Posts by rgilligan_robgilligan

Business Startup Checklist Now Available from SEMO REDI If you’ve been dreaming of launching your own business in Southeast Missouri, now is an exciting time to take the leap—and there’s a new resource to help make the process easier than ever. SEMO REDI (Southeast Missouri Regional Economic Development, Inc.) has just rolled out a series…

Business Strategies to Respond to Consumer Confidence this Summer As we head into summer 2025, U.S. consumer confidence is showing mixed signals. According to recent reports, overall confidence has dipped slightly due to lingering inflation concerns and uncertainty around interest rates. However, this doesn’t mean consumers are tightening their wallets across the board. In fact,…

Proposition A Takes Effect, what You Need to Know Missouri’s Proposition A, approved by voters in late 2024 and upheld by the state Supreme Court in April 2025, is now in effect as of May 1. This new law requires many employers to provide paid sick leave to their employees, marking a significant shift in…

Innovate SOMO Partnership Expanding Programs Statewide Last Friday, the Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED) announced an award of over $2.9 million out of Federal State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) funds to Codefi and Missouri State University’s efactory. This significant investment will expand the reach of the Southern Missouri Innovation Network (Innovate SOMO), enhancing…

Developing Young Professionals Last week, I had the opportunity to join 150 “Young Professionals” at the 7th Annual YPC Summit. Even though I maybe a few years past the “40ish and Under” target market, I still found some great takeaways to share. In today’s ever-changing business environment, organizations that commit to investing in the development…

Business and Community For businesses or organizations, the opportunity to support a variety of groups, programs or activities can often be overwhelming. Retail locations can sometimes have multiple contacts in a day for contributions, donations, or other similar requests. How to balance a desire to support everyone with the reality of limited resources can be…

Trade Disputes and the Uncertainty They Bring As trade tensions between the United States and China intensify, businesses across the Midwest are bracing for economic repercussions that could ripple through key sectors of the region’s economy. A trade war—defined as a tit-for-tat escalation of tariffs and trade restrictions between nations—has once again taken center stage…

Updated Census Estimates show a positive trend in parts of Southeast Missouri One of the data points related to a region’s stability or growth that is easy to track is census data. In the United States, we physically count the population every 10 years during the decennial census. But each March, the US Census Bureau…

New Restaurants Springing Up in Cape Friday was officially the first day of Spring, as we crossed the vernal equinox and head straight into the renewal of the season. If you have been watching the news in Cape Girardeau lately, it almost feels like someone was planting seeds of entrepreneurship for food establishments as several…

Beware the Ides of March The first few months of 2025 have been a bit of a whirlwind with lots of activity, changes, and uncertainty in the air. I spent a fair amount of time last Saturday thinking about the date and if there was any business meaning to be forewarned of the Ides of…