Communities have life forces of their own

I have dwelled extensively in previous columns on the practices of big business run amok, with no leash, and how they affect America. Specifically, the realm of retail and the sea change of national control vs local control that occurred in the e80s and onward.

The onslaught was overwhelming, with concept after concept breaking on the American public. It never occurred to any of us that it was a feeding frenzy for the stock market and all of the other corporate money genres that just plain took away the apple cart from local and independent operators that were outgunned by seemingly unlimited resources.

I DO know now, though, and I am compelled to share with as many people as I can reach!

Now, one of the people I enjoy staying connected to is Michael Angelo Caruso. All of you know him – everyone knows the Caruso family ‘round these here parts.

What I want to say here is not to hype Michael’s business (which you may want to learn about), but to call out his relentlessly deployed plan that I witness by his frequent postings. His approach includes humor-oriented postings that invite response and steadfast reminders of what he does.

Michael created his own niche by paying close attention to others that have carved out theirs, emulating and honing his version of it, and basically, being the reason for his own success.

Never a “Poor, Poor Pitiful Me” sentiment (hah!). He stays on plan. He grinds his ax, and most importantly, he clearly loves his work. Michael stays engaged and has fun as he plies his trade and makes his living. After all is said and done, the power of a single person to persevere is electric and admirable.

If you read just some of my columns, you can get vibes of “hey, that’s not fair.” If you read others, you learn about my perception of small businesses I have encountered that make a real contribution to the world, even if that world is limited in scope.

I know that what I provide at my trade is hyper-better than what any corporate alternative can provide. I thrive on the challenge of getting it right for our clientele; it’s actually exhilarating. I love my work too, and everyone in my industry knows that humor is integrated into how I communicate. Humor connects, dissolves anonymity.

Agitation is never conveyed when comparing my stores to other local stores. I don’t have anything negative to say about any of them. I admire and respect them and I advocate for them. They are part of what makes my world hum. Independents are the benchmark that can never be reached by imposters. We can’t afford to lose any of them. The world gets dimmer with every loss, more homogenized and less unique. Less surprising, less delightful. With every national cookie cutter operation that replaces them in their real estate, we get something totally unconnected to the communities that were once served with passion.

When that owner stops making an income, they stop spending their money at other local businesses. They stop spreading their sunlight, too, leaving us with only dim substitutes.

Conversely: Remember the shops around Downriver that used to sell kitchen and bath products?

Bed, Bath and Beyond, to be specific, took so much business away that there wasn’t enough to remain viable for indies.

Don’t blow past that point: The myth of big business providing jobs is really just a lie. Having taken over the niche, they’re filing bankruptcy, and hopefully failing altogether, but also killing those jobs through their own incompetence. So, why hopefully? Because I look finally better now; what ailed me seems to be gone. forward to independent businesses filling that niche again. It was . I hope one opens in Wyandotte, it’s an unfilled niche and believe me, it’s going to be a thing again.

That experience, though, serves to illustrate how much the life force is in play at small, independent businesses of every kind.

Small business is far more resilient, nimble, and clever than big business. But it is also more prone to the singular loss of “if I say it, it’s so” energy. For every small business, that energy is akin to a self-winding watch; seemingly endless when business is strong and vibrant, and when people give positive reinforcement by simply doing business there.

We citizens supported the invasion of that publicly traded company. We shopped there. No sense in crying about it now.

The point is to look forward and decide who you don’t want to see fail because of big.

When you do that, you will indeed have connected the dots, and you won’t need the likes of me to tell you all about it.

My whole purpose here is at least trying to get people to understand that what they see as just another choice is something far more than that. I want people to not just be sympathetic, but to do everything they can to protect what they count on being there.

Forces far more powerful and controlling are the adversaries of every independent business. The forces of capitalism on the macro scale, and the forces of government that not only allows it, but fosters the uneven playing field are the enemies that have done so much damage.

I’m still here; countless others had their worlds taken away.

In 2022, post-covid sapped me of not just the physical energy I was accustomed to, but the ability to focus and propel. We all rely on batteries; that’s where humans fuel their drive, focus and passion. When those are attacked and even erased, and even worse: when the ability to make decisions and be the heart of the business are sucked down, personal and business peril looms large. I’m

That’s the driving force, my friends. That’s the magic. The magic is not really magic, but it may as well be, for all that it shares back.

It would be a terrible thing to lose the positive energy of my above mentioned call out. What he provides can’t be delivered by big, national business. What Michael does is care about the people he interacts with and in many cases, does business with. His business has little direct connection to mine.

But his life force is crucial to all of us. I don’t do business with him, but I recognize what he brings to the table as remarkable, and I herald it because we need that positive energy, more and more and more in a world that can sap it all away if we’re not careful.

I never ask my readers to support my business in these columns. I ask you to understand the difference between local and independent of all kinds in your community (and wherever you go, frankly).

If we don’t; when we bypass local and independent of any and all kinds, we kill the golden geese of our own, local economic power plant. And we give the power to those that don’t need any more power.

Pushing back against entropy works really well if enough of us band together. It is true: Communities are living, breathing entities that share a collective life force, composed of all the independent businesses that keep money flowing through wallet after wallet…by keeping it local. Protect your locals; protect your community. And have more fun.

Those of you that already do know exactly what I’m talking about. Don’t you!