The 3/50 Project celebrates its first anniversary

Is it possible? Has it really been a year since The 3/50 Project officially launched?

Yup. One year ago today. It began with a blog post written out of frustration with Oprah. Next came a flier. Then, after a boatload of emails from complete strangers asking “What else have you got?,” a website.

At 2:00 p.m. on Monday, March 30, the site launched.

And the world changed.

The phone began ringing off the wall. The Chicago Market asked if they could donate window clings. An attorney I met on a plane weeks earlier walked me through the legalities of federal and state trademarks and copyrights. A consultant called to congratulate me on what, in my mind, was just a little, bare bones website. The local CBS and NBC affiliates, two radio stations, and both of the Twin Cities newspapers covered the story.

By the end of that first week, more than 7,600 “absolute unique visitors” had found the website…yet I still had no idea what I’d created. When we hit 100 registered supporters, I called my parents, giggling with the delight and amazement.

Since then, we’ve grown a bit. Today, we’re at 321,000+ absolute uniques, and 17,600+ registered supporters. More than 1.1 million page views. Throw in our 53,000+ 54,000+ Facebook fans (as of this morning!), and well…you’ve got a party.

In the past twelve months, I’ve had the honor of meeting amazing small business owners in my travels from coast to coast while speaking about The 3/50 Project. The third generation toy store owner in Jackson, Michigan who reminds his staff they’re in the business of “smiles.” Yarn store owners who extol the virtues of circular needles and textiles-grade materials. The fireball female who brought Nordstrom quality to Vermillion, South Dakota. And all those lovely, wonderful florists who introduced me to blooms and blossoms I’d never imagined before. Each of you continues to inspire me, daily. Over and over and over again.

What will the next year bring? My guess is less adrenaline and more Advil. This amazing “small business lovefest” has become an 80-hours-per-week job, and I respect it as such. Instead of thinking of it as a feel good movement, I now see it as a start up venture with a business plan (something that didn’t exist in the beginning...it was a blog post, for goodness sake!). The next twelve months will focus on funding, growing, development, messaging…

…and continuing, with unblinking dedication, to support locally owned, independent brick and mortar businesses who deal with those challenges every single day. They breathe life into the Project, give it a voice, and allow it to sing. They are the heroes who unlock that front door each morning and sweat it out over the register each night. They fly solo, without a corporate office to call for leasing advice or preferred vendor lists. They offer the front sidewalk for the local church bake sale. They help their neighbor out when the roof leaks or the door jams. They fall asleep with vendor catalogs in bed, and the pay invoices over cereal in the morning. They call to congratulate a customer on a new grandchild and send flowers when someone has passed. They remember, they care, and they continue on.

They’re amazing.

To each of you, I raise a glass of bubbly, and cheer your survival and success. Heaven knows you’ve earned it…and, heaven knows, I couldn’t be more proud. Together, we are making a difference.

Happy Anniversary!