Why Do Local & Small Business Get Ignored In Central New York?
Posted by Mitch Mitchell on Apr 2, 2012
I’ve been on a crusade lately. On my business blog I wrote a post asking why independent consultants don’t get respect. In essence, my point is that small businesses often get overlooked for the big name businesses and explores why it happens.
In a way it’s really easy to understand how it happens in some ways. For instance, if I need printer paper I’m more liable to drive up the street to Staples because I know the name than it is for me to immediately think or remember that there’s some local business that might sell paper, other than Wegmans (Wegmans sells everything lol).
Still, it’s depressing that local small businesses get that same sort of treatment, if you will. Just recently I not only didn’t get a contract from a local business, I didn’t even get to put in a bid for it. The company that was hired was out of Florida; of all things! There wasn’t anyone locally who could do it? Actually, I can answer that one; only me. There wasn’t anyone in the state who could do it? Come on now, this is New York!
It’s definitely a strange culture across the board. People who do work on your house are expected to be local, which totally makes sense. Yet I find that when I talk to people about social media or website optimization and the like they’ll start quoting things they’ve heard from other sources that aren’t local; what’s that about? Often it’s the same thing I’ve said, but it’s discounted because they know me; that’s a shame.
It’s the kind of thing that really makes you appreciate what guys like Chris Fowler of Syracuse First is trying to do, which is to get businesses to buy locally. It should make more people appreciate an organization like the Professional Consultant’s Association of Central New York, the only consulting organization in the nation that not only works to bring education to independent business people, but also verify the qualifications of those folks so that if you go to the site to check out a consultant, you can pretty much know that their integrity has been checked on and that you’re getting someone the group trusts. We can’t verify how good they are at what they do specifically, but we will guarantee their character; more than any other consultant’s group in the nation does. A disclaimer is that I’m no the board of that group and I write their blog and newsletter.
The reality is that the majority of businesses in central New York are small businesses of some kind. More than 95% of the businesses belonging to Centerstate CEO are businesses with 5 or fewer people working there; that number could be higher. There’s a lot of quality people around here, and they don’t all work for Syracuse University; they just cost a bit more than those folks might.
This is not a hate post against any business in central New York by the way, no matter the size. Trust me, I’m glad for McDonalds and Burger King when I want something fast. I’m not going to hate on Sunoco because they at least try to keep some of the gas prices down. I’m just saying that we’re here and we’re trying to compete and that we love central New York and don’t want to go anywhere else. We belong to organization like the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce.
Go and read the interviews I have on this blog of local business people doing great things, trying to make a living in this area. Read about people like Rich Kudlick and Farah Jadran (who’s now also on PBS) and Isaac Bidwell. Read about places like Pier 57, Van Dusen Exteriors and Armory Massage. Wonderful people, wonderful businesses; heck, check my business out when you get a chance (yeah, shameless plug lol); I’m local as well.
We live in your communities and neighborhoods. We just want our chance to make a living; at least consider us, okay?
Hi Mitch,
Obviously I couldn’t agree more.
I have my own thoughts on this and steps I’m taking to correct the “problem”, but I’d really like to see what others think about this issue first, before I jump in.
I’ll be back.
Glad you stopped by Isaac, and once again I thank you for doing that interview with me. It’s a strange conundrum overall and I’d like to figure it out as well.
I find that with my small business, photography– (I specialize in weddings but fill my gaps with families, seniors, basically lifestyle portraits) –I am not competing with other small business as much, or business from out of state, but I’m competing with big box photo studios. It’s their low, low prices and packages that they offer. It’s hard to open peoples eyes up to quality over quantity. even though I feel that my pricing offers both quality and quantity. I’m thankful for the clients I have and repeat clients and referrals I receive but sometimes I get inquiries where I respond and don’t hear back then catch their latest photos on facebook or something and see they are from wal mart or another big box studio. You get what you pay for and if that’s all they want to pay for then I guess they weren’t really meant to be my client.
I feel you Sarah. I know a lot of photographers that are competing with Walmart, Penneys and a host of other stores like that. And most of you take some beautiful photos as well; you just want the opportunity to compete, like I do.
too many folks equate businesses that are located in large cities or are large chains, as somehow more sophisticated and competent than local firms.
CNY’ers still often see ourselves as small-town and small-time. Thanks for shining a light on this and helping us focus on the best of what we have to offer (which is quite a lot!)
Thanks for your comment Phil. I know this is a problem in other places as well, especially since most of my work has been with places in other cities, and I often wonder why they think I’m so special because I’m from New York when even they sometimes have people who can do some of what I do much closer.
I’m not sure if small businesses get ignored. It’s about building relationships. Just because you’re local doesn’t mean you should be awarded a contract. Although it doesn’t make sense you weren’t allowed to bid. Did you go back and ask why?
Wouldn’t take my call, didn’t respond to my email. That’s pretty much that.
I think it’s a case that most people feel comfortable with what they are familiar with, so they’ll go to the big chain places which are all laid out the same and have a certain level of service (usually quite mediocre but never bad), rather than the local guy who has the unknown factor to them.
I do think that if you ever want great service, however, you should always shop around with the small businesses, as when people have to put their name to their work, they are usually going to take more pride in it than the large places where usually people are going to do the minimum possible to get paid as they have no stakes in the long term plans of the business.
Good point Richard. Even though we live close to Home Depot & Loew’s, my wife and I will often go right up the street to the local Ace Hardware, not quite a local business in name but definitely a local business in that it’s been there for more than 50 years as a small franchise and has a lot of the tools and such that the big stores have. I’m definitely a frequenter of local restaurants more than large chains.