Aug 4, 2012

Small Business Saturday: Community Building One Mom and Pop Store at a TimeBy Carol FisherFlagerLive.com

Flagler, FL – Almost every day at the BeachHouse Beanery I feel that I make some special connection with at least one visitor, usually several times a day. A month or so ago, I overheard a conversation in which one woman was looking for an apartment in Flagler Beach, as she’d been “camping out” with relatives for quite some time. I just happened to know about an apartment close by that had just been vacated. I excused myself for eavesdropping, but suggested she check out that apartment. We talked a bit, I called my landlord, and a week later she moved in.

Since then Mary Beth visits us each day, and is a great addition to our “regular crowd”. I soon learned that she knew nothing about the sea turtle nesting happening on our beaches, so I told her what I knew. One day at the Beanery I introduced her to another regular, Patti, who is a turtle patrol volunteer, and they became fast friends. My new friend got to see baby leatherbacks hatching Sunday evening, and could not stop talking about it today. She was hooked! She plans to become a Turtle Patrol volunteer.

Small businesses, as you can see, aren’t just about business. They’re about community building. But small businesses don;t just happen.

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