Steve Mensing, Editor
♦ Lifting a small city like Salisbury, with major pockets of the chronically poor and unemployed, is a Herculean task. Among Salisbury’s poor are many physically and mentally disabled, illiterate, unskilled, substance addicted, and seldom if ever employed persons. We’re not even mentioning felons whose criminal records make it difficult or almost impossible to gain employment. Salisbury possesses quite a few folks falling into this latter category.
The chronically poor and unemployed form a fair-sized segment of Salisbury’s 28% (U.S. Census Bureau) of the population dwelling in poverty. The remainder of the Salisbury’s poor are able bodied, but currently either jobless or scraping by with minimum wage jobs and families to feed, clothe, and shelter. Know that more than 1 out of every 4 persons dwelling in Salisbury is poor. Many of our chronically poor and unemployed are not always candidates for educating upwards and jobskills training.
Part V–Paying Attention to Business and Retail Trends will briefly focus on observing major business and retail trends in luring businesses here, developing in-house entrapaneurs, or creating “cooperative” business ventures in the city. I know from personal experience that businesses can be started on a shoestring or less. A man or woman, armed with a computer and a high-speed internet connection, some pluck and creativity can move mountains and make millions. Look at the Rowan Free Press–started with a 100 bucks a year for a Word Press account and a few bucks a month for a Vimeo video account. We’ve gone from 40 readers in the first few weeks to many thousands of viewers per week. People are reading the Rowan Free Press elsewhere in North Carolina, across the USA, and in well over a 132 countries. Thanks to donations from publically-spirited and generous folks, the RFP is frequently in the black and never in the red. That’s more than can be said for some print newspapers.
I know that big bucks are unrequired to come out of the gate for a lot of fruitful enterprises especially dot.coms and out-of-the-home businesses. I can see this happening in humble Salisbury no matter how desperate the current situation appears to those who care enough to notice and not to deny the Salisbury’s decade long tumble. 28% of Salisbury quietly endure in poverty–that’s undeniable fact. And this city needs to put on the breaks and do a drastic turnaround.
So How Does Salisbury Turn the Corner on Poverty through Paying Attention to Business and Retail Trends? And Can Salisbury Become the Starting Point of a New Business and Retail Trend?
What are business and retail trends? An example of a current business trend is that much commerce and retail is currently done over the internet and through dot.coms. Look at how Amazon.com rules the retail roost and how all the other major retailers like Wall-Mart, Target, Best Buy and a many others have developed major internet presences. Its a fact many people living here buy products and services over the internet. Now there is a need for local warehouses to support same day delivery. Obviously Salisbury and Rowan County would benefit from luring warehouses here to fill the void for same day service.
So spend a few days dedicating some study time to note what current business and retail trends are occurring right now. Even discover future forecasts for business and retail trends both here and globally. And if you are given to creativity and thoughtfulness, ask what are current and future needs might be met by developing new businesses and retail. Make certain these are actual needs. Email me some of your ideas and I will mention them in a forthcoming article on the subject.
