PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR HOUSE ISIt takes a truly brave soul to open up one's own business. Be it retail or service oriented - an artist opening a gallery to showcase their work, a lawyer hanging his or her shingle, a writer starting a community newspaper, an avid collector opening a boutique - more than a dash of chutzpah is required. Success in and of itself being a measure not of monetary riches gained, but of sense of place in the community. I have been in retail over twenty years and have often been asked why I haven't opened my own business. Not to put too fine a point on it, but the truth of the matter is that I simply don't think I have the kind of fortitude, sheer force of will, and bottom line guts to do so. We in Takoma Park and in Main Street communities all across this country are blessed with a special breed of individual who not only have the vision, but the wherewithal, to see that vision through.
There has been a great deal of back and forth of late on area list serves since the plea to "shop local" took a more personal turn when Jude Garrett, owner of Now & Then, sent out a distress signal saying that, along with all the shops of Takoma Park and Takoma, D. C., the venerable Now & Then was in trouble, too. Believe me, I am no less guilty than anyone else of taking our fair community for granted. Before I worked in Old Takoma, I was a member of the community in name only. By that I mean I lived here, but did not participate. I got up, went to work, came home and repeated the cycle daily without ever really engaging with the people in the town where I lived. I took for granted that the neighborhood in which I lived would always be there waiting for me when I was ready to engage. Well, as we are all beginning to realize, that assumption is a false one.
While Ronald Reagan's grand, though thoroughly fallible, idea that money from the top of the heap would trickle down to the teeming masses below, what in fact has occurred is the exact opposite. When the peak begins to crumble, the entire infrastructure begins to crack. A very clear example of how one failure brings about the possible demise of others is the housing market. The ripple effect became evident as home improvement and design stores began closing or filing for Chapter 11, as interior design magazines folded, as real estate offices began shutting their doors.... all of which in turn leads to less advertising in newspapers including our own Takoma and Silver Spring Voice. Full page real estate ads were the bread and butter that allowed the paper to go to print. With a general decrease in ad sales from area businesses, and failure of payment on previous ads, there is a very real threat that this invaluable community resource, and yes, independent business, will no longer be extant in the not so distant future.
Some things do bear repeating so that the big picture is not lost in the shuffle. The businesses of Old Takoma are not asking for a handout. They are asking for your continued patronage. Indeed, they are asking for your continued partnership, as it has indeed been exactly that. When your children's school needs a donation for their annual auction, you visit you're the shops and restaurants of Old Takoma to ask for help. When your children's sporting teams need sponsorship, you visit the shops and restaurants of Old Takoma to ask for help. When your teenager is in search of their first job, the shops of Old Takoma, more often than not Summer Delights, have frequently been their first taste of the work world. If you are sponsoring an event, it is the windows of Main Street that you ask to post your fliers and the stores to purchase booth space. Mark's Kitchen has repeatedly, tirelessly, and generously donated proceeds from their restaurant to help fund festivals and support area food bank efforts. It is a rather small and finite number of stores that we have to solicit from and we continue to go to that same well over and over again (I too have visited this well quite often, asking for support of various and sundry endeavors through the auspices of many organizations).
As residents, we are all feeling the pinch - some more than others - of this new economy and of course, Old Takoma does not and cannot provide every service and shopping experience that one needs or wants. However, when you do shop, put your hard earned money back into your community whenever possible. Instead of heading to Target or your computer, is there a place in Old Takoma that will fill your needs? Businesses are as competitive on pricing as they possibly can be. They simply do not having the purchasing power of Wal-Mart, Target, and Barnes & Noble, etc. They are buying for one store, not a national chain. They cannot dictate terms of sale and payment with their vendors. The vendors dictate to them. Independent businesses pay upon receipt or within 30 days, usually before the goods that they purchased have had an adequate chance to sell. There is no such thing as a level playing field between independent shops and national chains.
Yes, many of us would like a rooftop café, sidewalk seating, a bookstore and many other businesses and amenities that Old Takoma currently does not have. Writing a wish list on a list serve isn't going to make that happen. Appearing before your local city council with well-conceived and researched ideas just might. Joining your local business association and/or neighborhood association just might. Putting your money not only where your house is, but where your mouth is, just might. Become engaged in your community in concrete ways. Our main streets give the community their "character of place". Current and future "for lease" signs will only remain longer and longer in this economy as no one, small or large, will be able to secure the funding needed to start a viable business. This is about our community's livelihood, not just a few select individuals.
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