A neighboring antique mall dealer bemoaned folks who like to spend their money on cheap decorating crap at Walmart rather than the glorious vintiques we offer. I eagerly concurred and bragged that I hadn’t set foot in a Walmart in over three years.
“Well,” she said, “We do our grocery shopping there.” Looking at her watch, she added “I gotta go pick up my granddaughter’s birthday cake from there this afternoon.”
Oh the irony.
I recommended several mom and pop bakeries in the area to which my colleague said “Oh, they’re too expensive.” Yep, I went on a lecturing tirade she won’t soon forget. Pretty darn sure she’ll never talk to me again.
Look, folks. You have to, as Indiepreneurs, walk the talk. That means buying indie and buying local as much as possible. Support your local mom and pop’s so they, in turn, can support you. The phrase what goes around comes around has real meaning when it applied to local economies.
Besides, I’ve tasted goods from Walmart bakeries. Yuck and patuuie.
Hmm… I’m sorry you yelled at your friend. I hope you two do indeed talk again.
I tend to disagree. If we, as Indiepreneurs, see ourselves as in competition with big box stores, then we’re doing it wrong and we’ll never win. Instead of guilting people into shopping with us or telling them they have horrible taste if they shop at WalMart, perhaps we should be offering products and services that the big stores can’t.
And I think there’s something to be said for spending less money on things we don’t care about (birthday cake quality), so that we can spend more money on things we *do* care about, like home decor.
.-= Jessie´s last blog ..Brown Rice =-.
My 84-year-old mom beats Wal-mart prices w/ coupons and selective (a.k.a. intelligent) shopping.
Most Americans tend to buy at big box stores, thinking they are getting more for their money. Or they have no taste. Or they never compare prices. ‘Tis a puzzlement.
Z.
.-= Zuzu´s last blog ..Spring Dreaming =-.