The Small American Dream is Indeed for Dreamers

This ain't it.

That's what I said out loud to myself as I stood in front of my "store". My store was currently 2 large piles of various goods, barely covered in rain-soaked tarps. The sun was starting to break through after a swift hell storm ravaged The Homesteading Festival this past weekend. I stood there, now dripping wet from head to toe. I didn't know what was rain from tears on my face. I stood surveying what I estimated about $15,000 worth of goods under two vinyl-covered, aluminum-framed tents. One now collapsed in on top of one of the piles. Water slowly leaking from the seams of the other. My store. What store?

I finally saw it for what it was. Like a child finding out who really puts the treats in the stocking. I was living in a fantasy. Pretending my "pop-up" shop was a real store. I was so proud of it. I had myself almost believing it was a real place. But like the storm that ripped through Columbia, Tennessee this past weekend, so did reality.

And this simply ain't it.

Not just for me. For all the vendors at all these festivals. Even the farmers markets. It ain't the answer, ya'll. It shouldn't be this way. We shouldn't be packing it all up in tubs, loading it in trailers, unloading it on fold-up tables, and selling goods under flimsy canvas tents. As I looked around at reality, I realized I was a part of a kind of traveling circus.

Brilliant crafters who bust their backs to sell at these markets and festivals. They're too good for white cloth tents. Why are they here then? Because it's about impossible to compete with big retailers online and acquiring an affordable physical storefront location is even harder for small businesses. So, where do the crafters go? To tent cities. Waiting for a spontaneous gust of wind to destroy what they so passionately crafted sometimes taking weeks or months.

It ain't it.

I'm unsure where to go from here. Maybe go back online. Maybe close up all together. The latter means I'd become a sad statistic. This year, two of my favorite small brands closed their doors for good. Did you know that two-thirds of American small businesses make it to the two-year mark. Beyond that, about half of all small businesses survive to the five-year mark, and less than 30 percent last for 10 years or more. (https://advancepointcap.com/blog/small-business-stats/)

Ya'll, small businesses are about dead. They're on the ventilator. If you want your favorite small businesses and brands to stay alive. Choose them over "Big". Delete your amazon account. Vow to never step foot in Target ever again. You want your small farmer to survive. Stop eating dang Chick-fil-A. Unless you like having a fast food chain on every corner and a big box store outside every neighborhood. But if you're like me and you're worried about this country. You wonder what little ole you can do. Everything. It's a radical change of habit. Yet it's so simple. Spend small or keep your money in your pocket. But for the love of all that is good, we have to stop shoving all of our dollars into the mouth of the beast that is "Big".

We got'a go back to our communities. In person. Main street. The local butcher. The local dairy. The local craftsman. The local leather goods store. The local small grocer. The fish guy. The pottery gal. The soap maker. The seamstress and tailor. The baker. They should be on main street again. Inside. A building. Sheltered from rainy days. A place they can leave their goods each night. Locked up and safe. Ready for a new day. Opening an actual door each morning, waiting for their customers, their local community to come in, fill their cup, stay awhile and connect to our fellow human beings again. Really connect.

That's what it's actually about. Why we do this. Why we sell. Not because we love our products, but because we love the people who love our products.

I ask myself often...

Are those days gone? Am I still holding onto something real? Or is it merely a dream? Is the "American Dream" dead for small, simple folks? Is it possible for small businesses to thrive in this country again?

Comment below or email me at therootedmarketgoods@gmail.com.