students, staff, and faculty (though not exclusively)
19%	serve local ethnic groups
5%	report that they draw customers from beyond the neighborhood.

Suppliers are more broadly dispersed: one reported a supplier from out of the country, at least ten dealt with out-of-state suppliers (New York City in particular), and nearly half used local suppliers.

Technology Use
51% of the businesses currently use of computers, with the breakdown as follows:

bookkeeping	53%
word processing	49%
internet	29%
advertising	23%

32% of the companies use a point-of-sale cash register (allows data collection for inventory, etc.)

Training Desired
47% of the companies want more computer training:

56%	internet
51%	bookkeeping
40%	word processing

Many also would like other types of management/general education:

Types of training:	Number requesting:
banking/finance	30 (of 74)
legal	26
language/literacy	19
immigration/citizenship	10

Familiarity with Local Economic Development Agencies:
Owners were asked about their awareness of eight assistance agencies/services, and were asked which, if any, they had consulted. 58 of the 74 were familiar with at least one of the agencies, with some having awareness of more than one. Breakdown is as follows:

Agency	# of owners	% of owners
SBA	39	53%
SBD	37	50%
CDC	34	46%
City of Worcester Employment Office	34	46%
MLK	30	41%
Centro Las Americas	28	38%
SCORE	22	30%
CWE	16	22%

Aside from their familiarity, only a few proprietors had received assistance from these agencies, naming the CDC, SBDC, and Centro. More than a few volunteered that they had experienced frustrations with the various agencies, as well as with the City of Worcester. Others had unrealistic expectations about the types of assistance available. For example, one wanted loans to repay family members, a request unlikely to be supported by the SBA or any established lender. Another complained about inability to borrow, though also admitted to having no bank and no bookkeeping established. Clearly there is a good deal of education needed, and the numbers above show that the business owners are interested in learning more.

Franchisees and subsidiaries relied upon their corporate headquarters for business assistance as well as training and business services.

Additional Business Services Desired:
Local businesses appear to have adequate resources for occasional business services such as lawyers, accountants, insurance agents, computer specialists. When they were asked what additional services they would like to see in the neighborhood, it appeared that the regular type of service was lacking: many wanted a full-service bank and a copy/print shop, and an office supply store; a surprising number mentioned a post office even though there is one on one end of Main Street within the UPP area.

Neighborhood Changes
44 of the 74 agreed that the neighborhood had improved with regard to cleanliness, safety, maintenance, prostitution and drugs. Several noted new trees and wanted more.

29 attributed improvements to Clark
22 attributed them to the UPP
17 to the CDC
11 to the city of Worcester

Of those who did not note an improvement in the neighborhood, only a few thought it had deteriorated within the past five years.Their specific suggestions included better lighting and more visible police presence. Both Park Avenue and Main Street merchants had concerns about parking and traffic. On other items, Park Avenue merchants differed from those on Main Street with regard to the neighborhood business climate. Overall, responses to this question were varied and seemed to reflect block-by-block differences, as well as differences related to expectations and customer-base.

PART II: Analysis and Recommendations

Location:
The location of the UPP businesses suggests, first, that the residential character of much of the proximate neighborhood remains intact. The density of economic establishments was not calculated, but would likely be found to be low for an urban area, given the number of apartments and homes relative to the businesses. Both number and percent of employees relative to the city and county are low. This suggests that the neighborhood could support additional stores and workplaces without displacing or crowding residents, and that such economic expansion should be carefully encouraged.

Yet the location of the neighborhood businesses is a barrier to cohesion. The businesses in the designated UPP area are found on the periphery (see map) and their geographic dispersion hinders organizing and collaboration. This fragmentation is exacerbated by the ethnic character of a significant minority, as well as by the negative reputation of the Main South neighborhood relative to the Park Avenue firms. This will pose challenges UPP efforts that try to treat the firms as a group. The possibilities for synergy among the local businesses bave yet to be fully explored; what is clear is that synergy based simply on location will be unlikely.

Local businesses could be organized according to characteristics that are not simply related to the geographic boundaries of the UPP; for example, Main South merchants, Grand or GKH areas, or Vietnamese or Hispanic establishments. It could also make sense to organize according to type of business, depending upon the goal. That is, the restaurants could all advertise together, those offering specific student-oriented services might cooperate on promotions, or the auto shops could join in a type of auto mile campaign.

Park Avenue. Based on existing UPP borders, Park Avenue was divided for purposes of this survey, with only one side of the street included. This delineation itself is a barrier to understanding the challenges faced by the Park Avenue businesses. Nonetheless, the interviews revealed conflicts between the Park Ave and Main Street businesses. The Park Avenue merchants do not see themselves as part of the either the Clark or the UPP community, nor do they see one side of Park Avenue having unique needs; rather, they relate to the businesses across the street in a block by block manner, and consider themselves as serving primarily the West Side and Webster Square neighborhoods. Nonetheless, the Clark community provides a valuable customer base, and students report that they feel safer walking on Park Avenue than on Main Street. If Clark administration pursues the idea of a Park Avenue gateway for the University (current signage directs traffic down Park Avenue), these businesses might increase in visibility and customer base; at the same time, Clark should be aware that the businesses do not necessarily see association with the University in a positive light and (albeit irrational) they blame Clark for the condition of the Main South neighborhood. To paraphrase one Park Avenue merchant, they do not want to become like Main South.

Any University expansion in the Park Avenue direction should be sure to include local merchants in the decision-making process, in order to assuage fears that UPP visibility will lessen the quality of life on Park Avenue. Moreover, Main South business owners will have to be assured that Main Street will not become a lesser "back yard" with consequently diminished investment and concern. University officials should proceed diplomatically and strategically.

Types of Businesses: The types of small service and retail establishments is typical for a low-income urban neighborhood, though the percentage in manufacturing is low, as is the overall retail density. (State-wide, manufacturing still provides xx jobs, and in the city it is currently xx%). Vacancies are apparent, but since ownership of property is dispersed, it is difficult for a potential investor to determine and compare available space.

There is expansion capacity, potentially useful for manufacturing or other types of jobs, in the empty factory buildings on Grand Street and nearby.
Unused land/property available for development should be catalogued and publicized, state and city assistance programs should be streamlined and advertised.

The 17 restaurants are varied in size and type of food, but are distributed so as to suggest fewer options than actually exist. The range of small ethnic restaurants available in the UPP area is unusual, and could become a source of competitive advantage. Located on both Main Street and Park Avenue, these establishments offer Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Salvadorean, Carribean, Cajun, and Brazilian food. Most do not have liquor licenses, but do offer take-out, probably in response to the number of college students who are their customers and the challenges of obtaining a liquor license. Surprisingly, given this same population, the number of fast food chain restaurants is low. Several business owners expressed the desire for a Dunkin Donuts close by; while several others complained about the litter from the Main Street McDonalds. People looking for more variety can easily travel less than a mile to the Webster Square area, where there are numerous chains as well as several large independent restaurants.

The large number of auto body shops can be attributed to the fact that space is inexpensive and zoning not prohibitive in this section of the city. While these shops draw clients from outside of the neighborhood, they also contribute to the blight and create a mistaken impression of abandonment, simply because of the space taken up by the car lots.

Aside from restaurants and car-related firms, there are no clusters of similar businesses. The range and types of retail services available contribute to the fact that this is a livable urban neighborhood: residents can walk to several groceries, hair salons, and pharmacies; to a number of restaurants and convenience stores; and to many other types of retail establishment. However, aside from restaurants and bars, entertainment options are limited. With the exception of Clark campus functions, there are no movie theatres or music venues. Cafes and bookstores are not very visible, though there are a few, and residents must travel outside of the immediate neighborhood to find mid-level retail clothing, food, or sporting goods. Clark students and staff expect more upscale amenities, and therefore not many of them spend time or money in the neighborhood, despite the range of businesses nearby.

Business attraction efforts should then build upon the existing strengths in ethnic food and automotive industries, as well as filling gaps in entertainment. The neighborhood could support several other clusters, one focused on youth entertainment and another perhaps related to the furniture craft businesses now on Grand Street.
Aspiring entrepreneurs should be counseled as to the synergies found where related firms are located in the same area. The planned incubator should build clusters and emphasize job generation.
Large firms should be sought as well, in order to provide employment anchors and cluster identity.

Ownership & Longevity:
The local ownership of business property is significant at 37%, though the percentage could be larger. Many of these firms have been in the area for three generations or more. This longevity offers stability and moderate prosperity, characteristics not readily apparent to the rest of the city. Ownership by the University and the CDC is limited for the most part to businesses in the immediate campus area. Several of the proprietors of these firms mentioned that they would prefer to own the property outright, and in the long run more ownership will further strengthen the neighborhood.

Clark and the CDC need to create a strategy and a plan for property purchase and ownership. Perhaps rental units in the commercial buildings could be turned into condos, or rent-to-own agreements could be created to both provide support for fledgling business tenants and to encourage sound business planning and eventual ownership, rather than create dependency through continued rent subsidies.

With regard to the over 50% of business premises that did not appear to be owner-occupied additional research is needed to determine the nature of the relationship between the business owner and the property owner, and the desire for self-ownership. This is a relatively low density of chains in the UPP area, given the population.

Careful consideration should be given to attracting additional chain and franchise business; local employment and management should be encouraged.
The fact that so many businesses moved INTO the neighborhood from elsewhere, and the large number of reasons given for this move, indicates that the UPP neighborhood has definite attractions, primarily affordable space for expansion and the chance for property ownership. These factors should be highlighted in any attempts to attract businesses to the area.

Women and minority owned firms are underrepresented in the UPP area, and where found they are concentrated in the smaller economically marginal firms. At 10% female-owned, the rate in the UPP area is much lower that in the state or in the nation (Women own 38% of all firms in the country as of 1999; 13% of these were owned by minority women in 1997. In Massachusetts, 35% of all firms were women-owned (Fleet fact sheet).). Comparable statistics on minority ownership are difficult to obtain; though the perception differs from the reality in Worcester.

Though it is widely thought of as a Latino neighborhood, the UPP area does not have a concentration of Latino businesses. Latino surnames are found on only 8 establishments, despite the fact that this group comprises 15% of the city population, and over 30% of the neighborhood population. This misperception may be explained by the large Latino market not far from Clark; also, many Latino businesses are found further down Main Street, outside of the UPP area. On the other hand, there are 10 Asian business owners, although Asians make up less than 10% of the population of Worcester. This may be explained by differing rates of business formation among different immigrant groups, though again the neighborhood is not perceived as being particularly Asian or specifically Vietnamese.

These findings about minority ownership should be taken into account as the various business assistance agencies plan their outreach and service delivery.
More women owned firms should be encouraged, with special assistance is needed for specific ethnic and economically disadvantaged populations.

Employees/Customers: Given that over 50 of the 80+ local enterprises employ fewer than five people, the opportunities for economic development are obvious. These are small firms, that depend on themselves and their families for core staffing. Size limits their profit capacity, and, more importantly, their flexibility to attend business training and/or spend time planning and collaborating with others in the area.

The special demands of the very small enterprise must be taken into account as classes and seminars are planned. It is likely that these businesses would benefit more from a case management, one-on-one counseling model of management assistance that could be carried out on their premises during working hours.

Clearly this is a district of small businesses with limited employment opportunities. Most residents must either leave the area to find employment or else they work in one of the local schools, churches, or other non-profit agencies. Clark University is the largest local employer. Taken together, these non-business establishments offer a diverse customer base for neighborhood businesses. At the same time, the UPP businesses as a whole obtain the majority of their employees from outside the neighborhood and outside their families, a fact that suggests a good deal of travel to and from the area.

These "commuting" workers (as well as the hundreds that commute to Clark every day) would be well served by coffee and lunch shops, dry cleaners (none in the UPP area), card stores, gas stations, etc.

A significant number of firms depend on the neighborhood residents and Clark as customers, though there is travel from outside the area particularly to the Oriental rug shop and the funeral homes.

Some merchants are unaware of where their customers are from, a fact that suggests market research training in order to increase their ability to select appropriate advertising venues.

Interviews revealed that most business owners could conduct their daily affairs in English, occasionally with the assistance of children, neighbors, or employees. Still, the native languages of the business owners are numerous, primarily Vietnamese, then Spanish with several Chinese, Hmong, and Portugese speakers.

Language must be taken into account when business assistance is offered, but it is not an insurmountable obstacle.
English classes, particularly English for business, could be a useful organizing tool and would take advantage of ALCI's current overcapacity.
Spanish classes might also be useful for business owners, given the Latino characteristics of the neighborhood residents/customers

Several business owners (painting company and barber shop) reported difficulty in finding skilled, responsible employees, a fact that hindered their expansion and their ability to leave work to attend training seminars.

Better coordination with city job training programs and local high schools could address the problem of skilled labor problem, and emphasis could be on creating opportunities for neighborhood residents.

Business Activities and Technology Use
While nearly all the businesses advertise in some manner, it appears to be happenstance rather than strategic in nature. It is not clear that they regularly analyze the costs and benefits of their chosen method, nor have they regularly joined forces to advertise as a group.

Greater sophistication and coordination in marketing efforts is needed. Coupon booklets and shared media are a few suggestions for advertising. Assessing the marketing needs and possibilities could be a project for Clark marketing students; with care taken to assure merchants understand that advertising must be an ongoing activity.

With regard to technology, there is a digital divide in the UPP business community. With only 51% using computers, and 35% a point-of-sale cash register, disparities are obvious. Merchants are interested in acquiring and learning more about business technologies, because they know that computer systems can result in easier record keeping and productivity gains. Barriers to such knowledge are primarily, though not exclusively, financial. It is not clear that the businesses without computers are established enough to benefit from them even though they may be quite interested. Establishing growth priorities and a viable business plan should happen before technology acquisition is considered.

A loan fund could be dedicated to the purchase of computer hardware, software and training; the merchants would benefit from assistance in applying for these loans.
Ongoing technical assistance is needed so that area firms can take full advantage of their technologies in the context of their overall business plan. (Providing such technical assistance could be a business opportunity for local students, and a computer technician training program could offer valuable skills to neighborhood residents.)

Profitability, Financial Concerns, and Business Services
While it is difficult to make strong conclusions based on detailed financial data from only a third of the neighborhood businesses, we can assume that current minimal levels of working capital and borrowing capacity will limit their abilities to grow. Also limiting borrowing ability is the fact that over half do not own their property, and therefore cannot use it as collateral. It is clear that the majority of local firms are marginal enterprises, not a surprise to merchant or observer. Marginality explains their strong interest in business and management assistance, as well as their difficulty in finding time to access these services.

Basic economic literacy is needed if these businesses are to expand as desired. Computer training programs should be established in conjunction with overall business planning.

With regard to banking services, the fact that so many neighborhood businesses used Fleet or Bank Boston is significant in that it is still unclear whether the merged Fleet/Bank Boston will give much attention to small Worcester businesses. At the same time, none of the other banks serve a significant number of neighborhood firms, a barrier to bank-based community outreach and likely a limitation to use of their community reinvestment funds. Moreover, the fact that there is no branch of any type in the area is a barrier to effective economic development. There are several banks located in Webster Square, but the lack of a true neighborhood bank was seen as a problem by many.

Efforts should be made to attract a bank branch, or two, convenient to both Park Avenue and Main Street merchants.
Existing banks should be encouraged to use their Community Reinvestment funds in the UPP area. Community-based CRA watch-dog groups, as are found in Boston, could provide prodding as needed and serve as a springboard for neighborhood organizing around economic issues.

While there were no gaps identified with regard to the sporadic business services (i.e. law, accountancy, insurance, etc.), it does appear that there is a need for the types of business services that are needed on a regular basis: post office, bank (as above), copy shop, and so forth. Clark students have also requested a copy shop and improved postal and banking facilities. A one-stop establishment could meet many of these needs (i.e. Mailbox); alternatively, the new bookstore owners could be encouraged to offer some of these basic services.

Efforts should be made to meet business service needs in a way that is useful to the area non-profits as well the businesses.

Business Training/Management Assistance
It is clear that neighborhood businesses need and want business training and management assistance.

Multiple modalities of assistance should be provided given the variety of industries and range of business knowledge.

The lack of familiarity with existing business support services is surely a problem, yet one that can be resolved with ongoing, coordinated outreach efforts. Three of the lesser-known agencies (MLK, Centro, CWE) are thought to serve only particular constituencies (African-Americans, Latinos, women), a problem for the Asian merchants seeking assistance. This misperception could be rectified with greater coordination and better education.

Better outreach by ALL agencies is necessary. The SBDC, CDC, MLK Center, Centro, SCORE, should coordinate efforts and intensify public relations to assure better knowledge of their services and attendance at their functions.
Perhaps a monthly training calendar, including all agency services, could be developed and distributed.

Neighborhood Changes:
An anecdotal concern, repeated by numerous businesses and residents with whom we spoke. was that Main South's reputation had not improved along with the conditions in the neighborhood. Surveyors were told that the negative view of the area was undeserved, yet firm owners did not know how to change these perceptions. Even a restaurant review published during the period of survey research corroborated this, describing "a neighborhood with a shattered reputation."

To combat negative stereotypes and misperceptions of the area, a concerted public relations campaign should be undertaken by Clark in collaboration with the CDC and local businesses. Press releases, media tours, restaurant tastings, etc. could be organized with the express purpose of informing Worcester residents of the "real" UPP neighborhood.
Information gaps should be countered with facts about the UPP enterprises themselves (as made evident by Part 1 of this report). Other important types of data to be communicated include the declining crime rate, education level of residents, and home ownership percentages (stats available from the CDC).

At the same time it should be acknowledged that not all the neighborhood's challenges in attracting customers are because of incorrect perceptions. Traffic, litter, signage, and appearance problems are real barriers that require coordinated and ongoing attention. Several mentioned the nearby PIP shelter as deterrent to customers.

Infrastructure improvements should continue: congestion along Main Street and Park Avenue during commuting hours should be addressed; narrow connecting streets made more efficient; pothole and sidewalk repair intensified; aesthetic upgrades more.
Litter is an ongoing problem and city-wide efforts should complement those of individual merchants.
Aesthetic improvements should be encouraged and modeled.

Future Plans
Nearly 60% of the neighborhood enterprises want to expand, while over 25% would move out if they could. This seems to reflect the ambivalence typical to a mixed urban area, where a significant proportion choose to be there of their own accord, and others are more reluctant. An improved business climate could increase not only business success but also retention.

Both of these statistics suggest avenues for further research as an economic development strategy is created.

PART III: Follow-up and Conclusions

The research associated with this Community Enterprise Profile has already had a minor impact on services in the UPP area. As parts of the study were completed, results were shared with staff at the Small Business Development Center and the Center for Women in Enterprise, as well as with student consultants at the Martin Luther King Center. Agencies were given names and addresses of those business owners who indicated that they were interested in education and management assistance, and various models of service delivery were discussed. Since the Main South Community Development Center had been involved in the survey since its inception and were integral in completing the interviews, they were able to keep themselves abreast of the findings and incorporate results into their economic development planning. In conjunction with the CDC, a group of Clark Students offered a computer training class for local businesses. Although they did a great deal of personal outreach and follow-up, attendance was disappointing. Therefore we conclude that business assistance must take a variety of creative forms if it is to be effective in this neighborhood, and future outreach efforts should be devoted to discovering the most effective delivery of management training and technical assistance.

Additional follow-up and collaborative strategizing are now needed, building upon the successes of the University Park Partnership. The importance of CDCs in city revitalization has been established nationwide, and Worcester is no different. Therefore it makes sense for the CDC, in conjunction with Clark, to spearhead further economic development efforts. Community economic development experts suggest that community building must form the basis of sustained economic development, and thus interested stakeholders should continue efforts to strengthen the neighborhood as a whole. Strong schools, affordable housing, and accessible social services are the building blocks to strong neighborhoods, and maintaining the momentum already established in these areas must be our priority.

Related to community building, social capital is one of the key ingredients of small business success, and future business assistance efforts should enable social capital creation. This means encouraging relationship and networking skills as much as technical and financial education, a particular challenge in such a diverse neighborhood. Social capital creation must build on ethnic connections even as it crosses ethnic and class lines. Social capital also includes reputation, and here the UPP can work with local businesses and the Clark community to improve perceptions of the neighborhood.

The economic revitalization of the UPP area will also require business attraction and business creation, and these activities will be enhanced if the existing businesses are strengthened and the business climate remains positive. Another needed aspect of revitalization is to retain college students in the neighborhood and encourage their entrepreneurial ventures. Towards this end an incubator has been proposed.

Inner city neighborhoods offer certain competitive advantages, and the UPP is no different. Such neighborhoods are often underserved markets and unappreciated locational benefits. Therefore, one recommendation is to attract retail stores to the area. Secondly, UPP and Main South are poised for growth because of their proximity to Worcester's downtown business and local transportation hubs. As the entire city is revitalizes, so too will the neighborhood benefit.

Future research should focus on workforce development issues: industry analyses (key employers, clusters of industries, proportions of skilled and entry level jobs) should be complemented by assessments of the existing labor force, considering training needs, current employment patterns, and existing educational levels. Existing neighborhood jobs should be assessed as pay level, promotional opportunities, benefits, and working conditions. Special attention should be paid to health care needs and insurance participation rates. Researchers should also investigate resistance to assistance among different ethnic groups and types of merchants, and study effective outreach practices in other parts of the world. Although there is a great deal still to be learned, the groundwork has begun. It is time now to work collaboratively to create an economic development strategy for the UPP neighborhood.

Appendix A: Methodology

Data were collected during the months June - October, 2000. Surveys were completed in person, conducted by teams of multi-lingual interviewers from Clark University and the Main South Community Development Corporation. Interviews were conducted in the primary language of the respondent, who were told their financial data would be kept confidential, but that their requests for assistance would be forwarded to the appropriate agencies. We were able to obtain data from 85% of the identified businesses in the UPP area (see map).

Appendix B: Types of Establishment

Type of Business Business Class SIC code
Manufacturing Manufacturing (3)
Retail Car Sales
Retail Carpet Store
Retail Clothing Store
Retail Convenience Store
Retail Distributor/Wholesale/Retail
Retail Food Market
Retail Gas Station
Retail Grocery Store
Retail Liquor Store
Retail Local Market
Retail Mini Market
Retail Pharmacy
Retail Retail
Retail Used Furniture
Service Apartments
Service Auto Body
Service Auto Body Repair
Service Auto Body Shop
Service Auto Sales & Repairs
Service Auto Shop
Service Chair Van, Ambulatory
Service Check Cashing, Financial
Service Chiropractic
Service Coffee Shop
Service Contracting
Service Donut Shop
Service Funeral Home
Service Furniture Repair
Service Furniture Resale
Service General Auto Repair
Service Hair Center
Service Hair Styling Shop
Service Health Store
Service Insurance Agency
Service Laundromat
Service Make Wood Casting
Service Moving & Storage
Service Music Store
Service Nail Salon
Service Non-profit Charity and Store
Service Non-Profit Environmental
Service Package Store
Service Paint Company
Service Painting Contracter
Service Pest Control
Service Property Management
Service Repair Shop
Service Restaurant
Service Retail Cloth, Rag Sales
Service Service
Service Tanning Salon
Service Temp Agency
Service Video Store
Service Warehouse Shipping and Receiving

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