The Louisville Independent Business Alliance (LIBA) moved its second annual brewfest fundraiser to a July slot last night in order to coincide with Independents Week, which is a nationwide effort to raise consciousness about the undisputed merits of buying and sourcing from local, independent businesses.
Earlier this week, Jeff celebrated the occasion by providing these two posts:
Independently speaking...
Learning about economic localization.
You’ll note that the second of these posts features a video link to the National Main Street Program.
It’s hard to be much clearer than this link. Main Street organizations and “buy local/independent” movements are intended to be natural pairings and fundamental pillars of the Main Street approach. Jeffersonville's Main Street program has been doing it for years.
As such, am I the only person in town wondering why this isn’t happening in New Albany?
And, furthermore: Are local independent businesses every going to get the big picture, stop waiting for leadership from entities who have no intention of providing it, and get the ball rolling?
Not trying to bug you. They're just a few thoughts on a weekend supposedly having to do with independence. Will we ever put these principles into action at the grassroots, the only place where individuals really can control matters?
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7 comments:
am I the only person in town wondering why this isn’t happening in New Albany?
Might be.
It's awake, but I don't know that there's an urgency to band together to promote themselves.
My friend Brad and I were discussing local options for shopping today. "Where can I buy shoes for work from a local retailer?" was the question posed to me. I honestly don't know. And I started listing different items that I wondered could be purchased by a local, indie retailer. I also picked up the LIBA local guide today just to take a look at it. Those businesses understand the need to form a union of sorts to push the "buy independent" agenda and try to push back against the chains/big box stores.
Hopefully, we'll start to come together soon to get it started, but I firmly believe it will have to come from the business side. I know Bookseller has argued that it should come from the customer/public side of things, but I don't think they'll do it...but they just might join up once something is started.
I've been thinking lately that it might be worth exploring collaboration with Jeffersonville's downtown. We offer some things locally that they don't and vice versa. When the next segment of the Greenway is complete, we'll be much more mutually accessible to each other sans automobile.
There are pros and cons, with perhaps the most advantageous pro being what Roger mentioned in the original post. Via their Main Street organization, they're already way ahead of us in terms of education and advocacy around localized economies and Smart Growth.
We've got all the books and beer, though. All we need is more thinkers to go along with them. If they happen to live in Jeffersonville (or Portland or Butchertown), so what?
Jeff,
While collaborating with downtown Jeffersonville sounds good on the surface, it would be like Caesar asking Brutus to hold his knife.
They aren’t going to do you any favors until they see a benefit in partnering with New Albany – and right now I don’t think Jeffersonville sees benefit in such a partnership. But you are on the right track, there needs to be a coming-together of the entire north side of the river for economic development purposes. Not only to sell us to Louisville and northern Kentucky, but to sell this area to the rest of Indiana (as you know, Indiana stops on a line from Seymour to Bloomington. Anything south belongs to “somewhere else”).
Also, those programs that work the best are the ones that are operated by the business sector itself. And I know that money is always the problem. Something businesses might look at is a Business Improvement District. It would raise the money that would be dedicated to whatever target the operational board agrees to.
"While collaborating with downtown Jeffersonville sounds good on the surface, it would be like Caesar asking Brutus to hold his knife."
Based on firsthand experience, Mike, I can't say I agree with that assessment. I've worked with the Jeff Main Street organization in the past on buy local and Smart Growth issues and it was a much easier ride than anything I've encountered with most New Albany entities.
They're not without their own issues, but their conversation has been much more holistic for years now.
Some of their folks have already been looking at broader Southern Indiana concerns for a while. I don't perceive any major obstacles in the way of participating in some productive manner.
Beats the hell out of the current situation, anyway.
Jeff,
If I were in Jay’s place (and I have been), I’d accept all the help I could get (and I did), too. I wouldn’t (and didn’t) care what community that person came from. Help is help no matter where it comes from. He’s doing what’s necessary to make his program a success and it shows in so many ways.
But as far as a partnership with another main street program is something I’d have to look closely at – the first thing I’d want to know is what benefit comes to me?
One thing I’ve noticed about Jeffersonville, and Clarksville as well, is that they are more focused in their programs and have a better understanding of who and what they are than New Albany does. I’m talking about the community as a whole here and not of individuals or organizations. It goes back to what we’ve all said on this blog at one time or the other . . . leadership, organization, focus and vision.
Mike,
We seem to be doing an apples and oranges thing to some degree, but I think you've pretty effectively identified the conundrum:
have a better understanding of who and what they are
and it's root:
the first thing I’d want to know is what benefit comes to me?
The bottom line is that if those among us with enough talent to create varied opportunities for themselves thought solely along the lines of immediate personal benefit, they probably wouldn't be around here at all, as other places both regionally and nationally can provide many of those benefits quicker and easier.
If we can't adequately answer the "why does this matter?" question for people with options, then we may as well pack it up. As is, we're asking those optional folks to sacrifice other opportunities for something that at this point can't even be articulated by the entities charged with doing so.
To be substantially precluded from speaking about and advocating the very principles and reasons that define one's choice to live and work in a place as a function of joining any organization that professes to represent that place is dumb. The optional folks aren't, at least not for long.
From there, the math is pretty easy.
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