In a recent interview on the podcast Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist, beloved actor Michael J Fox found himself at a crossroads. He sat alone and helpless on the kitchen floor with a broken arm. Fearing the call he would have to make to his daughter to come and help him; his brain could not put a positive spin on his situation. Fox sat there thinking, “I’m in the lemonade business, I sell happiness and hope, but here I was and I couldn’t put a positive spin on this any way I looked at it.” Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at age 29 and has promoted research and awareness through the Michael J Fox Foundation.
What is the lemonade business?
Every business owner and entrepreneur is in the lemonade business. We sell happiness, possibilities, and hope to others; marketers especially. We sell the dream that if you use our products or services things will be better. You’ll get more customers, more money, more happiness… Hope. Yet sometimes as business owners things happen where we find ourselves lying on the kitchen floor helpless.
The honesty of Michael J Fox awoke something in me. 2020 was a rough year for small businesses. As people stopped going to local shops and began staying home it was as if all those businesses were suddenly hit hard by something lying on the kitchen floor with a broken arm.
The numbers are astounding
Local businesses, restaurants, clothing stores, mom and pop hardware, & jewelry stores to name a few all need your help this holiday season. So when you make your buying decisions remember to shop and support local businesses to give those dollars back into your local community at a greater return than big-box chain stores and big corporations out there. The statistics are amazing, according to AMEX 2018 impact study, for every dollar spent, $0.67 of every dollar goes back into the local community when you shop local. Remember, they need everyone’s help this holiday season as does the local community.
Shop local, support local businesses
The numbers are astounding for local communities when you consider how much money goes back into the local economy just by getting food from your favorite local restaurants, buying jewelry or clothing locally, or support a local hardware store. The business owner pays local employees, pays to local vendors and suppliers, and reinvests in the local community at a much greater level than that seen from big-box chain stores, major retailers, and corporations. There are even many locally based companies right here in central Ohio that you can support instead of opting for major retailers. This keeps money in the local economy and supports local growth including local taxes, money for schools and local programs, and dollars spent directly in the community to fuel growth.
2018 Impact Study on dollar reinvested by shopping using small businesses
The lemonade business has changed
Alas, small businesses are starting to see light at the end of the tunnel; their hopes of new vaccines coming in 2021. Yet even with that help, it’s still a long and winding road. We work with many kinds of small businesses. The ones that are making it through the best have a mix of proactive plans, almost meditative focus, and luck. Many businesses that invested in e-commerce or their website are starting to see the benefits but that still doesn’t make up for the traffic missed to their shop.
Selling lemonade isn’t what it used to be. The lemonade business has changed. The businesses that adapt to change and invest in areas during these times where they may not have been comfortable before are the ones that are best suited to the future. They are the businesses that can still sell hope, the secret ingredient behind the lemonade that customers are so thirsty for. Let’s also not forget the customers who keep the lemonade stands across the country open. They are the lifeblood that keeps local businesses alive. Remember to support local and shop local this holiday and to think about your Christmas list and how you could shop local to fulfill some holiday wishes including those of the local community. We can do this together!
If you liked this article check out How To Launch A Business in 30 Days