The giving vine, mom-and-pop, and Texas--Elizabeth Linthicum

I picked up the December issue of Entrepreneur Magazine in one of the waiting rooms at Athens Regional, and found several interesting stories that I wanted to share on the blog. First, Robert Spector, author of The Mom and Pop Store, lists several common threads among successful family businesses across America. He said they all have a deep desire to be independent and also changed the business in order to respond to the market. He thinks that the next generation of mom-and-pop stores will be opened by “immigrants who can’t get a job because they don’t speak English and…people who’re disillusioned and dropping out of the corporate world” (22). He predicts that small businesses will continue to thrive, especially as Americans are more conscious of supporting local restaurants, stores, and companies. In Austin, Texas (one of The Wall Street Journal’s top Youth Magnet cities), there is a very successful campaign to support local businesses and preserve the character of one of the most desirable places to live in America. The campaign is appropriately called “Keep Austin Weird.” T-shirts and bumper stickers are everywhere, and Austinites do seem to be more aware of the importance of supporting local businesses than the average citizen. On the topic of Texas, I was quite proud to see the fine state of Texas listed as one of the top ten trends of 2010, according to Entrepreneur. Texas is home to more Fortune 500 companies than any other state and accounted for 59% of ALL new jobs created in the U.S. last year. I’ll get off my soapbox about the rising Lone Star state.

Though I have only lived here a year and a half, people in Athens also seem to pride themselves on the uniqueness of the town by supporting local businesses. It would be great if even more Americans celebrated the things that make their town unique by helping mom-and-pop stores thrive.

Also featured in the magazine is the wine company OneHope, which is a for-profit business that tries to sell as much wine as possible with 50% of its profits going to charity. Eight colleagues from Gallo wine company left their jobs to open OneHope, which is projected to hit $1.5M in sales for 2009 and has donated $250,000 in cash and in-kind contributions to 150 charities. Sales of the merlot go to AIDS research, the sauvignon blanc supports the environment, and the zin goes to causes that support U.S. troops. By supporting a variety of causes, OneHope appeals to many different types of consumers who might tire of this or that for the cure.

One of the founders believes that “creating change starts with big business…If we can educate businesses and get to a point where companies can get a competitive result, but a result that gives to others, we’ll be making a major step toward changing the world.” Clearly, the founders found supporting social causes attractive, and they thought consumers would too. The company is currently trying to leverage its name into a whole cause-oriented lifestyle brand by creating OneHope bottled water, and a OneHope branded flash drive that benefits Dress for Success, among other products. The business seems to do very well because it taps into people’s desire to use technology to change the world and to help others while pursuing a profit.

Elizabeth Linthicum