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07/27/2005
Re-Connecting With Ourselves
It would be so nice if Wal Mart would just go away... as if it never happened. There is something surreal about the gianormous (yes, Webster's is making this an official "word with meaning.") money sucking entity that has taken over. I pass by our local Wal Mart and it pains me every time. I even ventured in the other day to do some grocery shopping - I just wanted to see if the prices really were cheaper. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was gut wrenching how many people were pushing their carts through the aisles, bumping into one another, unapoligetically. People were eating hamburgers from the resident McDonald's as they pulled underwear off the racks. Girls were getting their toenails painted as I looked for banannas. There is something wrong here.
In creating ASHLEY'S LIST, I really wanted to focus on small business. I want to bring Mom and Pop back. Mom and Pop are missed dearly and I think we can do this if we do it together. We have to just stop shopping at Wal Mart... we have to. I don't care if I saved $30 on my regular groceries... I would rather pay the extra money and support a more local retailer. I would rather go out of my way and shop the small boutiques of Denver than get a "spiff on" shirt from target that everyone and their mother will be wearing. I am not sure if it is actually possible to conquer the Wal Marts of the world... but I want to do my part. There are so many other options out there. Instead of getting your coffee at Starbucks... check out a new place like Metropolitan MUDD between 15th & 16th on Wazee. Small business owners, great coffee and food - they need our support. It's the character, the wave, the handshake, the recognition that has gone away... and I think we could all use a little brushing up on re-connectiing with one another, our local retailers and probably ourselves for that matter.
I won't be grocery shopping or doing any other kind of shopping at Wal Mart. I won't be drinking Starbucks and I will go out of my way to support the very people that being us the "uniqueness of Denver." What use to be old hat is and should be the only hat... small business. After all, 88% of Denver is made up of small biz. We should support it and be really proud that we make an effort to go out of our way to do so if necessary.
00:45 Posted in Small Business | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email this
Comments
Yes, Ashley!
Observing America in the early 1830s, the French writer and social commentator Alexis de Tocqueville noted: 'What astonishes me in the United States is not so much the marvelous grandeur of some undertakings as the innumerable multitude of small ones.'"
America was a nation of shopkeepers; we are turning into a nation of clerks working for Starbucks and Walmart. Much of this is our own fault.
You point out the primary problem: We shop at discount stores. K-Mart, Wal-Mart, etc. are institutionalized greed of we shoppers.
Then we voters allow unfair trade practices that give an unfair advantage to the big retailers: unfair leasing terms; unfair advertising rates and biased editorial coverage; and unfair treatment by the government-- the recent outragious decision by the supreme court has brought to everyones attention what has been going on for years, local government will force existing small businesses out to make way for Wal-Mart (and the others), and they will PAY the giants to help get them off to a good start!!!
The government solution? The Small Business Administration. Formed in 1954, the SBA preaches a big-business approach to startup, the venture capital model of market research, strategic planning, and financing that has just about killed off new business formation. The SBA model is not at all how successful businesses actually start, as evidenced by the outstanding research of Dr. Amar Bhide, www.bhide.net.
We can fight back. You bring up an excellent way-- just don't shop at the giants.
Another is to start your own business and run for local political office. People who want to do this gather each month at the free IDEA Cafe Meetups and some gather more frequently with like-minded entrepreneurs by starting or joining a Franklin Circle or similar group. I'm always at the Denver IDEA Cafe Meetup, others will be starting around the nation and the world soon. (Email me for more info if you'd like to start an IDEA Cafe or just do it, there is complete info on meetup.com about how to do it.)
Alexis de Tocqueville would not recognize America today, but we can regain what the "Greatest Generation" lost if we change our habits, if we change how we shop, vote, and work. Join us! For more see http://ideacafe.meetup.com.
Keep up your good work, Ashley! Can you join us this month for the Denver IDEA Cafe?
Posted by: John Wren | 08/09/2005
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