We all want more businesses in our towns. More businesses mean more jobs for our people, more children in our schools, more families participating in activities like church and youth sports, and generally speaking, more people and money in town.
Last summer, I wrote about the desire to attract “good jobs” and the futility of attempting to attract a large employer without having a local labor force that can supply that employer. The only way to grow a labor force is to attract more people to town and the only way to attract more people to town is to provide employment opportunity, so it is something of a chicken-or-the-egg proposition.
That brings me to small business. The federal Small Business Administration (SBA) defines “small business” as any business with less than 500 employees. This encompasses 99.9% of businesses I the United States in 2021. The SBA reported that small businesses created 64% of American jobs between 1993 and 2011. Small businesses employee approximately one-half of the American labor force. But the same SBA studies found that small business job creation is in decline and has been declining for three decades.
This decline is partly due to a key reason: it is getting harder to start a small business in several ways. Federal and state burdens (licensing, taxes, and more) can be a challenge. Aspiring business owners often do not know where to start and may be frightened of running afoul of regulators. In some jurisdictions, local regulations are just as burdensome. That is not the case in Stamford and many other rural communities. If you’d like to start a business here, the local burden is remarkably easy. Then there’s the cost of overhead. Unless you have pre-existing financial independence, investing in a new business can be challenging, particularly if that requires the purchase of real estate, equipment, and/or inventory. Banks are not always willing or able to loan money to a start-up that has limited collateral and no guarantee of future success.
This brings me back to the farmer’s market. Bet you didn’t expect that plot twist, huh?
Over the years, smart cities of all sizes have discovered that farmer’s markets are fantastic incubators for small businesses. A local retail start-up may have a fantastic product with incredible potential, but what if they cannot invest six figures to renovate a downtown building? What if they cannot realistically afford the rent that would be required for someone else to renovate the building for them? Well, they might be able to pay the rent on a stand at a local farmer’s market.
I was awakened to this potential several years ago when I ate at Pecan Lodge in Dallas, one of Texas’ foremost barbecue restaurants. Their collard greens are worthy of their own essay, but I digress. You see, Pecan Lodge started as a part-time business at the Dallas Farmer’s Market. With that limited overhead, they built a business and became renowned among Texas barbecue junkies. Today, they have a gorgeous restaurant in in the heart of Dallas’ revitalized Deep Ellum district. Would that have been possible without a farmer’s market helping incubate their start-up business? That market continues to serve myriad other small artisans and food-based businesses. Some are there to stay and others are on their way to a larger business, but the farmer’s market helps each of them find their footing.
It’s not the only one. The National Main Street Center recently did a feature on their website entitled “Farmers Markets as a Transformation Strategy for Main Streets,” sharing a variety of examples in cities of all sizes. I would encourage you to look that up, because the examples are incredible and a model for communities all over.
Our communities need a thriving climate for small businesses. We cannot attract large businesses if we cannot attract small businesses. And if you want to help small business thrive, the farmer’s market might be the incubator that makes it possible.
📷: vintage photo of the bustling Stamford square from my office wall
James Decker is the Mayor of Stamford, Texas and the creator of the West of 98 website and podcast. Contact James and subscribe to these essays at westof98.substack.com and subscribe to West of 98 wherever podcasts are found.
As usual, Mayor, you're spot on! Farmer's markets are great places to start. A friend and I are trying to start a concept here in Corpus that's similar to micromarket in Midland https://www.instagram.com/micromarket.tx/ What those sister-in-laws have created out there is inspiring.