The 3/50 Project

[soonerguru]

I applaud efforts to try to shop locally, when possible. Unfortunately, its not always possible and unfortunately, the big box stores simply have prices that are so much better you can't avoid them. However, with the Wal Mart bashing that has taken place in these threads lately, I have to ask - have you personally ever known a Wal Mart employee who has had a real complaint about the company? I can't say that I have known many but the 3 I know have no complaints. Neither do they have great expectations from the company.

My goodness. Yes, as a matter of fact I have. But the volume of information on this subject is enormous and widely available. I don't think anecdotal information on OKCTalk holds as much sway.

I too avoid spending even a penny in Wal-Mart or any Wal-Mart-affiliated companies, such as Sam's Club and/or Neighborhood Market.

For groceries, I spend as much as I can at Crest Foods, and when I need seafood and other stuff, I go to the fish market or Homeland.

By the way, Crest Foods is just as cheap as Wal-Mart, and even cheaper for some stuff.

[Larry OKC]

My goodness. Yes, as a matter of fact I have. But the volume of information on this subject is enormous and widely available. I don't think anecdotal information on OKCTalk holds as much sway.

I too avoid spending even a penny in Wal-Mart or any Wal-Mart-affiliated companies, such as Sam's Club and/or Neighborhood Market.

For groceries, I spend as much as I can at Crest Foods, and when I need seafood and other stuff, I go to the fish market or Homeland.

By the way, Crest Foods is just as cheap as Wal-Mart, and even cheaper for some stuff.

I used to shop almost exclusively at the bigger Crest in Mid-Del (pre Walmart getting into the grocery business). Was thrilled when Crest opened stores in Edmond and then on NW 23rd, but sad to say, their prices weren't anything like the Mid-Del location. Wasn't impressed at all and really haven't been back. Only time to shop at Homeland is if they have a really good ad special going but even those you have to watch out for. If you buy anything off the ad, then they are getting back anything you "saved" with the special.

Years ago, took Homelands BOGO ad to Crest and on every identical item that Crest carried, their everyday price was cheaper than Homelands BOGO price (except one item, where Homeland was a cent cheaper).

Have done similar experiments with Walmart and similar results. But then again, you have to price compare Walmarts as they will have significantly different prices too. For some reason, Walmart doesn't think they have to price match themselves.

But have heard 1st hand encounters of Crest employees that put the Walmart bashers to shame.

[Spartan]

Why are we talking about Wal-Mart in every thread?

[dmoor82]

^^^^LOL,Well ya know ol'Sam Walton was born in Kingfisher,We just like supporting our good ol' boys!j/k I've noticed this too Spartan!

[gracefor24]

Franchises really don't do local advertising at their own expense though. That's part of the point of going with a franchise is that you're buying into the broader corporation's image that is the corporation's responsibility to promote.

I agree though that they're not BAD but they're not GREAT either. And yeah, it's with the big boxes, that you start adding other consumer ethics issues, not to mention planning issues especially..

This isn't entirely true because I owned a franchise and we advertised locally out of our own pocket all the time. We definitely benfitted from national advertising but not all franchises are equal in that respect either. We spent quite a bit of money advertising in local papers and other things.

[CCOKC]

I am a member of the OK Food Coop and a friend of Urban Agrarian on Facebook. I've mentioned it before but it bears repeating buy local food. The Urban Agrarian sells food to local restaurants such as BTT. When you buy from these local restaurants you are doubly helping the local folks.
Uaoklahoma

[Millie]

Glad to see The 3/50 Project has made its way into an OKC discussion--every voice counts!

While franchises are typically (not always) owned by someone local, they aren't considered "locally owned independents" due to the amount of outside corporate support they get from the parent company. A few examples of the additional services available to franchise and chain store owners are legal advice, lease input, guidance on employee issues, special vendor programs, and marketing materials. When a national brand runs an magazine ad or television campaign, all franchises benefit. When their corporate name goes up on a store sign, it comes with an established consumer audience and name recognition.

A true independent carries the weight of all those responsibilities and more on their shoulders, alone, making them wholly responsible for every single decision and item their business touches. They're the epitome of "tough it out and make it work" American spirit.

The 3/50 Project seeks to support those amazing independent brick and mortar businesses--from gift shops to restaurants to dry cleaners to movie theaters--as they duke it out in a cluttered landscape of national and regional brand names with deeper pockets and corporate backing. It's that spirit, combined with the greater amount of revenue returned to the community, that makes them real superhero standouts in our eyes!

For more info and details about The 3/50 Project, please visit our site: The350Project.net. Be sure to check out the FAQ page too, where there's lots of great info about the ins and outs of what we do.

Here’s to big things ahead for all the little guys out there,

Cinda Baxter
Founder
The 3/50 Project
The 3/50 Project website

Please provide sources for your assertions about the amount of money that franchises bring in vs. local businesses. The numbers on your site are not even close to numbers I've seen in other places and I'm interested about how you're interpreting your data.

[fuzzytoad]

I'm kinda interested in why the 3/50 site is using cafepress.com to host instead of a local-run hosting establishment.

[mugofbeer]

I'm kinda interested in why the 3/50 site is using cafepress.com to host instead of a local-run hosting establishment.

[fuzzytoad]

what?

[LakeEffect]

I'm kinda interested in why the 3/50 site is using cafepress.com to host instead of a local-run hosting establishment.

Because 3/50 is a national project... otherwise they'd have to farm out each shirt to places in every 3/50 supporting community. Sounds nice, but a logistical nightmare.

[fuzzytoad]

Because 3/50 is a national project... otherwise they'd have to farm out each shirt to places in every 3/50 supporting community. Sounds nice, but a logistical nightmare.

huh??

A 12-year old can build a hosting site in his bedroom closet that will reach a worldwide audience. Are you telling me that Cinda couldn't find a locally-owned, locally-run hosting company because it wouldn't reach a national audience?? Or a locally-owned tshirt/tchotchkes vendor who has access to a mailbox?

If she's gonna talk the talk, she should walk it

[ddavidson8]

It is a great idea. The only problem is most Oklahomans spend their money at chains. They don't have as much pride in local businesses as other areas of the country have.

In Oregon everyone is pretty aware of the local businesses and support them. I wish Okahoma had the same support.

I KNOW Oklahoma sucks so bad and Oregon rulz.

[savage99]

I'm always dismayed when I see millions of dollars going out of our community for those giant Disney shows at the Civic Center and other venues around town. Pennies on the dollar stay in town as sales tax. Fat cats getting fatter somewhere else while amazing local theater struggles. Same story.

[lasomeday]

Pretty much, when it comes to helping local businesses.

[ddavidson8]

lmfao at the emoticons.

[betts]

On the other hand, I'd like to worry less about the management decisions of the people who came up with this idea, and talk about the fact that it is a great idea for us and our community. It's my new year's resolution, although I was already trying to follow the principles before I read about this project.

[ddavidson8]

I love the 3/50 idea. So don't get me wrong. But if restaurants are included in this I would say that a sizeable chunk of people have been donig this in OKC for years. How many people spend $50 a month on places like Niños, Cocino de Mino, Laredos, Casa Perico...??? One thing that OKCers seem to love is supporting local Okie-Mex establishments.

[fuzzytoad]

I love the 3/50 idea. So don't get me wrong. But if restaurants are included in this I would say that a sizeable chunk of people have been donig this in OKC for years. How many people spend $50 a month on places like Niños, Cocino de Mino, Laredos, Casa Perico...??? One thing that OKCers seem to love is supporting local Okie-Mex establishments.

yeah, that's one of the things I'm not understanding about this..

even if you don't include restaurants, I'd have a really hard time *not* spending at least $50 a month in locally-owned businesses. Maybe I'm not typical, but it seems like this idea is geared more towards cities that are made up of almost nothing but national or global chains.

[ddavidson8]

We bitch, bitch, bitch about how OKC is attached to chain stores and it doesn't support local buisnesses. Move to Houston and see just how many local dining or shopping activities you have. I'd say the ratio isn't much higher than it is in OKC. Unless you want to drive 30 miles from your house in the suburbs to one of the little shopping communities that does have some stores (like the stores on Western). Of course driving that much will only anger people from Oregon. Save the planet, global warming in 13 degree weather and all.

[David]

huh??

A 12-year old can build a hosting site in his bedroom closet that will reach a worldwide audience. Are you telling me that Cinda couldn't find a locally-owned, locally-run hosting company because it wouldn't reach a national audience?? Or a locally-owned tshirt/tchotchkes vendor who has access to a mailbox?

If she's gonna talk the talk, she should walk it

If you look at her FAQ, there is an explanation as to why they are using Cafe Press as their t-shirt printer.

[Spartan]

We bitch, bitch, bitch about how OKC is attached to chain stores and it doesn't support local buisnesses. Move to Houston and see just how many local dining or shopping activities you have. I'd say the ratio isn't much higher than it is in OKC. Unless you want to drive 30 miles from your house in the suburbs to one of the little shopping communities that does have some stores (like the stores on Western). Of course driving that much will only anger people from Oregon. Save the planet, global warming in 13 degree weather and all.

That isn't true, davidson. Houston is chock full of local establishments. One of my uncles owns a very cool pizza restaurant in Montrose, just north of the Rice Village area. Imagine the Bricktown Brewery, but a pizzeria.

One of my favorite locally owned restaurants is Chewy's off of Westheimer, and I loooove Antonio's Flying Pizza on Fondren. Wow just don't get me started on the quality of Houston's local establishments.

Part of the deal is that Houston is the easiest city in the world to open a business in. Due to the general lack of zoning and building requirements, there are no limits to how dense or how urban developers can build in Houston like there are everywhere else. Of course this kind of thing would only work in Houston where there is so much development and disposable income that projects naturally gravitate towards quality.

There is a legitimate culture inside the Beltway 8 that doesn't support chain restaurants. And that's probably 2/3rds of the city's 2 million residents. Unfortunately the suburbs are all about the chain restaurants, but having an army of 1.5 million people behind local establishments can go a long ways towards a unique city.

[lasomeday]

Yeah, I used to go to that Chuy's twice a week when I was auditing down in Houston and staying in the Galleria. Chuy's is actually based out of Austin. That is where the original Chuys is located, and where one of the Bush girls was caught under aged drinking.

Back to OKC talk.

Mustang has a problem with chains and local restaurants closing. They had two local restaurants close in the last few months because the locals didn't eat at them. One was a really good hamburger and gelato place Leno's. I never went there, but my parents loved it. Another was a local coffee place called Charlie Bean. It was pretty good.

There is a great Cajun food place in Yukon called the Big Easy, it is awesome! I worry that it won't make it because it is located on Route 66 and it has never been busy when I have been there. The food is great and they give you a ton of food for the price.

Maybe we should list some great local places on here, so people are aware of them.