Your Community Needs You.

During the pandemic, the refrain among retail shops in our neighborhoods was, "When people start shopping in-store again." 

3 years later, the Pandemic is behind us, but the new landscape is slightly than different before. People have the ability to return to shops again, but something is off -- the numbers aren't quite adding up the way they used to. 

Private chatter among small businesses has been bubbling into public posts: 

Above are neighbors of ours, Milk, in Chicago's Andersonville neighborhood. And they are not alone: 

That is from Lost Girls, some great vintage shops also in Chicago. 

These posts are surprising because small businesses hate to admit that things aren't going well. Most people who start small businesses are determined folks who are optimistic in public -- and then just gripe a lot privately! 

But there is a nervousness that we are in the middle of a big re-shuffle: people are shopping a little less in person, they are returning less frequently than they used to, and this leads to a different flows of product and cash that will take businesses a while to get used to. 

In the meantime, however, fixed costs like rent are still living in a pre-pandemic world, where big cities and busy downtowns fetched hire costs. 

The discord between modern shopping habits and prior rent valuations is leading to tension. 

Brick-and-mortar only may not be as viable in the coming years. And, for some stores or businesses, adding a profitable online-component just may not be feasible. 

There will still be brick-and-mortar in the future, but the experience may be different. 

So for a lot of small businesses, this Small Business Saturday may be their last. 

But we all have some agency in this trend! We have the power to decide what to do with our time and money. We can help small businesses!

What's more incredible: shopping locally in your community will actually make you feel better! Studies have shown it's good for us to be around others, and it is good for us to make others feel good. 

Few things compare to getting out into a local neighborhood and visiting stores, coffee shops, restaurants, or galleries. You can meet new folks, interact, see friends, see your city -- and all while getting things you need! 

You may see something that inspires you or jogs your imagination. 

You can give your brain a break from working on the medium-sized screen and then going home to relax by watching something on the big-screen while scrolling on your tiny-screen at the same time.  

America has been smothering itself in digital distraction and convenience. 

This holiday season: get out into your community again!

Your community, and your self, will thank you for it!