Governor’s Weekly Message Transcript: Strengthening Communities By Supporting Small Businesses


The idea that you can start and build a business in this country is the promise and hope of America.

This week, we sustain that promise by celebrating the opening of three new small business “pop-ups” – each getting special help to launch their dreams in a unique and new way.

These entrepreneurs will have the chance to test their start-up for three months, with an eye toward establishing longer term success. This gives small business owners a chance to target new customers in downtown areas that might otherwise be vacant.

I am here at Yo-Yo Joe’s in the 700-block of Market Street in Wilmington, which begins selling toys and fun this week, just in time for holiday shopping. You can find two more business pop-ups on Front Street in Milford …… and on West Main Street, Middletown in the old Everett Theatre.

While the holiday season may jump-start these businesses, the hope of our Delaware Economic Development office is that they will keep their doors open beyond the New Year. When these small businesses draw customers, it’s a win for the business, for the people who patronize them and for the properties that might otherwise go vacant. It takes creative cooperation to make it happen. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, the dream of many Americans and part of the fabric of our towns and cities. Helping to start, sustain, and strengthen them is one way we keep our communities, our state and our great nation alive and moving forward.