The Springboard to Success is a non-profit organization whose mission is to nurture start-up and early stage, independent retailers.  Springboard to Success’s first initiative is a non-profit retail storefront known as the Urban Emporium, which opened in October 2011.  The Urban Emporium is the vehicle where Springboard houses and trains retailer entrepreneurs to become successful business people; it is also the store where each entrepreneur’s merchandise is sold to the public.  The training and oversight that is provided by the DMA staff, consultant, and store Manager educates the retail entrepreneur in topics such as merchandising, buying plans, promotion and marketing, inventory control, cash flow management, expense control, market trends and the management of personnel.  The DMA Board, STS Board and stakeholders assist the retail entrepreneurs through events, advocacy, utilization, and promotion within their business network.  The Urban Emporium is also a model for other communities with underserved retail environments. 

Hi there! My name is Nicole Moore and I joined the Urban Emporium as the store manager in December of 2021. I am a Mobile native and knew I always wanted to come back. So after graduating from Troy University with a major in communication studies and a minor in advertising I found myself back in our beautiful city.

One of the best things about working at the Urban Emporium is getting to know all of our customers and where they come from! I especially look forward to the downtown regulars that visit us daily and make the downtown community feel like family. My absolute favorite part about the Urban Emporium is the ability to meet retailers and experience aside with them as their dreams become a reality.

Downtown is truly a city within a city which is one of the best aspects of working downtown. The community is strongly felt and filled with such charm. This is one of the characteristics that pulled me into wanting to work downtown. One of my favorite hobbies is visiting the peanut shop and heading to Bienville square to feed the squirrels or heading to the crescent theater to see a specular movie.