Wal-Mart is not a Small Business Killer

Contrary to what a lot of small town citizens might think, Wal-Mart does not crush thriving local businesses. Wal-Mart and other Big Box retailers carry the stigma of being small business killers in every town they set up shop. Wal-Mart merely exposes fatal flaws in the businesses that go under when the "big boys" come to town. Any small business that is going to thrive under any circumstances must serve a niche and offer knowledgeable service that the mega-retailers never will. Recently a Home Cheapo (or Depot if you prefer) came to Three Rivers. I rarely go in there and can even more rarely find what I need or a salesperson that can help me.

Case in point, a couple of weeks ago my brother-in-law had a plumbing emergency and I suggested he go to the local hardware store in White Pigeon instead of Home Cheapo. My reasoning came from my personal experience of always receiving helpful and knowledgeable service at the local White Pigeon hardware store. Well, he went to Home Cheapo and wasted his time trying to get all of the fittings he needed and having a clueless salesperson that was no help whatsoever.

He then went to the White Pigeon hardware store and received knowledgeable and friendly service as soon as he walked in the door. They might not have the cheapest prices (actually, their prices are quite competitive considering the gas you waste driving to bigger stores), but they find what you need quick and even offer tips and suggestions on installation.

On a side note, every man knows that barber shops and hardware stores are the best places to stay up-to-date on the local community news and happenings. I suggest that whenever you are new to a town you should stop by the local hardware store or barber shop to find out what a town is all about.

Now, back to my opinions. The other thing that small businesses offer (I'll keep using the hardware store example, but this really translates across the board to all kinds of businesses) is a smaller selection. What, a smaller selection is a good thing? Well, yes it is.

The White Pigeon hardware store carries less products, but the key is that they carry the essential products without all the extras that Home Cheapo carries like lawn mowers, grills, patio furniture, etc. They have a far larger selection of plumbing, electric, and hardware supplies than Home Cheapo because that is their niche. They don't try to have a little bit of everything like the big box store.

Does anyone like having to go up and down every isle of a huge store trying to find one little product? I sure don't.

So, now we have the keys to beating Wal-Mart and the other chain retailers. Product selection, service, and serving a niche. If your small business does those three things you will never have to worry about Wal-Mart putting you out of business.

Just my $.02 for today :)

Scrapbooking + Blogging = Scrapblog

Now, this is not a Michigan-based company, but the premise is too intriguing not to share. Scrapblog combines elements of scrapbooking (including themes, stickers, and other graphics) with blogging. You get to create as many scrapblogs as you want for the low, low price of . . . free! People in my family love to scrapbook and from what I have seen with the tour that Scrapbook provides you can do a lot of the same work as you would with a physical scrapbook. Interested? Head on over to Scrapblog today and get started.

Thanks to Mike Wendeland's blog for the heads up on Scrapblog.

Audio Slideshow of Workers Picking Strawberries

The Lansing State Journal has an audio slideshow of workers picking strawberries at Felzke's Strawberry Farm. You can watch the slideshow here. If you want to know how your strawberries get from the field to your local produce stand or farmers' market you should check this out. It is just under a minute long and does not take long for the page to load. I found it interesting to learn that the workers get paid $2.75 for every eight-quart flat of strawberries they pick. Once the berries are cleaned and sorted they are then sold at the strawberry farm and area farmers' markets for $2.75 per quart.

I have picked strawberries and it is an excellent recipe for aching knees and a sore back. I don't remember how long it took my wife and I to pick eight quarts, but I am sure it was at least half an hour. At that pace (with both of us picking) we would have each earned $2.75 an hour. Obviously these workers work much faster than we did because they have to in order to make a living.

All-in-all, it is a very nice tribute to the hard work that brings Michigan produce to our tables. It reminds me of the saying that goes something like this, "you can't talk bad about a farmer with a mouth full of food."

Michigan Gas Prices Week of 6/19/06

Gas prices across Michigan are down this week to a statewide average of $2.809 for regular unleaded. That is about $.08 lower than last week's prices. Michigan gas prices are also down about $.06 from this time last month when the average price was $2.864. We filled up in Sturgis over the weekend for $2.63 a gallon for regular unleaded. Elsewhere along U.S. 12 we saw gas prices anywhere from $2.78 all the way up to $2.99 (in Jonesville at the BP station). I thought that prices would increase the closer we got to Michigan International Speedway with the big NASCAR race this weekend. It was a pleasant surprise to see gas prices hold steady and I was grateful to fill up for $2.63.

Gas price information courtesy of AAA's Fuel Gauge Report.

Video Clip From Tiger Stadium Documentary

"Stranded at the Corner" is the documentary that chronicles the demise of Tiger Stadium and the battle (which appears to be over) to decide what to do with the historic structure. I wrote about this documentary back in April here. The clip is about 2 1/2 minutes long. It shows how ridiculous the "security" is at Tiger Stadium, which the city of Detroit has been paying Mike Ilitch about $400,000 per year for along with any ongoing "maintenance." Anyone that has seen the recent pictures of Tiger Stadium knows that Mike Ilitch has not been doing maintenance. There are TREES growing in the stadium seating area for crying out loud! It is hard for me not to believe that this wasn't a flim-flam sham by Mike Ilitch to get more money out of Detroit without doing anything. Unfortunately, that is another story in itself that I will not go into here.

If the video player does not appear you can view the clip here.

Tiger Stadium Links

I have a few significant links related to Tiger Stadium that I thought I would share. Tiger Stadium information at wikipedia.org

Pictures and commentary on the demise of Tiger Stadium

Read and post your memories of Tiger Stadium

Aerial View on Google Maps. You can see just how poor the condition of the playing field is. What a shame.

Check out my previous posts on the fate of Tiger Stadium here.