• Spending where you live - and with independent retailers - is more important now than ever. Twelve Ways to Support Local Businesses During the COVID-19 Crisis (4/3/20)
• Restaurants Are Turning Their Parking Lots into Drive-In Movie Theaters As the coronavirus pandemic closes businesses and shuts people into their houses, it seems that everything old is new again: chain letters, sourdough baking, and puzzles. A few savvy restaurants, devoid of customers and looking for new ways to bring in business without putting people in danger, found the logical intersection of nostalgia, social distancing, and good eating: turning their parking lots into drive-in movie theaters. (3/23/20)
• America's Economy | Why National Skilled Trades Day Matters What's coming up on May 6th? Over the last few decades our country has focused less on the careers and employment opportunities offered in various skilled trades, and more on technology. Careers in so many of our industries require people who can become educated via 2-year and 4-year programs, vocational schools, apprenticeships and on-the-job training - and it may surprise you to learn such fields of work are more in demand now than ever. In Youngstown, Ohio, one company is working to bring a focus back to careers such as electricians, machinists, plumbers, carpentry, pipe-fitters and mechanics. (4/27/20)
• A Bookstore in Boulder Pivots to Bike Delivery of ‘Mystery Bags’ They’re filled with handpicked books and a bag of tea or coffee beans Founded in 1980, Trident is the oldest cafe in the area, filled with new and used books, coffee, and every type of tea you can imagine. It normally serves locals and University of Colorado students, and its windows look out on the city’s iconic rock formations, the Flatirons. During a lockdown, of course, its prime location wasn’t much of an asset. As its income dried up, the store laid off 80 percent of its 25-person workforce. But in recent weeks, one of Trident’s four owners, Andrew Hyde, has brought a few of them back to take online orders for “mystery bags” of books, to be delivered to your door. “At first, I posted the idea to Twitter, almost as a joke, but we received 10 orders in the first few hours, so it was a go,” Hyde says. (4/15/20)
• We All Need Small Businesses. Don’t Let Them Die "The economy relies on thousands of local operations that need urgent help even more than big companies do. By the time the coronavirus crisis is over, we might emerge from our homes only to find some of our favorite shops, gyms and restaurants permanently shuttered." (3/19/20)
• Interesting article about a shift in retail, driven by our current pandemic: At Times Like This It Pays To Shop Local, Why Convenience Stores Are Now The Backbone Of Our Communities by Andrew Busby, who writes about consumer and tech trends and the challenges in retail. "During these times there’s one place where you are more likely to be able to get the essential provisions. One sector which has resolutely served local communities for generations and which, like the flotilla of small boats back in 1940, is now coming into its own; our local convenience store." (3/18/20)
• In Tough times, Our Community Becomes Our Safety Net Right now in America, anxiety is the new normal. And when you look at all that has changed over the past couple of weeks, it’s not hard to see why. The stock market is plunging, and once-thriving businesses are suffering. Hospitals are flooded with sick people. Airports are ghost towns. Events are canceled. “Panic buying” has caused certain store shelves (we all know which ones) to be perpetually empty. (3/20/20)
• What Do Department Stores Do Now? The main problem for the sector is that there wasn't much of a place for department stores before COVID-19. As devastating as it has been to retail as a whole and this segment specifically, the outbreak is only partly to blame for department stores' current woes or for the predicament that awaits them once it subsides, analysts say. Most of these chains, for example, have been running too many locations, without regard for local culture or the basic merchandising practices that makes any store a pleasant place to be. (4/1/20)
• It's Going To Take A Village: How You Can Contribute To America's Economic Recovery (3/25/20)
• How can you improve your website experience? SEO ranking improves when visitors stay on your site longer, view more pages, and repeat their visits. The more user-friendly your site is, the more likely this is going to happen. 13 Super-Easy Ways to Immediately Improve Your SEO Rankings
• The 5-Hour Workday Gets Put to the Test: To be more efficient, consulting firm tries limiting office email use and banning social media on the job. "Many workers just sit in the office, reading online newspapers online or checking Facebook. My idea is focusing on the first five hours and then just leave, and have a proper break.” To accomplish that, small talk during work hours is discouraged, social media is banned and phones are kept in backpacks. Company email accounts are checked just twice a day and most meetings are scheduled to last no more than 15 minutes. Do you think you could be more productive utilizing this idea?
• Coronovirus Will Bankrupt More People Than It Kills and That's the Real Global Emergency "We may look back on Coronavirus as the moment when the threads that hold the global economy together came unstuck". (3/13/20)
• 20 Projects and Things To Do During a Temporary Business Slowdown (3/16/20)
• Here’s How To Support Local Businesses During The Coronavirus Pandemic | Local restaurants, coffee shops, hair salons, cleaning services, independent booksellers and other spots are suffering from a lack of customers: "As America hunkers down, small businesses around the country are struggling to make ends meet - although customers have disappeared, bills and wages have not. Just how long they will have to scale back operations due to the Coronavirus outbreak - whether it’s weeks or months - is unclear. Until then, here are a few things you can do." (3/19/20)
• Small Business Delmarva | Salisbury, Berlin Businesses Adjusting To New Normal How our local businesses on Maryland's eastern shore are managing (3/18/20)
• It’s Going to be More Important than Ever to Support Local Businesses | "As soon as the outbreak runs its course – we encourage you to consider keeping your dollars local whenever possible, in order to help these small businesses bounce back. Because for small businesses – every dollar counts and ultimately benefits the community we live in." (3/12/20)
• Burgerim was once one of the hottest, fastest-growing brands in the U.S. Then its founder left the country, leaving behind a wreckage of unpaid workers, bankrupt franchisees and others struggling to make it work. A valuable warning to anyone considering opening a franchise!
• How Your Smartphone Is Making You Dumb—And What To Do About It
• Support For Our Small Business Owners | In light of the countless business owners and entrepreneurs who may be facing loss of business due to extended periods of travel bans and cancelled events, let's remember to think of our neighbors and friends. Many retailers and store owners are navigating some difficult times right now and it would be an excellent opportunity to reach out to someone today. (3/13/20)
Sending positive vibes to all the entrepreneurs out there navigating these challenging times. Let's keep thinking of moving forward and ways to rebuild our local economies once this is over. Hang in there friends!
Sincerely,
Andrea Baumann
Marketing Delmarva
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