State of the Small Town Retail Business

The Grackle as they are called in Texas is a small scrappy version of the crow. During my 6 days of travel last year through small town America, I ran into this survivor near Waco Texas. He has a gimped leg and is surviving on scraps of food at a local fast food burger business but is surviving for the time being. He is one foot away from meeting his maker but forges on in spite of his hardship. Many of the small towns seem to be hanging on like this Grackle, the local business are surviving on scraps and their ability to sniff out a dollar here and there. When those scraps are gone, so is that Grackle. Trying to survive on a concrete coated landscape with large impenetrable boxes will not be an option for this rough guy. 

Is small town America on the way out? Drastic changes are on the horizon for small towns. 

"I had to make a decision to open the doors on January 1^st 2011, it was not easy!" said one downtown Mountain Home businessman. Virtually a disaster for most locally owned retail shops while some keep the small business doors open just out of stubbornness or hope that spending habits will change.

From conversations with other retail business owners, what will keep small downtown business open over the next year will be financial reserves. Once the reserves are gone it is a rapid decline.

Credit for most small downtown business is just not happening. I have not been able to get any information from a banker as to why this is not happening? They all want small retail business to apply for credit but very few if any are getting it. A banker would be crazy to tell a small business owner they are not getting a loan because the banks risk management tells them to cut their losses and those businesses will not be around much longer. You can't blame them for that stand, even though it would be nice to hear some one talking about the big pink elephant in the room.

The one sector that seems to be doing quite well, is anything to do with finance. It is just a little hard to get that replacement faucet or radiator cap from your local insurance office or title company. Others that seem to be surviving are in the service area, beauty shops to computer repair.

When most consumers make the decision to purchase, they base their decision on price point only. Most small businesses are just looked at as a "free resource" for knowledge about products purchased on price point only or customer service for items bought elsewhere.

Small businesses are inherently not efficient. Donating to local causes, charities and supporting the community takes time and money away from the bottom line. Having a knowledgeable staff is also a cost that drives the price point higher of every item. The taxes that local business pay are vital to keep our local government working.

Small town life is changing drastically and it seems to be what the public wants. Visiting many small communities, last year, in the mid and northwest United States, some are doing ok but many are dying. 

This shot of Vernal Utah shows what appears to be a working community; unfortunately most small towns are not. The one common denominator seemed to be communities with post high school education. They seemed to be on the upper end of the spectrum.

Most unfortunately looked like this small town in Oklahoma. Empty building of once a thriving businesses. 

Broken glass and boarded up windows seem to be the distress call throughout these dying communities. This is outside Waco Texas where I stopped for a burger and met the one legged Grackle. They even have a large university in Waco. 

Proud people show support of their country and community at the same time send their investment dollars and business outside their hometowns for others to reap the benefit. It has been called the "high cost of low prices" and rightfully so.