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Let’s hear from Salem’s Technical Assistance Providers…

Ashley Judge
Executive Director
Destination Salem

I lead Destination Salem, the City’s official destination marketing organization. At its core, the organization’s job is to bring people to Salem and to make sure they find the small businesses that make Salem special. My team connects visitors to Salem online, in print, and in person, from our guides and mobile app to the Visitor Center where people come looking for recommendations. Destination Salem also help local businesses get in front of trip planners through advertising, social media, and press – from Instagram posts and email newsletters to coverage in places like The Today Show and national Geographic. Along with marketing, we support programs that help frontline staff and neighborhood events highlight what makes Salem unique. At the end of the day, it’s about driving foot traffic, sharing Salem’s story, and making sure the city’s businesses thrive.

Collaboration is the key word when I think of Salem’s current business climate. There are so many organizations, nonprofits, and city departments working side by side to support small businesses. You can feel that shared commitment in the way the community comes together. From cultural institution to neighborhood groups to City Hall, there’s a real sense that we’re all pulling in the same direction to keep Salem vibrant, welcoming, and successful for both residents and visitors.

The steady flow of visitors who come to Salem year-round, not just in October, is Salem’s biggest strength. This audience gives small businesses a built-in customer base and a chance to tell their story to people from all over the world. Just as important as the character of the city itself – walkable, historic, and full of personality – which makes it easy for businesses to stand out and become part of the experience visitors are looking for.

I love living and working in Salem because it never stops surprising me. Working here, I get to spend my days in Salem, meeting visitors, working with local businesses, and seeing the results of our efforts play out in real time. Living here, I get to see the layers – the history, the creativity, the small businesses, and the people who pour themselves into this community. I feel lucky to both live here and to help share Salem with the world.

Jeff Swartz
Executive Director
Salem Chamber of Commerce

The Salem Chamber of Commerce supports businesses that are based in Salem, do work in the community, and/or are looking to grow in Salem. This support comes in a variety of forms: we advocate on behalf of the businesses to the city and state governments, we create networking and referral opportunties, and we share information on available financial and technical resources. The Chamber is just one of many organizations dedicated to supporting the business community and the vibrant people behind the scenes that make it all happen.

The Salem community of residents and businesses is the city’s greatest strength; Salem business owners want their neighbors to succeed, which fosters a community culture of a ‘rising tide lifts all boats’. The challenges and successes our business community faces are not entirely unique. Salem, however, is unique in the fact that our business community looks out for one another, where the tools and support to find the success are shared, not guarded.

I love my job because I get to support some of the most passionate and talented business and non-profit professionals I have ever met! It is hard not to be inspired by those individuals that pour so much of themselves into their work. I love Salem because it is authentic in a way that is increasingly rare in the Commonwealth and the nation. Driven by local, small businesses, incredible institutions, and our unique history, others hope for a smidge of the architecture, walkability, culture, and amenities that our little city on the North Shore has in our community. Living downtown, I can easily enjoy the amazing restaurants, shopping for a special gift, or visit a museum that can engage and educate about places and people right here in town or on the other side of the world. There is no place I’d rather be!

John Andrews
Founder
The Creative Collective

Creative Collective provides an alternative to traditional business networks, specifically designed for business owners, creators, and leaders who don’t fit the conventional mold. In addition to offering all of the traditional services most business programs provide, we bring diverse businesses together through collaborative learning experiences and cross-industry gatherings, creating spaces where innovators, makers, consultants, and service providers discover shared solutions and build authentic connections. Unlike traditional programs that focus on specific sectors, we foster an inclusive ecosystem where all business owners find relevant support and community. At the Collective, we believe regional vibrancy comes from every business thriving together.

I believe Salem’s business climate thrives at the intersection of tourism, arts, culture, and small business – creating a unique ecosystem where community well-being, engaged stakeholders, and economic vitality reinforce each other. Our business owners increasingly understand that these sectors are interconnected, with each element strengthening the others in ways that benefit residents and visitors alike. The City also embraces innovation alongside tradition, supporting both established businesses and new ventures equally. This integrated ecosystem and inherently collaborative nature of the local business community together comprise Salem’s greatest strengths.

Salem creates genuine spaces of belonging. Business owners here do not just welcome diversity – they actively build tables where everyone has a seat. I see it in how we naturally embrace diverse ways of doing business, different backgrounds, different dreams. This is not just a place that talks about inclusion; it is a place that lives it daily. Salem has this rare magic where running a business means being part of a community that truly sees you and makes space for your whole self. That feeling of belonging, of being valued for who you are and what you bring is everything. That is why I can’t imagine being and working anywhere else.

Kylie Sullivan
Executive Director
Salem Main Streets

Salem Main Streets champions the year-round vitality of downtown Salem as a vibrant retail, dining, and cultural destination. We do this through business retention efforts, business recruitment, and promotion of the downtown district. The Main Streets district includes over 260 active storefronts, multiple cultural attractions, historic assets, including a National Park Service site, and approximately one third of the city’s population. Main Streets provides free direct and indirect business support throughout the district, runs multiple community and visitor events year-round including the Salem Farmers’ Market, and partners on numerous community initiatives focused on engaging residents and attracting visitors.

The heart of Salem’s economy is driven by the incredibly talented, collaborative individuals that make up our business community. The downtown is predominantly made up of small, locally-owned enterprises.  The peer support network that has emerged, via both strategic and organic means, among these business owners is a key component of how Salem does business. Everyone in the business community is committed to the overall success of the city, not just their own. It is this professional camaraderie and respect that makes Salem’s business community so unique.

I love my job because no day is ever the same. There is always something interesting happening in Salem, with a different cultural festival every month, internally-acclaimed institutions like the Peabody Essex Museum and the House of Seven Gables, incredibly diverse restaurant scene, and destination retail that can’t be found anywhere else in the world. Everyone wears multiple hats in the business community and are often quick to lend their time and talents to the city they care about. I love the people in Salem – they are the key to our success.

Laura Swanson
Executive Director
The Enterprise Center at Salem State University
North Shore Alliance for Economic Development

The Enterprise Center helps people start and grow their business and solve their business problems. It is a hub for ‘all things business’ and is an accessible, welcoming community for every business owner seeking professional growth and business development. The Center supports Salem’s entrepreneurial and small business community through free, just-in-time knowledge workshops, business programs, resources, and vast networks which are all designed for businesses, their owners, and employees to succeed.

Salem’s business community is foundationally healthy and constantly evolving. The City of Salem understands the economic importance of local businesses to the overall health of its community. Together, the City with its resource partners like the Enterprise Center, foster a collaborative environment and is a strong leader on issues that relate to long term economic sustainability for the City of Salem and for the North Shore region at large.

I love what I do because I love the business of business and believe that entrepreneurship is an empowering tool for individuals to create economic opportunities for themselves, create jobs for others, and better the community they operate in.

Shantel Alix
Director of Community Building
North Shore Community Development Coalition

North Shore CDC is deeply committed to building strong, inclusive neighborhoods in Salem and across the North Shore. A big part of that work is helping small businesses not just survive but thrive. Through one-on-one technical assistance, workshops, and access to trusted networks, we support entrepreneurs with tools like business planning, financial coaching, marketing guidance, and connections to local resources. Our goal is to walk alongside small business owners — especially those from immigrant and historically marginalized communities — so they have the skills and confidence to grow.

Salem has a unique mix of history, culture, and diversity that creates opportunities you can’t find anywhere else; as a result of this, Salem’s business climate is vibrant and resilient. We are seeing entrepreneurs bring new ideas to the table, and there’s a strong sense of collaboration between the City, nonprofits, and the private sector. This collaborative culture makes it easier for businesses to access resources and support. Of course, challenges like rising costs and limited space are real, but the entrepreneurial spirit here is strong. People believe in Salem’s potential and are willing to invest their energy and creativity into making it work.

I love my job because I get to empower entrepreneurs who often remind me of my own community and family. Supporting someone as they take the leap into business ownership, seeing their pride when they succeed, and knowing that we helped remove some of the barriers along the way – that’s the most rewarding part of what I do. I love Salem because it’s a city where culture, history, and innovation come together. It’s diverse, it’s walkable, and it has a spirit of creativity that makes it stand out.  Salem is big enough to have opportunity but small enough that relationships really matter; that balance makes it special.