Ideas for Local Initiatives

With small business getting hammered on the sales front and through the credit pinch (see John Robb's nice summary, including links to Wall Street Journal article), it is time to start thinking about local initiatives to kick-start some kind of a recovery. It's not that we don't trust the feds...

Certainly no federal or provincial trickle-down relief seen by small business yet (at only 23% or so of economic GDP maybe there's no rush to support companies employing less than 50 people each?). I think we're on our own here folks. Besides a few mega-projects and infrastructure initiatives for media optics and to keep the unions pacified, it will be up to the little guys to generate real job creation.

So here are a few areas to kick around, for the sake of some concrete examples:

Digital Kiosks

• interactive web based kiosks in mall locations
• established technologies integrated to offer massive selection, custom ordering, instant payment, direct shipping options; greater security and more simple than web based purchasing (though the kiosk interface really is a website and follow on orders could be placed from home...)
• benefits are low start up costs, no inventory, drop shipping

Community Radio

• FM radio stations built on an internet broadcasting backbone
• multiple input sources (from home) offering low overhead, highly original content
• affordable local advertising by local merchants to the immediate community
• barter for services for events exclusive to radio/internet community members (thx John Robb)

Managed Enterprise Services

• trucking, landscaping, renovation construction type companies focusing on what they do best while employing a common "back office" to handle the functions they do not do well.
• keep the accountants & bookkeepers more actively involved in the day-to-day
• core sales & marketing crew promotes multiple enterprises to keep all engaged and active