A local success + Happy Hardware Day Nov. 20!

Who's got the cheapest lumber in town? The cheapest mortar?

Think the best prices are way out at Lowe's? 

Think again. 

Shuman-Owens Supply Co., located just 5 minutes from downtown Columbia, SC, is a brick's throw from the S.C. State Fair Grounds and Gamecock Stadium.

And it's one of the last independent, locally-owned hardware stores in Columbia.








Despite the slump in the building trades and consumer flight to suburban big box retailers, this Shop Road standard is somehow creaming the big box retailers. How are they managing to succeed in such a tough climate?

Buy SC Local Success Spotlight:

 
Local Hardware Store Hammers the Big Box

What is this small business doing right?

"Well, for starters," says local stonemason Jefferson Hubbell, "Shuman-Owens is cheaper than Lowe's for just about everything I need on the job."

He gives an example: "If you need a 75 lb. bag of mortar for a masonry job," he notes, "Shuman-Owens will charge you $8, while a smaller, 70-pound bag will cost you $10 at Lowe's.

This really makes a difference when you're in a business that requires hundreds of bags of mortar per year."

(Choosing this local hardware store for just 10 bags of mortar per week for a year would indeed save you over $1000.

Not exactly chump change.)


The low prices don't quit on building materials, even as a project scales upwards.

"If your client needs a million dollars' worth of western cedar timber for his  post-and-beam hunting lodge," Hubbell adds, "Shuman-Owens will source it for less per board foot than pretty much any competitor in the Southeast."

A true family-run business

"The service makes a big difference for me," says Hubbell. "It's a family-run business."

""I've been going into Shuman-Owens for near 20 years, and it feels good. We know each other." 

While there are certainly a fair share of friendly, knowledgeable staff working at big box retailers like Lowe's, it's hard to beat the personal level of service that a local, independently-owned business can provide.

It's up to consumers to support these local businesses by voting with your hardware dollars. 

Read reporter Kristy Eppley Rupon's recent story in The State, "Hammered: Hardware stores pushed out by big-box retailers, economy" 

http://www.thestate.com/2010/08/23/1429381/hammered-hardware-stores-pushed.html#ixzz13200kYHa

And then take action!

1. Take your free spot in the new Buy SC directory of locally owned small businesses:

Sign up here: http://www.buysc.org

2. Fly the Buy SC badge on your website, Facebook fan page, etc., and ask us for a Buy SC sticker -- just like the one you see below on the front door of Shuman-Owens!

3. Talk up Happy Hardware Day, Saturday, Nov. 20! It's the first installment of our new "Local Has It" action campaign series here at the nonprofit SC Small Business Chamber, and we're really excited.

Shuman-Owens flies the Buy SC badge!

HAPPY HARDWARE DAY!

On Saturday, November 20, 2010, go and shop at independent, locally owned hardware stores throughout South Carolina. Spread the word!

You can print the Happy Hardware Day poster below, upload it to your website and Facebook, and pass on this call to action to your own social networks. It's up to all of us!

Spread the word! Let's Buy SC!

Huge thanks to the talented graphic designer Karen Williford, who designed the Happy Hardware Day poster *and* the Buy SC logo for the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce.

Wake up call for business owners -- big and small

Very interesting piece by financial columnist James Surowiecki, excerpted from The New Yorker:

ILLUSTRATION: CHRISTOPH NIEMANN 

(reposted with respect from The New Yorker)

"In the nineteen-eighties, a new kind of chain store came to dominate American shopping: the “category killer.” These stores killed off all competition in a category by stocking a near-endless variety of products at prices that small retailers couldn’t match. Across America, independent stores went out of business, and the suburban landscape became freckled with Toys R Us, CompUSA, and Home Depot superstores. 

But the category killers’ reign turned out to be more fragile than expected. In the past decade, CompUSA and Circuit City have disappeared. Toys R Us has struggled to stay afloat, and Barnes & Noble is in the midst of a boardroom battle prompted by financial woes. And, last month, Blockbuster finally admitted the inevitable and declared Chapter 11."

"The obvious reason for all this is the Internet; Blockbuster’s demise, for one, was inextricably linked to the success of Netflix. But this raises a deeper question: why didn’t the category killers colonize the Web the way they colonized suburbia? That was what pundits expected. Companies like Blockbuster, the argument went, had customer expertise, sophisticated inventory management, and strong brands. And, unlike the new Internet companies, they’d be able to offer customers both e-commerce and physical stores—“clicks and mortar. It seemed like the perfect combination..." (Read more http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2010/10/18/101018ta_talk_surowiecki#ixzz12Alkr2YC)

While the demise of any business is not good news for a community, this turn of events does raise some good questions for small business owners.

What are *you* doing to prepare your small business for the ongoing technological shifts in the way our culture buys and sells?

Part of our mission here at the nonprofit South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce is to help SC's small business community grow and maximize ROI.



Two simple action items for you:

1. Join our free BuySC online business directory at http://www.buysc.org!

2. Come to our next small business seminar!
 


BuySC Micro-Conference: 
5 Steps To Business Freedom with Keith Spiro

Wednesday, November 10
6:00pm - 8:00pm

Olympia Room, Second Floor of the 701 Whaley Building

701 Whaley Street

Columbia, SC, 29201

Price: Free for paying SCSBCC members / $5 Basic Members (free membership) /$10 for non-members. 

Become a member for free, and save $5!

Refreshments and hors d'oeuvres for the reception will be provided courtesy of our event sponsor: 

Mac's On Main!

Please register at www.buysc.eventbrite.com

 

To learn more about SCSBCC membership, please go to http://www.scsbc.org/membership

About the Lecture:

Why do 90% of businesses fail within the first 10 years?

* 78% lack a solid business plan
* 73% are being overly optimistic about sales
* 77% are not pricing their products or services properly
* 70% don't recognize or ignore their weaknesses and don't seek help

Turn those threats to your company into business freedom. Come learn concrete practical ways to steer clear and head toward freedom in your business.

About the SCSBCC:

The South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit advocacy organization representing the general interests of small business.

For more information please go to www.scsbc.org, www.buysc.org or contact Stephanie Lombardo, Membership Coordinator at 803-252-5733 / Stephanie@scsbc.org