Every once in a while I’m surprised by what my customers respond to. I have been harping, very nicely and calmly, about the benefits of shopping locally, and while some have absorbed the lesson, nothing has been more effective than a small flyer we had on the back of our newsletter called the 3/50 project.

The 3/50 project is the brainchild of Cinda Baxter, who posted it last March on her blog, Alwaysupward.com. Quite simply she thought about independent stores, not just bookstores (I found out the 3/50 project from my local pizza place), and how to save them. Her idea is to think about three businesses you’d miss if they were gone, and go spend money there. This absence approach, taking the dim, but sadly realistic view, of what *not* shopping local means seems to be getting through to customers. They are encouraged to spend some money at the independent store,  ideally $50 a month. The tag line is simple: Pick 3. Spend 50. Save your local economy.

This simple statement has had more customers coming in my waving their newsletters saying, "I finally get it." There is something about this little flyer that just gets the message across. And happily for us, they are spending money, and they feel good about it, and I feel good about it.

Go to their website — it’s full of great info and easy downloadable materials that can help you get the message about keeping consumer dollars in  your town. I see the 3/50 project working hand in hand with local Shop Local efforts. Honestly, the more ways I can help get my customers to understand why they should spend their money with me and the coffee shop, the toy store and the home goods stores in town, the more we’ll all thrive. And that’s a great thing.