Since 2010, the Saturday after Thanksgiving has been designated “Small Business Saturday.” It is a day to recognize small businesses and what they bring to a local community. You probably know the direct impact of the small businesses in your community. They provide needed goods and services. Everyone needs to be reminded of their contributions…
Small Business Saturday and its Shop Small slogan get a lot of attention, but they aren’t the only holiday shopping project small town businesses can join for more buzz this season. Shift Your Shopping Shift Your Shopping is a theme you can adopt for any local shopping campaign. The emphasis is on shifting more of…
Want to promote your local businesses? Use a social list-making site to collect the websites and social profiles of businesses in your area. I first heard this idea from Dave Shideler, back when delicio.us was the social bookmarking tool of choice. Today’s social list-making tools offer some key advantages. Why use social list-making tools? 1….
Last week, we talked about how big box retailers are getting smaller. Why is the big box retail sector making this expensive and difficult change to smaller stores? Because consumers have already started changing. Humorist David Sedaris summed up this consumer feeling in an interview. “I’d rather go to an actual shop — preferably a small…
Buy Local, or Bye-bye local! That’s a pretty clever tagline to use in your shop local efforts this holiday season. Thanks to Wendy Martin, from Havana, Illinois, who submitted it. (Wendy mentioned it came from a friend in Hickman, Kentucky.) Of course, a clever slogan isn’t enough. If you’re working on your Shop Local campaign…
Your assignment: include an element of how your organization changes the world for the better in every bit of communication that you create. That’s a tough assignment. It means you have to: Know how your organization is changing the world for the better. Know how to express it even in a few words. Remember it every time…
July 1-7, 2014, will be Independents Week, “to engage your local independent businesses and community members in celebrating the spirit of entrepreneurism and community.” Independents Week is sponsored by the AMIBA. The American Independent Business Alliance is a non-profit organization helping communities sustain their local independent businesses and keep opportunities alive for local entrepreneurs. Notice that…
Michael Shuman Interview Economist and Author Michael Shuman knows a heck of a lot about why we have a local movement. He’s also the author of the books Small Mart Revolution and Local Dollars, Local Sense. In this interview, he goes all economist on durable and nondurable goods right at the start, but hang on,…
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