Monday, June 25, 2012

Something we can all do: The 3/50 Project


JANUARY 17, 2010 9:47AM

Something we can all do: The 3/50 Project

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In my town, there’s a small independent bookstore.  Its prices are a bit higher than the chain book stores and much higher than Amazon, but they have ten times the service of those places.  They will locate and obtain, usually within a day or two, any book that you desire no matter how obscure the title.  On a rainy day, there’s no better place to bring the kids, have a cup of coffee while chatting with neighbors, and get lost in some great books for a while. They also contribute to the community through story times and other activities for children as well as their passionate support of local authors.  I know that they’ve been hanging on by a thread in this poor economy, and I would miss them greatly if they were to go out of business.
We also have a small, family-owned pet store in our town.  It’s one-stop shopping for every type of pet from fish and hermit crabs to dogs and cats.  The same employees have worked there for years and can answer any pet-related question that I might throw at them.  Again, their prices are somewhat higher than the chain pet store in a neighboring town, but our local store affords pet owners the opportunity to interact with knowledgeable staff who knows us and our pets.
Think about the local, independently-owned businesses in your town.  Would you miss them if they were no longer there?  Of course you would.  The trouble is that in these hard times, people are holding on to their dollars while small local businesses wither away in the shadow of the giant, corporately-owned chain stores.
It doesn’t have to be this way.  According to a grassroots campaign known as The 3/50 Project, “if just half the employed US population spent $50 each month in independently owned businesses, their purchases would generate more than $42.6 billion in revenue.”*
Imagine.  Just by spending $50 in each of three local retail stores, you can help your local economy to not only survive but thrive.  For every $100 spent in independently owned stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll, and other expenditures.  If you spend that in a national chain, only $43 stays here.  Spend it online and nothing comes home.”**
No matter how tight our budgets, there are certain goods that we’re going to have to buy no matter what.  Let’s make the choice to buy those goods locally. If everyone did this, the business saved just might be your own.


For more information, check out the350project.net


*courtesy of US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2/6,2009**68/43 statistics courtesy of Civic Economics study 2008 wordpress visitors

Comments

not American, but still a good idea!
This is such a good idea. Whenever I can buy from a neighborhood business or a local farmer's market, I do. Thanks for reminding us. r
Buying local is important and sends a message to the big boys that no matter how hard they try to own us, we care about the people, not the money.
I am a Buy Local advocate as well. Thanks for making the link to 3/50 available. This is the next step for our economy and we should start growing it.
Lisa,
I've been working on this. Every time I have to buy something from a larger retailer, I try to remember to buy other stuff from a local merchant. It's the local merchants who give my town its color and flavor, and some of my friends own those businesses, so this all makes sense. Thanks for reminding us.
Already there and frequenting those stores. I know where all the independent bookstores on my regular drives are...hard to find bookstores in the sticks but there are 2 on the routes I travel. We have no big bookstores in the sticks... reading isn't popular here. Local and small banks or credit unions should also be patronized because they often finance the small businesses. How we consume will make a difference. GREAT POST and call!
It looks like I'm preaching to the choir here. :) I'm glad to see that so many of us are already supporting our local businesses. If nothing else, I hope that other people will be moved to promote the efforts of the project. It's the best possible way to invest in our local communities.
Great idea to pass this on Lisa- I try hard to spend what I can locally, from restaurants and pharmacies to book stores, auto repair, and health food. Sometimes I have to force myself not to think about how much cheaper it would be at Walmart but the sincere thank yous I get from local merchants always makes it less painful.
Apologies, Lisa, I thought I'd commented but... We've recently had three weeks of the worst weather in fifty years and an unexpected consequence of this has been the increased revenue to local shops. The city-centre department stores and major supermarkets have suffered serious revenue reduction because no-one travelled unless absolutely necessary. I hope this is a trend that lasts and perhaps now we will re-evaluate our purchasing choices and loyalty based on grander principles.
The idea is getting a huge push in my town, too. Our only independent bookstore has just closed up its recently downsized storefront. The world's greatest hardware store ever (located in my town) closed a decade ago; now I get stuff from Home Depot with assistance from high school kids that know even less about home improvement than me.

The corporatization of America has done wonders for executives and stockholders across the country, but has decimated the all-American tradition of entrepreneurship and small business ownership. I love how folks tout the greatness of the small business owners and then support legislation that benefits big corporations.

I buy as close to home as possible. Unfortunately, it's not always possible.
Am I missing something, but I didn't get why it's name 350. I got the 50 part.

Yes, yes and yes. Except the bakery up the street cuz that guy is a jerk.

Hope you move this so people remember. I'll Tweet about 350.
We do seek local here too. At the very least, we will not patronize chain restaurants and only go out to eat at locally owned independents. But I'll check out the website for more ideas. Thanks!
This is a good thing you're doing Lisa, even if preaching to the choir.
Sorry, Beth, I missed including the "3" part. The Project is asking everyone to choose three local businesses that they'd miss if they were gone and support them by spending $50 per month there. If everyone did that, can you imagine the revenue generated locally?
Thank You, Lisa!
I know where I'll be spending my next 50 dollars - I'd tell you the name of the store, but since you don't live in Santa Rosa, you've probably never heard of it.
In this time when so much heartache has been cased by corporate America, not only should we spend locally with mom and pop shops, we should also boycott any business that has gouged us over the past few years when at all possible. (Think Bank of America)
I liked this post. I'm lucky to live in a town that has three independent bookstores--and somehow, for me, bookstores symbolize the independent-versus-chain conflict more than any other type of business. We have other indie businesses, too: coffee houses, a pharmacy, a grocery store, a video place, not to mention many restaurants . . . and it feels good to do business with them.
I think that this is a great idea! Thank you for this.
Buying local is an epiphany all consumers should experience.
So true. Thank you for posting this.
This is a marvelous recommendation and an essay which should go viral!
I had not heard of the 3/50 project. Thanks for the useful info.
thanks, Lisa, people need constant reminders of this important message
HUGE buy local advocate. The 3/50 project is beautiful and one I will forward on to my local mayor - thank you for pointing it out.

I was in what is called "old town" Bellevue, Washington, yesterday, which is right next to the high-end Bellevue square where Neiman Marcus just moved in. The Medina neighborhood is right next to it, where Bill Gates lives, so there is a lot of money to still be spent right now. Half of the entire, quaint "old town" Bellevue with is its shops and restaurants is closing shop. It was very sad to see.

Very timely Lisa, thank you. And, Congrats again on your anniversary!
Fantastic post. Thank you! I, too, try to buy locally when I can. We're big advocates of the farmer's market, the local coffee shop (I've broken my Starbuck's habit in favor of the little guys!), etc., and the local pizza parlor, but there's always more we can do. I appreciate seeing the numbers. It shows that it really does make a difference. Thank you!
LOVE this idea. I wish my parents' hometown would have thought of that before they filed for bankruptcy just a few weeks ago. I try to spend most of my money locally ... but there are not many small-town businesses around here especially bookstores. :o(

I used to work for an independently-owned bookstore and we believed in customer service so deeply. The owners sold out to BooksAMillion and most of the staff left because corporations don't care about customer service anymore. I love Borders for the fact that they do care until they broke my heart last night. :o(
I do this as much as I can, and know many others who do, too. Unfortunately, New York City is still losing independent businesses so fast. I seem to notice to or three closed up storefronts (in my neighborhood alone) every week.
Good advice...my small city suffers mightily from economic decline and I try to ALWAYS buy locally if possible.
The data is interesting. I had not seen the numbers. Good advice. Thanks, Lisa.
Thank you ALL so very much for stopping by to learn about The 3/50 Project. While it sounds like everyone here is already doing their best to support local businesses, as one commenter said, it helps to see the actual statistics to know that it really does make a difference.

The good news this Sunday is that we do have a choice in how and where we spend our money. Thank you for helping to promote this very worthwhile economic solution in your own communities.
Total agreement here. Buy local is big around here, especially our thriving and expanding farmers' markets. Lots of locally owned stores too.

Great idea. Thanks for highlighting it here.
It’s a pretty sad state of affairs when it’s actually difficult to simply find local merchants...

Wonderful post. Thanks, Lisa!

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