Frank X. Moraga
By Frank X. Moraga / AmigosNAZ
Wanted: Individuals wanting to turn their hobbies or dream into a thriving business.
Requirements: Willing to take part in weekly small-business training sessions and willing to give time and effort to help other would-be business owners obtain their dream.
Where to apply: El Mercado de los Sueños / Marketplace of Dreams.
No, the above advertisement is not a hazy dream. In fact, it is fast becoming a reality for those who are currently members or who are applying for a spot in El Mercado de los Sueños / Marketplace of Dreams in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Flagstaff.
Marketplace organizers are currently accepting applications for vendors to help fill the facility that is scheduled to open early next year inside a former dental office at the Cal-Ranch parking lot near the corner Fourth and Seventh streets.
Old dividing walls have come down to create an open-space environment. New drywall and paint is going up, with the goal to have the facility ready to welcome upwards of 50 vendors.
A version of the marketplace has been operating since this past summer outside the building, with vendors selling everything from coffee to clothing and food to nutritional and other retail products.
The final outdoor mercado for the year was held in October, replaced by a series of new-member information meetings scheduled for Dec. 3 and Dec. 8 at the East Flagstaff Library, 3000 N. Fourth St.
In essence the mercado is a grassroots (co-op) cultural small-business incubator program designed to help new and existing home-based businesses learn the basics of operating a retail establishment. The goal is to provide them with enough information and encouragement to outgrow their vendor tables and booths at the mercado and start populating some of the many vacant storefronts that line the shopping centers along Fourth Street.
Patrick Pfeifer displays the architectural drawings for the indoor El Mercado de los Sueños / Marketplace of Dreams that is occupying a former dental office near the corner of Fourth and Seventh streets in the Cal-Ranch parking lot in Flagstaff. Photo by Frank X. Moraga / AmigosNAZ ©2014
The mercado is a Sunnyside Neighborhood Association Inc. Special Initiative in partnership with Northern Arizona University, with seed funding ($30,000) from JP Morgan Chase, said Patrick Pfeifer, one of the organizers of the project.
Pfeifer, along with Sunnyside Neighborhood Association’s Executive Director Coral Evans, recently greeted a handful of interested potential members to the first informational meeting at the library.
During the session, would-be members were provided information on how on the mercado including:
- How to fill out the application (which provides the start of a small-business plan).
- The non-refundable $25 application fee.
- The $50 annual membership fee.
- The $45 monthly vending fee, or 5 percent of gross sales, whichever is higher, for use of the facility to set up a small space/table.
- Additional fees, to be determined, will be charged for the two larger booth spaces, along with use fees for the kitchen for food vendors, who will get assistance in applying for their own food-handling permits.
- Vendors must also volunteer or provide someone for a minimum of three hours per week to do routine maintenance, operate the cash register or provide mentorship training at the mercado.
In return, would-be small business owners will have a location that is expected to be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday; a place that provides weekly business-training sessions and a street visible location that is expected to become a business and cultural hub of the community. Members will also have access to on-site and off-site business mentors to help them avoid the usual start-up challenges and plan for initial growth and long-term success.
There is no limit to the same kind of businesses. However, would-be members are encouraged to develop their own special niche to stand above the crowd, Evans said.
The application provides information on the types of businesses or organizations that will be prohibited from the mercado, with preference giving to local, regional organic food and other products.
Remodeling work is continuing at the mercado with the occupancy permit expected to be issued before Christmas, Evans said. When opened early next year it is also expected to be the home of a small-wattage local radio station that will provide information to the local Sunnyside neighborhood.
The mercado was developed through a 2011 feasibility study by the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association Inc. and the Northern Arizona Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (NACET) and is supported by local and county government, SEDI (the Sustainable Economic Development Initiative), the SBDC (the Small Business Development Center), local schools, United Way of Northern Arizona, the Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce, Flagstaff FOODLINK and other organizations.
Evans said it is based on a successful micro-entrepreneurial project out of the Silicon Valley that helped people in the neighborhood.
Pfeifer hopes to repeat that success in Flagstaff, with the mercado officials expecting members will quickly outgrow their booth spaces, populate the nearby empty storefronts and help to revitalize and beautify the neighborhood.
Francy Solarte, who sells health and nutritional products and has been a Mercado member for the past year, also attended the orientation program and provided information in Spanish to attendees.
“This is a good project for us,” she said. “We know how to do sales but here they can help you with mentors and work to help you grow your business. I have learned so much from some of the other people in this project. This helps the community grow together and that is one of the things I like about this.”
Evans agreed.
“We are trying to get as many people together in one place to help them grow,” she said.
Applications will be reviewed monthly by the El Mercado de los Sueños / Marketplace of Dreams Steering Committee’s application subcommittee.
To obtain an application, call 928-213-5900.
Visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/MercadodeSuenos for more information about the El Mercado de los Sueños / Marketplace of Dreams.
— Frank X. Moraga, editor/publisher of AmigosNAZ, has served as business editor, director of diversity, city beat and environmental reporter in the newspaper industry. He can be reached at fmoraga@amigosnaz.