All posts by thatbobperry

Business, Economics, Opinion

Small Business: Saturday and EVERY Day.

Back in November 2013 a New York Times blog page featured a posted entitled “Small Business Saturday Is Under Attack (From Small Businesses).”

The focus of that piece was criticism of American Express, the company that created the Small Business Saturday promotion. Objections were aired to American Express’s fee structure (AmEx is much more expensive for merchants than Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and especially debit cards), their policy prohibition against merchants directing customers to alternate forms of payment, and more.

Writing this as I am on threshold of the 6th Small Business Saturday, my cynical side is fixating on the implication that by “shopping small” this Saturday, one is now morally/ethically free to shop elsewhere from that point forward.

No! Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday… they’re all gimmicks, all traps. We need to maintain our agency, our capacity for independent thought and remain mindful of what is most important to us in the big picture, and over the long run.

big_nightDo we want healthy local communities with distinct personalities? A daily practice of shopping at independent, locally owned businesses the only way to achieve that goal. Restaurants don’t make it on one Big Night.

What local retailers need is not one fantastic day this Saturday, and a slow December because we’ve all gone back to Amazon and the mall. What our local retailers need is our commitment to patronage throughout the holiday season and all year long.

It is no secret: By shopping locally we incur three costs – some travel, more limited selection, and higher prices. However, by shopping locally we enjoy many benefits, not the least of which are these three  – better customer service, a better job market, and more vital and livable community.

The benefits to shopping locally greatly outweigh the costs. Understanding this truth takes a little research.  Here is a GREAT resource for learning about the benefits of shopping locally, shopping small: www.ilsr.org – the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, a forty-year-old economic research organization headquartered in Portland, Maine.

Living “localism” values takes a little mindfulness and discipline. Like diet and exercise, the benefits are clear, but we do have to earn them!

Should we support Small Business Saturday? Absolutely. Every Saturday and the rest of each week, too.

Business, Economics, Opinion, Politics

I know it’s complicated, but…

How much stronger would our economy be if compensation was paid more evenly throughout corporate workforces, instead of the practice in place of paying execs as much as possible and front-line employees as little as necessary?

Of course they take it, because they can. But we all know that no one  EARNS this kind of coin. Where is the conscience? The outrage?

The Top 25 Most Overpaid S&P 500 CEOs

 

Read the full report here.

Education, Opinion

In favor of meritocracy. Right?…

Marketing and general business guru Seth Godin (pictured) is a prolific writer, particularly on his blog.  He generally sticks to business subject matter but today he took on education.

What he advocates for is essentially a reboot of our deeply embedded sorting system within our public schools that rewards natural talent and good looks ahead of teamwork and effort.

He thinks we need to stop and ask ourselves the question: What is school for?

He argues that we take the easy way out, that instead of celebrating “the students who regularly try the hardest” and “who help each other the most… we take a shortcut and resort to trivial measures instead.” I agree. What about you?

“When we bench people who aren’t naturally good, what’s the lesson?” – Seth Godin

Here’s a link to today’s post by Seth Godin — The wasteful fraud of sorting for youth meritocracy — which I recommend reading first. THEN move on to his full-blown manifesto which can be found at the end of the above blog post.

Okay, now Back to School, everyone! :-)

Entrepreneurship, My Work

Starting Over in Waltham

I enjoyedthe great privilege of writing a ten-part series of columns for the Waltham News Tribune, our local newspaper. Part 1 was published on June 6, 2014, and Part 10 on November 28th.

One of the things I learned in the process is that telling one’s story is hard!

The series is called “Starting Over in Waltham,” and it chronicles my  personal journey of emotional and professional recovery, beginning with the end of my last business, The Elephant Walk restaurant, and ending with the beginning of my next one, a small grocery store I’m calling Hundred Mile Market.

No need to say more about it now; the articles tell the story.

Part 1: Beginning at the end

Part 2: Desperation and breakdown

Part 3: This too shall pass

Part 4: Reconnecting and reengaging

Part 5: Laying a new foundation

PART 6: Back to work

Part 7: Hundred Mile Market

Part 8: Devils in Details

Part 9: Relapse

Part 10: Ending at the Beginning

Business, Economics, Entrepreneurship, Opinion, Politics

I know it’s complicated, but…

Why is it that elected officials often pay lip service to the importance of small business to the economy, but  they make so many choices governing that hurt small business? We need to call them on it.

This just in: Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo’s economic development proposal included no money for a very helpful, 20-year-old small business loan guarantee program. And it looks like he won’t say why.

CLICK HERE to read a Boston Business Journal article about this matter.

I have a lot more to say about what I feel is unconscionably weak government support of small business in America. Stay tuned.

News, Opinion, Politics

I want to be proud of our leaders…

…on this Memorial Day, but I’m not.

md2014There is no reasonable excuse for failing to care for our soldiers and their families—with speed, excellence, and compassion. Year long delays in processing paperwork? Over 20 suicides daily? Come on, America. Come on, Americans. Demand a better job.

So much lip service is paid by politicians to the honor and sacrifice in service to our country. But where is the “fix it, and fix it now…REALLY fix it” commitment from our president, our congress, and the appointed leadership in our government? I believe the line employees would accomplish their mission of caring well for our military family.