Banding together

Take my survey - help me decide what business to be in.

Can we band together?

I'm concerned by many things lately but right this minute, I'm concerned about "the little guy", small, independent, local businesses being wiped out by "the big guys".  The big guys include business organizations that haven't, in my opinion, sufficiently distinguished the little guys from the big guys.  

By including, in the phrase "small business", businesses that are much larger and often competitors, the interests of the little guys get lost.

By including in local businesses, outlets of national businesses, the interests of small, independent, local businesses will be outvoted.

By local business organizations becoming a chapter of a national organization, local business interests get lost in national issues which, while important are ruled by big business.

$$$$$$$$

So, I would like to propose that those of us who are genuinely small, local, independent businesses - and by small, I mean small - under $350,000 in business (a dream) - by independent I mean, owned and operated by local residents - by local, I mean one or two outlets, this state, LLC or sole proprietors, brick and mortar or online - I propose that we form alliances and get together to discuss needs, problems, etc. and figure out ways that, together, we can have some influence on our own futures.

Now - the shops I have on my several blogs are NOT independent - yet; they're through Amazon and I'm not happy about it but I have to start somewhere.  

I'm working at trying to figure out what to do with my business that never got started.  Take my survey to help me figure that out.  

I'm a librarian, an information professional, have been for over 35 years.  I know how to find information and organize it for easy access.  My original business plan was to be an online directory of small, independent, local businesses in New Jersey in a handful of niche markets:  wellness, artisan fashion, jewelry, fragrances, etc., animal welfare, cultural non-profits, the arts, crafts, natural foods, environmental products and services, and spiritually oriented products and services.  The directory was not designed properly and I couldn't drive traffic to a website that didn't work.

I'm blogging here and elsewhere trying to decide what to make out of what I've learned over the past year +.

I'm concerned that many of the services and organizations for small business include bigger players who are further along the path with their businesses and my concerns are not their concerns.  I've met a lot of really great very small entrepreneurs who aren't really interested in growing their business into an empire; they just want to do business and make a living.  That's me, as well.  I'm concerned by the ethics of some businesses that, I believe, are not in the best interests of customers and other small businesses.  I want to sell a product/service, straight forward, no tricks, sales on the merit of product and service.

So, if you're interested in getting together with other very small business owners, please contact me.  I'll arrange a meeting whenever I get responses from 2 other people, or more.

Thank you.