| Apr. 17 2008 at 12:18 PM |
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Enjoyed very much your article. I am truly a "local" business and I got so excited about your topic! But then I drew a question mark when wondering how, or what, could a service company (customer service training, consulting, speaking) offer in this respect? Got any ideas? Thanks much.
JoAnn Gibson, President
Non-Stop Customer Service
A 2006 Top 10 Michigan Business Woman (National Association of Women Business Owners-Greater Detroit Chapter), and A Michigan Woman of Distinction (Corp! Magazine)
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| Apr. 17 2008 at 12:55 PM |
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Wow very interesting article since I just started a 2nd home business in February and my tag line is BUY LOCAL.... hhmmmm guess maybe I am onto something.
Diane
Pom Pom Golf Club Covers
http://www.kewltubes.com
Graceful Yarns
http://www.gracefulyarns.com
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| Apr. 17 2008 at 12:57 PM |
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Thinking Local First has been a growing theme in my business as well. Most of my clients are located within 10 miles of my office. They enjoy having someone close who can get one-on-one with their needs.
There are some great books out there on building local economies and the detriment the mega-stores have had in our communities. I recently read Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future by Bill McKibben and can recommend it. Also, the Small Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses Are Beating the Global Competition by Michael Shuman is a great read on the fight to get our local economies back.
My business recently launched a targeted local website at iMatthews.com to improve our local communities connectedness via the Internet. It has been a great success and has members ranging from the Mayor of the Town of Matthews, the local weekly newspaper editor as well as the newcomer recently relocated to the area. Thinking local in this regard has certainly allowed my firm to highlight its capabilities as well as provide a local value.
Finally, we have been so compelled by the awareness of our local economy we recently changed our vision statement to reflect our interdependence on the local community. We want our lives as consumers and as business owners to have a positive net effect on the long term sustainability of our town.
Timely post. Thanks so much for highlighting this important subject!
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| Apr. 17 2008 at 2:17 PM |
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Going local is about creating relationships with people in your community. In a thriving local economy, people rely on each other's skills to meet the needs of their daily lives. The exchange of goods and services becomes reciprocal and trust emerges as a way to measure these relationships.
If I am your web designer and you are my mechanic, I want your website to be the best it can be because your success gets input directly back into the local community through jobs, taxes, etc. The same goes for you the mechanic. You want my car to operate properly for my well being and safety. We benefit by taking care of each other, and so does the community.
Edited by: lbbmike - Apr. 17 2008 at 9:18 PMTest Drive LocalBizBlogs.com, a blogging platform for local small businesses, freelancers, professionals and community organizations. View our demo video!
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| Apr. 17 2008 at 2:55 PM |
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Hey thanks all! I very much appreciate your positive feedback for my first article here at SuN.
dnparker — I love both McKibben & Shuman. Another good read is Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Matter by E. F. Schumacher. Also, I love your iMatthews idea! We are mapping out a similar idea for our community, would you mind if I contacted you in the future about that? Your experiences could potentially help us avoid pitfalls and such.
JoAnn — something that has entered the radar screen here where I live is the difficulty farmers have in knowing how to market themselves and deal with the general public. Lots of local farmers are selling direct to customers now at farmers markets or what have you, something that requires a very different set of skills than raising crops & animals. Perhaps you could put together a workshop and travel around to the agricultural areas in Michigan coaching farmers how to relate with the public? You might even be able to put something together through the various farmers markets (there are TONS of farmers markets in MI). You might also join a "local first" network... I know of one in Washtenaw <sp?> County and one in Grand Rapids. Those folks might benefit from some customer service coaching as well, or at least be able to point you in a productive direction.
—paula
Edited by: RabbitMountain - Apr. 17 2008 at 3:08 PM• Rabbit Mountain, LLC, print and digital communications
• NEW! The Sustainable • Local Centre County Shopper's Guide
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| Apr. 17 2008 at 3:26 PM |
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Paula:
Great article! You had mentioned in your piece about a california group giving p2p loans to help with debt? Could you link me to more information about that, I'm curious!?
Thanks and keep up the great work!
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| Apr. 17 2008 at 9:05 PM |
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Great article. I've seen many of the same successes with the local businesses that I work with.
Doug
Doug McIsaac -- Build Your Business McIsaac Ventures, Inc
Free resources to market your business Online4Offline
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| Apr. 18 2008 at 1:06 AM |
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Thanks for shining a quick light on this subject here. Here's one more of many good sources: http://www.newrules.org/
Emil Wisch
Community Servant & CoCreator
UrbanMelt.com
emil [at] urbanmelt.com
Twitter: urbanmelt
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