by beth on February 11, 2010
I’m not trying to be a downer on my usual light-hearted blog, but I just feel the need to get this off my chest. I have tweeted it and posted it as a status on Facebook, but I think it deserves more than 140 characters. These snowstorms over the past week have hit local business hard. There was a great conversation about it this morning on Twitter among a lot of my Frederick friends. Sorry I can’t remember everyone in the conversation to give credit to, but you know who you are. :-)
Some of the ways these companies have been impacted are:
- Lost revenue from not being able to be open and shoppers not being able to get out to shop.
- Events canceled or postponed meaning refunds or delayed payment.
- Expenses from paying for snow removal or taking care of any damage the snow may have caused.
- Hourly employees who lost pay because they couldn’t make it to work or work was closed.
- Shipments to companies have been delayed causing inventory issues.
- Mail not being delivered has meant payments are not received.
- Meetings being canceled and purchasing decisions delayed.
- Let’s not forget this is Valentine’s weekend and a day that many retailers, florists and restaurants rely upon.
All of these affect the bottom line for business both large and small, but the smaller businesses are affected more due to their finely tuned cash flow system. One hiccup in the system will throw the cash flow dance off rhythm. I can completely attest to this being a small business owner myself. While being snowed in for a week most likely won’t have a lasting impact on me, things like the recession and 9/11 did. Anything unexpected that causes people to not spend money, whether for fear or being snowed in, can be crippling to the businesses they typically support.
So what can we do? Once your local governments have deemed it safe to travel on the roads, make an effort to get out to your locally owned small businesses and show them some love with you wallet. Our family did this on Tuesday before this latest storm. We wanted out of the house and decided to visit one of our favorite pizza shops for dinner. We have already started talking about where we want to get out to this weekend to eat and for a little retail therapy. I mean Little J and Hubby both deserve a nice Valentine gift after being snowed in with me all week
Finally, don’t just limit it to this weekend. It’s going to take awhile for businesses to recover, so when you have a choice on where to make a purchase or eat, look locally first and know that your purchase is really making a difference.
You know you want out of the house anyway, so get out there and make a local business owner smile.
by beth on February 6, 2010
Years ago I lived in CA for about a year when the company I was working for was bought by Netscape. There are many, many memories from that time, but this snow brings one to the forefront. Most of the people I worked with were CA natives, so I was a bit of a novelty in the inside sales department. Much pointing and whispering about the strange girl from the East Coast who preferred a donut and coffee in the morning rather than a wheat grass smoothie. Some things never change… I kid, I kid. Sort of. I loved the people I worked with and met in CA, but it was obvious I was an East Coast girl.
They always wondered how I could ever live in a part of the country that got blizzards. Seriously? This is the state that can be rocked by an unexpected earthquake at any minute or have their house dumped into the Pacific Ocean by a mudslide. They are freaking out about how we handle snow here in the East? Once I got done laughing, I would explain that we usually had at the very least one day’s notice about the snow. This gave us ample time to stock up on TP, food, beer and movies. I went on to explain that we would then hunker down and enjoy our time with friends and neighbors. They still did not get it. The idea of being hit by a snowstorm was much worse to them than a earthquake destroying their home when they least expect it.
The entire time I lived in CA, I was terrified of being in an earthquake. Thankfully I never felt one. I guess it’s just a difference in perspective. Do you have any good snow stories? I would love to hear them.
by beth on February 5, 2010
As I sit here on a Friday afternoon the snow is beginning to fall pretty quickly as the beginning of a predicted major snowstorm is upon us. I still don’t know why, but when a snowstorm is predicted the first thing I think about is what am I going to cook while the flakes fall. We already had a dinner party planned which is still going on as planned since all the attendees can walk. On top of that it is Super Bowl Sunday. Even without the snow it was going to be foodapolooza weekend.
I thought I would share what I will be cooking up, in the hopes you would share your weekend cooking and/or baking plans.
Saturday
Breakfast and lunch are always a toss up and depend on our mood. I’m thinking I may have to try out the French Toast Scone mix I got from King Arthur Flour. If I’m lucky and hubby is in the mood to cook, I may score a breakfast burrito.
The menu has an India theme for the dinner party. We are hosting so we are in charge of entree and appetizer and the other two families are bringing dessert and drinks. Here is our contribution:
- Appetizer: Indian-Spiced Roasted Chickpeas
- Entree: Chicken Curry with Basmati Rice
- Side: Homemade Naan and Cucumber-Mint Raita
I can’t wait to see what our friends are bringing for drinks and desserts.
Sunday
Breakfast will be something light since we will be eating early.
Early dinner will be Braciole with a veggie, to be determined. When the Super Bowl rolls around, we will pull out some chicken wings and other football appropriate goodies.
I’m not sure I will get any baking in, but I probably will end up whipping up a little something.
Now it is your turn. Tell me what you plan cooking or just eating this weekend.
