Renée Warren's Blog

The Return of Mom and Pop shops

May 14, 2009 at 3:27 pm Leave a comment

It has to be said; big box stores are still at large. They dominate urban landscapes, offer competitive pricing, great deals, low to high quality products and services, but they still cannot and will not replace the mom and pop shops. Home cooked food, detailed hand made products, service with a real smile, all the things that your friendly neighbourhood and locally owned Bob and Martha stores provide.

History repeats itself. Before the Walmart’s of today, business was social. Owners interacted and knew their customers by name. The butcher knew what cuts of meats their customers liked, the dry cleaners knew whether or not certain customers wanted their clothes folded or on hangers, and if there wasn’t something a store carried, it would surely appear on the next visit. Shop owners were once your next door neighbour, your ‘buddy’, your weekly friendly face.

It was once all about knowing your customers needs and creating a personal experience. We are slowly and surely heading back that way. Looking at the statistics, big companies are still laying off thousands of people each month. On a brighter side, more people are seeing the value in starting their own businesses. Most recently, the biggest employment rate and job creation has been through entrepreneurship and small business ownership. It could be said that it is easier to start a business now then it was 10 years ago. Perhaps this has influenced and helped people make that leap to entrepreneurship.

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Entry filed under: small business tips.