How About In March?
by J. Daniel Geddis, Team D&B at One Mission Realty and President of the Mission Hills Business Improvement District
I am just back from a Mission Hills Improvement District (BID) Mixer hosted by Tami Ratliffe and Ali Dorvillier, owners of new business Lewis | Fay Home Collection and Design. The hospitality, food, and drink were incredible. The turn-out was the best, yet. The raffle item donations from more than fifteen Mission Hills’ business owners were bountiful. My heartfelt thank you to all!
Last week I did a whirlwind walk around the Mission Hills BID welcoming new business owners and their staff and thanking them for choosing to open their doors in Mission Hills. Accompanying me were Ty Burch from Councilmember Ward’s office who created special commendations to present to each business owner, and Susan McNeil Schreyer, executive director of our BID. I encourage you to enjoy a walk along West Lewis Street, Goldfinch Street, West Washington Street, Reynard Way, India Street, and the side streets connecting them, which are home to most of our businesses. It is impressive to see how much of a contribution each small business is making to our local economy.
Each month the City of San Diego creates a report of businesses within Business Improvement District (BID) boundaries. As of last month, the Mission Hills BID boasts 482 licensed businesses of which 127 identify as home-based businesses. The boundaries may be found on the Mission Hills BID website at http://missionhillsbid.com/what-is-the-bid/.
The Mission Hills BID is grateful to home-based businesses within the BID boundaries whose owners apply for and renew their business license each year. In addition to the business license fee, a smaller business improvement district fee ranging from $30 to $90, is added by the City and provided to the BID. The total each year is approximately $30,000 which helps promote the Mission Hills BID as a destination for dining, shopping, relaxation and beauty, and professional service such as architecture, engineering, psychological counseling, legal matters, and more.
Home-based businesses have long been included in Mission Hills BID activities through mailed invitations. The City of San Diego does not provide email addresses for businesses located within BID boundaries. Because of this, home-based businesses are less easily reached than a ground-floor retail business whose owners we see on an almost daily basis. If you are a home-based business, please email your name and the name of your business to MissionHillsBID@gmail.com. We want to get to know you.
At our annual meeting we were pleased to welcome home based business owner Mary Lou Morreal and have become better acquainted over the last few months. Morreal is an award-winning designer specializing in print. She is experienced in creating logos, stationery, brochures, posters, packaging, book covers, magazines, outdoor media, exhibit graphics and a wide range of marketing collateral. As she shared with me, “If it can be printed, I’ve probably designed it!”
With her versatile style, which ranges from classic to contemporary, Morreal creates designs to fit the needs of the client. During the February BID design committee meeting Morreal presented design concept updates for the BID’s year-around Spotlight Mission Hills banners. In late-February final designs were approved by the BID board of directors. If you are a member of the BID and would like to feature your business on one of these upcoming banner opportunities, please contact us. For the neighborhood in general, please look for this new banner installation, featuring Mission Hills BID business owners, in early-summer 2020.
If you are anything like me, the arrival of spring during the month of March can feel like a new beginning. As you consider what might be personally meaningful and have a greater positive impact, please know the Mission Hills BID is a great organization looking for people who want to become more involved in making Mission Hills an exciting place to work, shop, dine and relax throughout the year. Please contact us at MissionHillsBID@gmail.com . How about in March?
Category: Business, Events, Local News
