Not very long ago, I listened to an audio-lecture on NPR about shopping and investing locally. This was from a man named Michael Shuman, he is the author of the book ‘ The Small-Mart Revolution.' In this book he talks about the benefits of a locally owned and operated businesses. During his lecture he talked about these issues as well as some of the problems involved in attracting local investors in a fiscally responsible way.
Each community needs to develop its own self reliance and maximize the opportunities presented. This will help them to grow in a sustainable and reliable way.
Michael currently runs the site Smallmart.org and I found this article. About halfway down he has a list of things that will help you appear attractive to local shoppers.?? This list includes...
- Being locally owned - The most needed part of the equation!
- Develop a local identity - Let people know that you are local and be proud of it.
- Behave Responsibly - Respect the workforce and the environment if you want anyone to respect you.
- Give back to the community - Let them know your business cares.
- Maximize ‘Local value added' - Do more than locate your headquarters here, put your factory or do your business here as well.
- Cater to local markets - You can still sell to the rest of the world, but make sure you sell to those around you first.
- Develop local partners - This could be contacting other businesses for one time events, or perhaps shopping in local stores for any supplies you need.
- Grow deep - Expand your offerings to the local crowd.
- Avoid predatory behavior - Just because you offer some of the same goods or services doesn't mean that the other company is your enemy, just your competition.? Perhaps possibly even a local partner in the future.
- Exit locally - When you close up shop, who will take over your business?
I really enjoyed the lecture that he gave, but I think I'll need to pick up the book in order to extract as much of his ideas as possible.
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