January 25th, 2012 - today.
So much more I'd like to have done; so many ideas I wish I'd had time to develop. The conversations we have here matter - celebrating the people and places which built communities, opening minds and empowering small business owners - but it's a drop in the bucket compared to what we're up against.
The person I am tries not to dwell on what didn't get done, instead staying focused on what opportunities lie ahead, but as independent business owners and operators, continue to face enormous shifts in consumer behavior and economic changes, the stakes get higher. These challenges will, without a doubt, be the reason many independents close their doors in the year ahead, but just as many will also learn to adapt, pivot, and rebuild in new, sustainable directions.
Those success stories, these survivors who press on through the difficult times and lean years.... you are the strong ones who refuse to back down. I hope that together we can achieve greater success; refine the statements and visuals; strengthen relationships; deliver a more powerful message that will be widely distributed. Because your small businesses enhance and improve the communities where we live. Because we collectively deserve more than to watch what built our cities and towns slip away. Because you matter.
Thank you