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If one succeeds, all succeed.
To downtown New Albany merchants and other interested parties on this mailing list; apologies for errors, but I thought it important to let as little time elapse as possible.
I’ve been thinking about a few things, and I’d appreciate your indulgence. These thoughts primarily pertain to downtown merchants, but hopefully, they will also be relevant to others.
Permit me to begin by stating the obvious: For an indeterminate time to come, life’s going to be very different for us owing to the disruptions of the Sherman Minton Bridge ’s indefinite closing.
We’re going to hear 1,001 expert opinions from all and sundry as to why this happened, who is to blame, and how it might be fixed with baling twine and duct tape. The reason I’m writing is not to add my own viewpoint to what will soon be a glutted selection.
Rather, it is to suggest that we have no time to complain, gripe, panic, or feel sorry for ourselves, because if we take time to wallow, we might well become road kill. It’s time to heed the advice of the World War II song:
You've got to accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In-Between
To start, what’s happening just now with the Sherman Minton is far from a disaster, and we need to avoid suggesting it is. No one’s been injured, killed, maimed or made into a refugee. Wars, hurricanes, floods, famines, plagues -- bridges falling down -- these are genuine disasters.
The bridge being closed is a substantive jolt to community routines, a burden for commuters, and an overall pain in the butt, but I believe there are as many positives for downtown business as there are negatives. We must focus on the positives, continue selling our concepts, and keep this revitalization thing on the move.
I’m asking that you join me in refusing to acknowledge the gloom and doom scenarios.
Yes, we all fear losing customers from Louisville , and although this is a legitimate concern, think of it this way: Although it might take a bit longer, your true fans from Louisville will still come to you.
Being located in New Albany always meant that we were niche, destination businesses. Our regular Louisville customers already have been going “out of their way,” precisely because it has been worth the extra trouble. If what we’re doing truly in our businesses is truly special, and I believe it is, then many of them will continue to do so.
It’s true that some Louisvillians will use the bridge closure as an excuse to refrain from the trip to New Albany, but think of it this way: Just as many Hoosiers won’t wish to make the longer discretionary trip to Louisville, and consequently, this provides us a wonderful (and perhaps overdue) opportunity to sell ourselves to our own home market.
It’s also a chance to reaffirm the Buy Local principles so many have been espousing, seeing as there stands to be a more receptive audience on the Indiana side of the river while the Sherman Minton remains down. Our small, locally-owned Indies cannot let this educational moment slip away.
We must be prepared to adapt. For instance, I’ve consistently advocated two-way street conversions and traffic calming measures as benefiting downtown merchants by restoring the historic business district to its original people-not-cars orientation.
However, I realize that for the life of the bridge’s closure, these ideas probably will remain on the shelf. It does not contradict their usefulness, only that reality is changed -- temporarily. If detoured traffic must pass through downtown New Albany , it means more potential customers.
Now more than ever, whether as merchants or community leaders, we must be prepared to do what it takes to help ourselves. Local government will have its hands full with infrastructure changes and roadway governance. This will be no time for handouts. It’s going to be just us, and just us alone. This is the time to be unified, and to work together.
Lastly, as business owners, it is critically important that we convey this message to our employees!
First and foremost, our workers must see that we’re not backing away from this challenge. It’s “can do” time, not “woe is me.” We must provide them with as much verified, factual information as possible about the closure and the transport situation, so as to preclude rumors and the usual “I heard something from someone” misinformation.
Not only are our employees the daily, front-line face of our businesses. They also serve as topical news agents for every customer who steps inside one of our shops. If our employees do not buy into a program of determination, and are not made aware of our plan to survive, our customers are going to sense it, both immediately and to our detriment.
We’re all cock-eyed optimists now – there is no other way this can work out.
As for our customers, each one is more important than ever before. We’re already doing great work, and now it’s important that our work be even better than before. Our regular customers will navigate the waits and detours in return for a wonderful experience.
I can say this with confidence because each one of us is a regular customer, too. You’ll be seeing me, and I’ll be seeing you. That’s what localism is all about. Few of us can afford tactics beyond guerrilla marketing, so at the very least, each of us should know what the rest of us do. Information is the key. I’ve never once directed a questioner to the chain jeweler in the exurb, and I never will. I send them to JO Endris Jewelers, right down the street from Bank Street Brewhouse. It has nothing to do with personal differences of opinion! As owners and employees, we need to tout each other. It’s no longer optional.
We’ve worked too hard on New Albany ’s new beginning to let the Sherman Minton situation bring us down. We must assume it will be a very long haul, and view the coming weeks as crucial. We’ve been having periodic gatherings with too sparse attendance. Do these need to be more regular, perhaps even once a week for the duration of the closing?
Can we get together this week?
Thanks for reading. I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and get to it.
Roger
If one succeeds, all succeed.
To downtown New Albany merchants and other interested parties on this mailing list; apologies for errors, but I thought it important to let as little time elapse as possible.
I’ve been thinking about a few things, and I’d appreciate your indulgence. These thoughts primarily pertain to downtown merchants, but hopefully, they will also be relevant to others.
Permit me to begin by stating the obvious: For an indeterminate time to come, life’s going to be very different for us owing to the disruptions of the Sherman Minton Bridge ’s indefinite closing.
We’re going to hear 1,001 expert opinions from all and sundry as to why this happened, who is to blame, and how it might be fixed with baling twine and duct tape. The reason I’m writing is not to add my own viewpoint to what will soon be a glutted selection.
Rather, it is to suggest that we have no time to complain, gripe, panic, or feel sorry for ourselves, because if we take time to wallow, we might well become road kill. It’s time to heed the advice of the World War II song:
You've got to accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In-Between
To start, what’s happening just now with the Sherman Minton is far from a disaster, and we need to avoid suggesting it is. No one’s been injured, killed, maimed or made into a refugee. Wars, hurricanes, floods, famines, plagues -- bridges falling down -- these are genuine disasters.
The bridge being closed is a substantive jolt to community routines, a burden for commuters, and an overall pain in the butt, but I believe there are as many positives for downtown business as there are negatives. We must focus on the positives, continue selling our concepts, and keep this revitalization thing on the move.
I’m asking that you join me in refusing to acknowledge the gloom and doom scenarios.
Yes, we all fear losing customers from Louisville , and although this is a legitimate concern, think of it this way: Although it might take a bit longer, your true fans from Louisville will still come to you.
Being located in New Albany always meant that we were niche, destination businesses. Our regular Louisville customers already have been going “out of their way,” precisely because it has been worth the extra trouble. If what we’re doing truly in our businesses is truly special, and I believe it is, then many of them will continue to do so.
It’s true that some Louisvillians will use the bridge closure as an excuse to refrain from the trip to New Albany, but think of it this way: Just as many Hoosiers won’t wish to make the longer discretionary trip to Louisville, and consequently, this provides us a wonderful (and perhaps overdue) opportunity to sell ourselves to our own home market.
It’s also a chance to reaffirm the Buy Local principles so many have been espousing, seeing as there stands to be a more receptive audience on the Indiana side of the river while the Sherman Minton remains down. Our small, locally-owned Indies cannot let this educational moment slip away.
We must be prepared to adapt. For instance, I’ve consistently advocated two-way street conversions and traffic calming measures as benefiting downtown merchants by restoring the historic business district to its original people-not-cars orientation.
However, I realize that for the life of the bridge’s closure, these ideas probably will remain on the shelf. It does not contradict their usefulness, only that reality is changed -- temporarily. If detoured traffic must pass through downtown New Albany , it means more potential customers.
Now more than ever, whether as merchants or community leaders, we must be prepared to do what it takes to help ourselves. Local government will have its hands full with infrastructure changes and roadway governance. This will be no time for handouts. It’s going to be just us, and just us alone. This is the time to be unified, and to work together.
Lastly, as business owners, it is critically important that we convey this message to our employees!
First and foremost, our workers must see that we’re not backing away from this challenge. It’s “can do” time, not “woe is me.” We must provide them with as much verified, factual information as possible about the closure and the transport situation, so as to preclude rumors and the usual “I heard something from someone” misinformation.
Not only are our employees the daily, front-line face of our businesses. They also serve as topical news agents for every customer who steps inside one of our shops. If our employees do not buy into a program of determination, and are not made aware of our plan to survive, our customers are going to sense it, both immediately and to our detriment.
We’re all cock-eyed optimists now – there is no other way this can work out.
As for our customers, each one is more important than ever before. We’re already doing great work, and now it’s important that our work be even better than before. Our regular customers will navigate the waits and detours in return for a wonderful experience.
I can say this with confidence because each one of us is a regular customer, too. You’ll be seeing me, and I’ll be seeing you. That’s what localism is all about. Few of us can afford tactics beyond guerrilla marketing, so at the very least, each of us should know what the rest of us do. Information is the key. I’ve never once directed a questioner to the chain jeweler in the exurb, and I never will. I send them to JO Endris Jewelers, right down the street from Bank Street Brewhouse. It has nothing to do with personal differences of opinion! As owners and employees, we need to tout each other. It’s no longer optional.
We’ve worked too hard on New Albany ’s new beginning to let the Sherman Minton situation bring us down. We must assume it will be a very long haul, and view the coming weeks as crucial. We’ve been having periodic gatherings with too sparse attendance. Do these need to be more regular, perhaps even once a week for the duration of the closing?
Can we get together this week?
Thanks for reading. I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and get to it.
Roger
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