Farmers are known for coming up with some good turns of phrase.
We were conversing one time with an old farmer in Guelph Township about the proliferation of companies serving agriculture, whether selling chemicals, seed, fertilizer or equipment.
His take on it was scads of people are “farming the farmer”. With luck, after being farmed all year long, there may be some profit to try again another year.
The plight of the small business owner isn’t much different. The product or services are different in scope, but the same ultimate scenario exists at year end where the owner questions – Was enough made after expenses to be worth trying it another year? Luckily, most say yes and keep going.
Almost four decades ago the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) established Small Business Week as a point of interest across the country.
Small business drives many communities – as a source of employment and valuable resource to the community it serves. Are we giving local business our business or are we giving it the “business”?
This year’s theme for small business week is “Measure up, Shape your future!” Small businesses are encouraged to learn about benchmarking to see how they compare with similar businesses. While we understand the premise, sometimes ignorance is bliss. But, BDC has a role to play and fees to earn.
That may sound crass, but we see small business a little differently. Perhaps we are a little too close to the action and understand how owners feel.
We have been mulling over this subject for a while and kept returning to thoughts of a shoe store proprietor who passed away some time ago. Our family always shopped there – from baby shoes to runners to dress shoes. He sold quality and took the time to make sure things fit right. Close to his retirement, with the onslaught of malls and shoe warehouses, he bemoaned the state of small town shoppers. Like many other retailers, he had become the source of last resort – only good enough for shoelaces and dress shoes for a last minute funeral (by the way, he actually did open when a family needed dress shoes for a funeral).
Over the weekend we noticed more on-line shopping options than we had ever seen before. From dog food to dresses, groceries, ready-to-make gourmet foods, shoes and suits, there was pretty much a dotcom option for anything someone may want or think they need. It was actually alarming.
It brought to mind the local haberdasher and women’s attire store that offers up the latest fashions, helpful advice and a professional fitting. Anecdotally we have heard of great time spent at the ladies wear store trying different cuts and patterns. The cash register didn’t ring that day, but back at home the customer Googled the brand name, typed in the size and hit send. After all that service, the item was purchased online.
The answer to these online woes seems to go something like “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” Numerous businesses have been told that by their professionals, whether accountants, lawyers, bankers or business advisors.
But let’s follow that to its ultimate conclusion.
If local shopping leans more and more to warehouse hubs for on-line merchandising, what will our commercial cores end up looking like? Let’s not discount either the thousands of dollars a year in donations to services clubs, community groups and Sports teams. Who will pick up that slack?
Failing to shop local and support small business has a tremendous downside. The supposed bargains found shopping on-line, particularly out-of-country, will prove an expensive trade-off, should merchants give up and stop being an integral part of communities they now serve. Some communities are suffering that malaise already due to the big-box offerings in neighbouring cities.
This Small Business Week, thank your local merchant. If you can, buy something and do some business locally. That’s how local commerce works and it’s how communities prosper.
