Across the country, Main Street leaders know that thriving downtowns don’t happen by accident. They’re built through patient, local, hands-on work, by lifting up entrepreneurs, strengthening community connections, and turning vacancy into opportunity. Main Street is different from other economic development strategies because it isn’t about chasing a big employer or importing ideas from somewhere else. It’s homegrown. It’s about recognizing the strengths already rooted in our communities and weaving economic development directly into the fabric of our downtowns.

Few people embody that spirit more powerfully than Karla Eden, Executive Director of Main Street Anniston in Alabama. Karla’s work is a case study in what local leadership, local expertise, and local passion can accomplish.

A Place-Built Pipeline for New Businesses

After trying – and struggling – to open her own bakery and coffee shop downtown, Karla experienced firsthand what many entrepreneurs encounter: there was no roadmap, no guide, no one to help her navigate permits, zoning, marketing, or the million little questions that make or break an early-stage business. She realized this wasn’t just her hurdle. It was holding Anniston back from growing into a vibrant, welcoming downtown. So she built the solution.

GETUP Anniston is an eight-week crash course guiding aspiring entrepreneurs through everything they need to launch a business, from accounting and financial planning, to digital marketing, to choosing the right brick-and-mortar location. Each session is taught by an expert from within the community, from real estate agents, to CPAs, to city staff, ensuring the curriculum is rooted in Anniston’s real market conditions, not generic templates.

Graduates finishing the program have tangible opportunities ahead of them. Retail concepts can step immediately into the Small Box Shop, a downtown pop-up storefront operated alongside the Main Street office. Participants can also enter a pitch competition for $5,000 – $10,000 in startup funding, provided they commit to launching in downtown Anniston. And hopefully soon, entrepreneurs will have access to a new retail incubator called ​“The Foundry,” on a former steelmaking site, another chapter in Anniston’s story of reinvention.

This is place-specific economic development at its smartest: built from lived experience, designed with community expertise, and continually refined to meet local needs.

Why This Matters: The Main Street Impact

Programs like Anniston’s don’t just help individual entrepreneurs — they power entire local economies. In 2024 alone, the Main Street movement supported more than $7.6 billion in public and private investment, facilitated the opening of more than 6,000 new businesses, and helped create nearly 35,000 new jobs nationwide. These numbers underscore what Main Street communities witness every day: when you invest in homegrown talent and local leadership, the ripple effects are enormous.

Anniston’s story is one small example of a national truth: the people doing this work, Main Street directors, volunteers, small business owners, are rebuilding local economies from the inside out. They’re proving that resilient communities don’t wait for transformation. They build it themselves.

A Model for the Movement

Karla Eden didn’t just identify a gap; she filled it by creating a system of support tailored specifically to Anniston’s unique downtown environment. Her work shows what’s possible when Main Street leaders pair local insight with entrepreneurial compassion.

In towns and cities everywhere, leaders like Karla are helping people turn dreams into storefronts, and turning those storefronts into vibrant, resilient downtowns.

Small businesses rely on a rich ecosystem of support, and Main Street America is committed to providing resourcing, training, and networking to help local entrepreneurs succeed. Our Small Business Hub is an online learning and peer community platform for both small business owners and the Main Street leaders that support them. Sign up today >