Go Small for America

I saw an interesting meme a few days ago: "When this Social Distancing thing is over, y'all better treat bars, restaurants and local businesses like the toilet paper aisle at Stop n Shop".

It struck a vein with me because much of the first half of my career had a major focus on Small Business. And in that time, I developed a deep appreciation for the entrepreneurial spirit and courage it takes to have your own business. But moreover it let to an epiphany that has made small business marketing (a way to help small business) a passion of mine that has remained an undercurrent in every job I've had since; whether focusing disproportionately on the small business efforts for companies like Microsoft, or working in smaller agencies that don't have the resources and safety net of large corporations. In smaller businesses you get to wear many hats. And on any given day you just pick up a hat someone dropped and you wear it. In business there's a focus on getting your job done. In small business the focus is simpler; "GET IT DONE".

In 2008 when we were in some very dark days economically speaking, I found myself working with the American Express Team at my Agency, trying to think about how we go to market for Amex in a climate where they had accepted TARP money by converting themselves to a bank, in a climate of innate disdain and distrust of large businesses and banks. I went to my old tried and true filter: "what is the highest level role a brand can play in the lives of consumers?"

What occurred to me was (and I'm sure this will be the case), in the wake of economic devastation, you can't look for top down solutions from large companies. The fact is, jobs did (and will) go away and they won't return. We felt that the US Economy and America itself (it's pride and national identity) would be restored "bottom up". Small businesses would slowly start pumping and gaining momentum, adding jobs and providing vital services. People who found themselves without income would either go work for these small companies, or would need to create their own job; create businesses to feed their families and pay mortgages.

What grew out of this insight was a program executed with a major media partner called "Shine a Light". "Shine a Light" was intended, and successfully, showcased small business success stories and inspired people and empowered them with the courage to start their own businesses. The face of post financial-crisis American Express for a long time was about Small Business. "Small Business Saturday" was an outgrowth of this larger strategy (note, I am not taking credit for Small Business Saturday...I had zero to do with that other than maybe getting other marketers to think along the same lines of "save small business, save America".

At the time, I was working across the entire client base in North America. And we executed a similar strategy for Sprint through their Nextel brand (which was geared towards small business). We created an online destination for small business owners. While we populated it with content from 3rd parties, it was truly an online experience For, About, and By small business owners. It was a place for them to network an inspire each other, or extend their network of suppliers and customers.

These programs were enormously successful. Why? Because America is built on "the small". America is built on the backs of immigrants who come here and gladly do things Americans find to be "beneath them". They take care of our elderly, our sick, our children. They keep our cities and buildings and yards clean and tidy. They create, they invent, they are far less bound by fear of failure. And small businesses are the same; it's easy to define America by the sexy multi-nationals that dominate the DJI and Fortune 500. But when it comes down to it, what affects your day to day existence far more than you realize is the business down the street that keeps the local economy in your town afloat.

When this is over, and it will end, I hope you'll treat your small businesses like the toilet paper aisle at Stop n Shop. I hope you'll wear a groove in a chair at your local restaurant. I hope you'll grab your DIY supplies at the local hardware store. Send flowers to people you've missed. Buy then gift cards for the local wine shop. All of this in aggregate will do far more to bring America back than a few trillion dollars given to large companies who, as when their taxes were cut, will buy back stock and pad their war chest with cash liquidity.

Think Small, do Great Things.