This place has a “Mustard Museum” (!) — that’s what I’m talking about.

Once upon a time locally-owned, independent businesses were the heart of our communities. Every day, millions of people exchanged products and services that contributed to flourishing local downtown economies that enriched our collective sense of self and place. One day, the highways, malls, suburbs, and internet retailers arrived — destroying much of what made our communities one-of-a-kind. Because of that, the people in our neighborhoods and downtowns suffered: socially, economically, and environmentally. Because of that, a new generation sought to rebuild what has been lost. Until finally, we’ve revitalized, reinvented, and reimagined what is now possible in our micropolitans.

That’s the story of our neighborhoods and downtowns over the previous (and next!) 60+ years.

click to tweet!

I learned about the six sentence “Pixar pitch” reading Dan Pink’s latest book, “To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others.” I highly recommend it.

Pink says selling has changed more in the last 10 years than in the last 100, and I agree. Here’s why.

Continue reading “‘Caveat Emptor’ Becomes ‘Caveat Venditor’ (You Win)”

Friday we hit a milestone: we were in the Small Business section of The New York Times!

As former New York City residents  – which the paper of record calls “Hipsturbians” — and as daily readers, we were pretty stoked.

Our business was featured in a section called “Money Shot,” which asked business owners to send in a photo that represents their business. Here’s the direct link to our photo profile.

So how did we beat out other submissions and get here?

It comes down to one primary tool, and you can build your own for the same purpose…

Continue reading “How Our Business Got in the NYT This Week”

Do you know what a ”kokedama” is? It’s a design element du jour that speaks of something bigger.

Kokedama is a Japanese bonzai technique that creates pot-less plants in moss-covered globes. These are strung up in groups to create seemingly magical, floating gardens, like this:

You can’t help but notice they are a mash-up of nature and human influence.

Kokedamas are beautiful — and part of a $200 billion bet that you and I are part of a distinct “lifestyle” brand loosely described as sophisticated, “back-to-the-landers-lite”. In fact, they are a design feature at Terrain, a garden-store-slash-locavore-restaurant in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. Terrain is backed by corporate brand Urban Outfitters.

You know when the “big guys” get in on something it’s because they see potential.

As reported recently in The Wall Street Journal:

Can chicken feed, canning jars and garden hoses feel chic?

Absolutely, say retailers cashing in on the “modern homesteader” craze. As more urban and suburban homeowners take up backyard farming, items like chicken coops, beehives, gardening tools and pickling and canning supplies are getting more stylish and pricey.

[...]

Broadly defined, it is a consumer segment with an estimated $200 billion in retail sales, which also includes annual spending on organic-labeled food and environmentally-friendly household products, says Charlie Hall, horticultural economist at Texas A&M University in College Station. This consumer is typically a 30- or 40-something homeowner motivated largely by the desire to live more simply and healthily, he says.

These people “have a willingness and ability to pay,”… Source

Like the idea of “Hipsturbia,” this only tells part of the story — the story you and I are writing right now! They are missing a key point…

Continue reading “The $200B ‘Fancy Chicken Coop’ Contingent Williams-Somona & Urban Outfitters Are Courting (& You’re Living)”

MILEAGE TALLY: 306/1,000

I’m joining team “High 5!” this year. Here’s last year’s team t-shirt.

MILEAGE TALLY: 263/1,000

Yes, mileage has dropped with the first challenges of cold, snowy weather and sore muscles.

That’s not unlike the realization most new business owners have when they realize that the “hard part” is not opening the doors but keeping them open. 

Today’s topic — GOALS — is relevant.

I asked my peers to share some of their goals — personal or business-related. Turns out it’s all business, and also rather personal.

Here’s what they shared.

Continue reading “Goals: Here; Now; Business; Personal {…it’s all personal}”