Save the economy three stores at a time

A friend turned me onto a great piece about strengthening the local economy by patronizing local brick and mortars. Written by Rieva Lesonsky (Consulting Editor at BizWomen.com), the post titled “Support Your Local Small Business” touched my retail-lovin’ heart in a big way.

Her article sprang from a customer service-related experiment last summer. In that case, a guy decided to purchase goods and services only from businesses whose owners he’d met. Before long, he was frequenting the same three restaurants repeatedly, which inspired Lesonsky to twist the concept slightly, then consider the implications of her own shopping habits:

With more and more small businesses on the edge of survival, I’ve been thinking about which three stores I would most hate to see go out of business, and how I can support them with my dollars.

Puts things in pretty clear terms, pretty quickly.

And this got my wheels spinning.

Why not build a campaign tieing this three-door concept to the $50 Retail Challenge? Call it The 3/50 Project, supporting local business in small, easily consumable bites.

The goal is simple: Ask consumers to frequent three local brick and mortar businesses they don’t want to see disappear, and to spend a very affordable $50 per month doing it.

Could be those three. Another three. Doesn’t matter. It’s about funneling revenue back into local business. You know-—the folks that pour money back into the community via commercial property taxes, payroll taxes, sales tax, and salaries (not to mention all that good will by way of volunteer time, silent auctions, sponsored softball teams, workshops, book signings, etc.).

Whadaya say folks? I can have a window banner whipped up in no time for printing at your favorite local print shop and bag stuffers you can print on your desktop. Just say the word-—I’ll get the PDF files in your hands asap.

Related links:

Seth Godin mentions The 3/50 Project
Let’s get The 3/50 Project on the Today Show
The Project 3/50 bag stuffers are here
Oprah, you’ve got it wrong
CNBC host Erin Burnett reminds us the battle is about more than just money
Enough with the carnage
The 3/50 Project grows legs
Want to be a 3/50 Project rock star?