Community first, now more than ever

One of my favorite things to do is break bread. This is equal parts my love of food and my love of spending time with people. I enjoy hearing other's stories, challenges, trials and tribulations, successes, and their goals. There is no better place to do this than over a great meal.

My time spent cooking and eating with my family is the best part of my day. However, as we are all in a forced state of isolation, our consumption habits in all areas of our life have been shifted. Not only does this include food (and likely booze), but also content and time. The restaurants, bars, coffee shops and bakeries in all of our local communities are facing imminent and real threats to their livelihood for the business, their staff as well as their families and the vendors who all service these businesses. The ripple effect of this is already being felt and the threat of closing forever is imminent.

Before coming to Complex Networks 5 years ago, I spent the first 15 years of my career with a heavy focus on small to medium size businesses helping them create, strategize and execute effective advertising and marketing strategies. Dealing directly with the owner of my favorite Italian or Sushi joint, who in many cases was also the chef, I came to truly understand the challenges of owning a small to medium sized business.

These establishments are the fabric of our communities and we need to support them in any way we can right now. Some ideas that I've been thinking of and seeing others put out into the marketplace include:

• Ordering from them now on Uber Eats or another delivery service
• Buying gift cards directly from them to give them an immediate cash infusion
• Calling or emailing your favorite local bar, cafe, or restaurant who may not have gift cards and asking if you can pay for your next meal or bar tab now to use it when they reopen.
• Have your favorite local bookstore order the next 3-5 books you plan to read and buy them now.
• Look at your favorite live music or performance venues upcoming lineup and buy tickets for a show or performance in the Fall.

I would love to hear any other ideas from you, please share them so we can all do our part to help the businesses and their families that mean so much to us all and help them through this critical time.

Stay safe out there!

Josh