Party and Paper Magazine

The 3/50 Project

Keep it local. We hear it said all the time, but as independent retailers, it’s often hard to get that message across to consumers. Having been an independent stationery store owner for 14 years, Cinda Baxter— now retail consultant, professional speaker and founder of The 3/50 Project — decided to take action.
With the tag line “Save your local economy three stores at a time,” the project’s goal is to promote shopping in locally owned businesses while thanking customers for the positive impact that decision has on a local economy. Party & Paper Retailer talked to Baxter and project supporters about this innovative movement.

PPR: What exactly is The 3/50 Project?
CB: The 3/50 Project is a grass roots movement to support independent, locally owned, brick and mortar businesses, which in turn strengthens the local economy.
Independents have been lost in the media as mainstream news outlets focus on the instability of national chains and the convenience of online shopping. What The 3/50 Project does is help consumers understand the importance of continuing to shop with businesses whose roots are in their hometowns.

PPR: How did this idea come to fruition?
CB: The 3/50 Project was born from a quick, off-the-cuff blog post I wrote on March 11, combining the idea of consciously selecting three stores you’d hate to see disappear with an easy monthly spending budget of $50. A week later, I created a free flier for download to make spreading the message easier. Not long after that, retailers began e-mailing to tell me they liked the idea, so I hunkered down and built a Web site in under 36 hours.
Four days later, more than 3,500 people had found the site and supporters were registering faster than I could process them. Since then the registration process is more automated and it has absolutely exploded. I’ve read about viral campaigns, but never truly appreciated what that meant from the inside looking out.

PPR: Please talk a bit about the numbers on the flier — 3, 50, 68 — and what they represent.
CB: Three was inspired by a piece written by Rieva Lesonsky about a man frustrated by poor customer service at big boxes. He decided to patronize only locally owned businesses where he could look the owner in the eye. Before long, he was eating at the same three restaurants on a regular basis, proving service and loyalty go hand in hand.
The 50 was inspired by something a Canadian blogger wrote regarding the amount of potential cash flow that was held hostage by consumers’ unwillingness to go shopping. After some number crunching on my end, I could see that if just half the employed U.S. population spent just half that amount, we’d generate more than $42.6 billion in new revenue.
Sixty-eight represents the $68 of every $100 spent in locally owned businesses that remains in the community, through payroll taxes, sales tax, commercial property tax, salaries, and other business expenditures, as documented in published data throughout the “buy local” industry. When that $100 is spent in a big box, chain or franchise, only $43 stays in town. Order online and nothing comes home.
All I did was tie loose ends together, asking consumers to pick three businesses they’d hate to lose, commit to spending $50 per month in locally owned businesses and then showed them what a huge impact that little bit would have.

PPR: What kind of feedback have you heard from others?
CB: The feedback has been extraordinary. Stores whose
local media have run pieces about The 3/50 Project are seeing the most pronounced support, although the positive impact is by no means limited to them. In several cities, groups of independent business owners have banded together to run full page ads in their Sunday papers; a number have launched creative marketing plans around The 3/50 Project that cross-promote multiple establishments; “chapters” of The 3/50 Project supporters are springing up; and several Chambers of Commerce around the country are spreading the message throughout their communities.

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Originally posted Wednesday, May. 27, 2009