As the owner of a small business, I am always intensely optimistic. I can lie down and a million ideas jump through my head about how to do things, new ways to help our customers or things that need to be fixed on our website. I’ve even startled myself awake every now and then about something I forgot to do during the day. But there is one problem in this Great Recession that concerns me most – have people had their fill of small businesses and are they now totally converted into box store customers?
To answer this, I look around at the village we call home – Brewster, NY. Brewster is an absolutely wonderful town to conduct business and not unlike many others. It is a charming train town with many dedicated merchants. It has certainly been affected by the business cycle, the internet and absentee landlords. So my question is, what does it take to make a village?
In the age of the internet, box stores and mobile consumers – is small business dead? Obviously not! But we probably have to continue to change and evolve. Consider what one Home Depot can do to a community. In this giant box store is a garden center, electrical supply, plumbing supply, lumber yard, outdoor furniture, tools, bathrooms, kitchens and many more. All of these “stores” in a Depot type store were once small businesses in the community. Consumers have flocked to these box stores for many reasons and I am not here to debate the merits of this, but to merely say – what kind of stores are left to fill the many villages, towns and shopping centers?
For sure, what small business must do is find their niche. In the past it may have been books, antiques or a “variety” type store, but those are all tough fights in the current reality of a free shipping internet and the box store. However does that leave us with nothing? Absolutely not! Brick and mortar stores haven’t died in the face of this environment but the ones that have survived realize they need a strategy that gets consumers involved in all levels – electronically and in person. Person to person shopping is not dead. In fact, most people still prefer to get out and do something. I think that is where the small business world must change – we must come together and be a community and make a place that people want to visit.
To be clear, I would much rather walk into a small store, talk with the owner or partner and purchase my goods then any box store. As small business, we need many more shoppers that are willing to shop small. We need consumers that are willing to come into a town or a village and shop and spend some time looking around, talking to people, owners and employees. If you want to get America back working again, we all need to come back to small businesses.
So how do we get you to come back? We must agree to provide an engaging, thoughtful, beautiful, clean and well kept environment. We promise to give each customer what made us successful – a dedication to our word, products and reputations. What we need from everyone is to start considering a small, local business for your next purchase. Whether it is a garden center, hardware store, florist or even a china shop – we want you back. And if there is something we need to do, I for one would love to hear about it.
Bob Dumont
