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Main Street is white hot these days, or at least the concept of main street is I guess.
So, my question to you my readers is this: In the context of the small business world, what is Main Street anyway?
- Is Main Street the antithesis of Wall Street?
- Are Sarah Palin and Joe Biden Mainstreeters?
- Does Wal-Mart build on Main Street?
“This is America—a town of a few thousand, in a region of wheat and corn and dairies and little groves.” So Sinclair Lewis prefaces his novel Main Street. Lewis is brutal in his depictions of the self-satisfied inhabitants of small-town America, a place which proves to be merely an assemblage of pretty surfaces, strung together and ultimately empty.
From a business standpoint Main Street is a mostly nostalgic thought. Too many Main Streets today are either boarded up or revitalized with ice cream parlors, t-shirt shops and antique stores.
So when politicians evoke the world of Main Street as a way to demonstrate how “in touch” with America they are, who are they really speaking to? Are they speaking to the drug store owner located on a cobblestone street next to the barber? Probably not. While there are certainly exceptions, the only truly vibrant Main Streets I encounter these days exist in neighborhoods like the Bronx, Berkeley or even my own urban neighborhood of Brookside. Main Streets that survive mostly out of density that keeps basic necessity stores in business and the hassle for Target to locate. (Okay Berkeley might still keep Target out by sitting in the trees they need to cut down for the parking lot.)
But, a kind of Main Street exists unseen in kitchens, garages, and online. Small communities of Main Streets exist around ideas and shared interests in places like Twitter, Facebook and mySpace. Entrepreneurs in every size borough, town, city and metropolis thrive and grow as an economic force that few policy makers, politicians and even the media fully comprehend.
So, in my view, Main Street is not a place so much, and sadly, it is almost never a small town street anymore, it is, I think, a state or mind. And that state of mind exists in the hearts, sweat, passion, frustration, ingenuity and creativity of small business owners in every corner of America.
So, small business folks, what is Main Street to you?
Comments
This entry was posted on Sunday, October 12th, 2008 at Oct 12, 08 | 6:32 am and is filed under Branding, Marketing messages, Positioning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
Very good post. I think your comments on right to the point.
My version of main street is the communities where I spend my time. Whether, Suburbia to Facebook to Workbench,these communities affect my attitudes and beliefs.
And yes John, it is not a small town anymore,our small town has become partly electronic.
I agree that Main Street no longer is so much about the physical place (although the image when I think of it is small town Americana), as it is about a state of mind. And yes, social media does allow Main Street to grow, and even flourish, in an online environment.
No matter where it is located, Main Street to me embodies the hearts and minds of average, working people (be they entrepreneurs, stay-at home moms, cashiers, technicians, and so on). The power of Main Street is still as strong as ever; the ‘residents’ of Main Street are a large voting, and buying, group.
John, Great Post, Thank You
It seems as though things are coming full circle. Too your point, Main Street may not be the charming small town place we envision, however the whole effect of Social Media is about knowing your name, having a conversation, and corporations being transparent enough to not be able to hide behind the layers.
Growing up, the grocer knew our family, knew what cut of beef my dad liked the best, and we felt like he handpicked it for us. The pharmacist knew when we were sick, and the barber watched us grow up. Things are very different today, however I think part of the Social media explosion is the dire need for that connection. I have met more people, and actually connected with them on Twitter in the last six months than I have though other venues in the last six years.
Because of our online exposure, our residents and potential residents know our name; they feel as though they know us before they ever rent from us, which helps us create a Remarkable Experience for them. It is kind of like Cheers, Where everybody knows your name, and I think Community replicates Main Street.
Obama just published his Small Business Rescue Plan… kind of goes right at what was talked about a couple weeks ago about how small business is going to be what takes us out of this economic mess, and Obama is very aware of that.
Enjoy!
http://obama.3cdn.net/d14eb1b3649c4d6745_0evzmv02w.pdf
great post!
I believe that there is truth in your post. We are living the 21st century and life is starting to be lived across multiple channels. The birth of the internet and its evolution is most certainly interweaving the traditional main street with the new e-main street.
This evolution is most certainly being overlooked by the vast majority of politicians all though I think they realize its there.
Time will tell but for today’s emain street we should realize that out concerns will not be heard …yet.
great post
Sean
SEO
Main Street is clearly a term meant to evoke sentiments opposite of big-interest topics, and I think to refocus attention and cameras on the only element of our economy with big potential right now. The problem is putting actions behind words. Right now the resources and legislation are still aimed right at where they are always aimed….not in the direction of “main street”. Let’s hope some wisdom sets in….Thanks John for a good post. I love FeedBlitz option with Twitter, etc. so I can catch your posts where ever I am these days.
I think the pundits and politicians use the term “Main Street” as a handy euphemism to lump everyone together who is not in the upper echelons of corporate America. The fact is though, even if we aren’t in that stratosphere, most of us have some connection to Wall Street and corporate America in our 401K plans or other investments which means it isn’t all black and white or Main Street versus Wall Street. Life in the 21st century is complicated and I think that’s we are all a little nostalgic for the true “main street” we grew up with or the ideal of it we’ve built up in our minds because there it is a simplier, easier place to live. Reality isn’t so simple but everybody in the category of Main Street will get up each morning, go to work or try to find work, pay their bills, raise their kids, think up new inventions, come up with solutions to existing problems and in the end eventually work our way out of this down cycle of the economy. Main street is the essense of America where anything is possible with a little elbow grease and ingenuity.
No doubt about Main Street being a mindset. It represents 99% of America who is struggling everyday to just keep up. To get out of debt. To put food on the table. To achieve the “American Dream.” I’m main street through and through and wouldn’t be caught dead on Wall Street, New York, or LA (no offense to those there) as many of these folks have no concept of the world out here in “flyover country.”
Your question: “In the context of the small business world, what is Main Street anyway?”
My answer: “A nice catch phrase that sort of spells out, ‘Everyday places. Where you live and shop.’ In some towns, there still is a main street - a quaint, throw-back to yesteryear when there was a popular street in each little town where all the good barbers, restaurants, dime stores, soda shops, etc. were. It’s where the Mom and Pop stores of yore flourished. It’s become an iconic phrase in the vernacular”
Your question: “Is Main Street the antithesis of Wall Street?
My answer: “It’s supposed to be an extension of Wall Street, but the political rhetoric is using it as such.”
Your question: “Are Sarah Palin and Joe Biden Mainstreeters?”
My answer: “Palin is posing as such. Not so sure about Biden. He’s more … polished He’s Mall Street!”
Your question: “Does Wal-Mart build on Main Street?”
My answer: “They tore down Main Street and stuck it inside their gigantic warehouse they call a store. Got rid of the street …!”
Come to think of it, I prefer “Mall Street!”
Main Street is the part of America that politicians love to talk about, but consistently either ignore or legislate against when they get into office. (Of the two, I prefer being ignored.)
The fact is that entrepreneurial firms are now over 50% of the GDP, and have created about 78% of all new jobs every single year for the past twenty years.
http://www.drjeffcornwall.com/2007/10/growing-firms-in-the-entrepren.html
It’s frustrating.
Great post about the new definition of Main Street.
Without question, Main Street is a state of mind. It’s the state of mind for those of us who are working and raising our families in everyday American towns. While “Wall Street” is more of a physical location, it is also more of a symbol for a certain type of people.
This Main Streeter certainly is shaking his head over how the greed and perceived invincibility of those on Wall Street contributed so much to what we are facing today. Perhaps those on Wall Street can use some more of the common sense and dose of reality that permeates many Main Streets.
We need both Wall Street and Main Street to thrive to have a healthy economy. This means everyone needs to take another look at how their own actions can ultimately impact everyone else. If we have learned that from this sad situation, then perhaps some good will come out of the mortgage mess.
Just got back from a 2-week vacation and no where did I find a “main street.” I think Main Street is and always was a state-of-mind. Main Street was that place where you found the essentials: post office, bank, pharmacy, grocer, auto repair shop…the essentials of commerce. That is just not possible in most communities anymore. In fact, the mega-stores like Wal-Mart try to encompass all those entities under their massive roofs leaving no room for the small shop. I’m finding more of a Main Street feel to the internet in fact. I can “Google” something and get to cruise up and down Main Street until I find just the shop I want.
Main Street still exists in our exuberant little town of Chico, that’s not so little anymore. Chico, California is known as the home of California State University Chico and Bidwell Park. It is also home to around 80,000 residents, making it a rather large small town. Yet, somehow we’ve managed to keep that “small-town feel” alive in this thriving college town. Chico is home to an economy thriving almost solely on small, privately-owned, local businesses. Our Main Street is full of awesome boutiques, specialty retail stores, and some of the best restaurants and eateries in the North State. We are privileged to have so many graduates from the business programs (and others) at Chico State making a home in our small town and practicing what they’ve learned by branding and marketing our local businesses. It’s a wonderful place to visit and an even better place to live. The weather is perfect, our tree-lined streets are picturesque, and it is the perfect location for entrepreneurs to try their hand at owning and operating their own business. Regardless of constant growth and expansion into the open territories surrounding Chico, we’ve maintained that small-town appeal for years and years. Interested in small town living? Come see what you’re missing!
Aggy - what a small world! My older daughter, with her husband and 1 1/2 year old son live in Chico. Kim graduated from Chico State and my son-in-law works for Raley’s. They love it! I agree about their downtown..in fact, I’m travelling up there is weekend because the downtown is having a sidewalk sale event and this is, indeed, one town where you can browse all day in and out of small shops. My favorite is the root beer shop…every kind and brand. Yep, maybe Chico has managed to keep a very real, literal, Main Street.