Notes from Us

Hop over a fence. Walk a bit further. Inconvenience yourself. When you go out of your way, people will go out of their way for you.

It can seem counter-intuitive in the age of globalization to advocate for local. Does this thinking make sense?

When starting a business, a person quickly faces a decision: Do they want to take the franchise route or the independent route?

No product makes it onto the shelf of Wal-Mart unless it appeals to enough people for it to make the retailer money. Go to most local independent businesses and you’ll see that they’re creating something for someone specific – their smallest viable market.

Many businesses are mere financial products. Some people are interested in using their business to make money. The type of business they’re in doesn’t matter as much as the financial opportunity. Other people choose work they enjoy doing in a business they care about.

Product packaging is important. It helps communicate the value proposition of a product and speaks volumes to customers while the product is on a shelf.

How a dollar flows through the community is greatly affected by who owns the business and the decisions they make

Andrew Doerksen owns Commonwealth Manufacturing located in the Exchange District. At first glance, a shirt from Commonwealth may seem more expensive than you’re used to seeing elsewhere. But that’s not because their shirts ares overpriced – it’s a result of the dominance of fast-fashion all around us.

To be top of mind, the way most of the major social media platforms are designed, you need to constantly be active. Think Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Posting, liking, commenting, retweeting, sharing, and tagging. Exhausting.

When we talk about “local business”, we’re talking about local ownership and independent decision making. Ownership is important because value stays local.