Growing Local Value

Table of contents

1. Cover Page
2. Title Page
3. Copyright Page
4. Letter from the Editor of the Social Venture Network Series
5. Acknowledgments
6. INTRODUCTION Why local?
7. 1 Customer and community first
   1. Partnering with Customers: The Longfellow Clubs, Wayland, Massachusetts
   2. An Idea Whose Time Had Not Come
   3. Balancing Pricing for Profit with Reaching a Broader Customer Base
   4. Best Practices in Partnering with Customers
   5. Take Care of Your Customer and Your Community: TAGS Hardware, Cambridge, Massachusetts
   6. Personalizing Your Product: The King’s English Book Shop, Salt Lake City, Utah
   7. Connecting Customers with the Community: Joie de Vivre Hospitality, San Francisco, California
   8. Lessons Learned: Partnering with Customers
8. 2 Values-based financing
   1. Sources of Capital
   2. Banks and Credit Unions
   3. Venture Capital, Private Equity, and Angels
   4. Nonprofits and Foundations
   5. City, County, State, and Federal Government Agencies
   6. Friends and Family
   7. Business Stakeholders
   8. Unconventional Financing
   9. Partnering with Investors: City Fresh Foods, Roxbury, Massachusetts
   10. Bootstrapping Is Tough Business
   11. Balancing the Needs of Entrepreneurs with the Needs of Financial Partners
   12. Best Practices in Partnering with Investors
   13. Partnering with Socially Conscious Investors: Small Potatoes Urban Delivery, Vancouver, British Columbia
   14. Partnering with a Local Bank Committed to the Community: ANSCO Real Estate, Chicago, Illinois
   15. Lessons Learned: Partnering with Investors
9. 3 Partnering with your employees
   1. Partnering with Employees: The Greyston Bakery, Yonkers, New York
   2. When Expanding a Business, Add Expertise
   3. Balancing the Need for Technology with the Mission of Providing Jobs
   4. Best Practices in Partnering with Employees
   5. Building New Business: Zingerman’s Delicatessen, Ann Arbor, Michigan
   6. Creating an Employee-Owned Company: South Mountain Company, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts
   7. Supporting Employees in Becoming Homeowners: Rejuvenation, Portland, Oregon
   8. Lessons Learned: Partnering with Employees
10. 4 Business networking for local value
    1. Partnering with Other Businesses: The White Dog Cafe, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    2. Don’t Order Your Chickens until the Financing Hatches
    3. Balancing Buying from Local Farmers with Maintaining Consistency and Efficiency
    4. Best Practices in Partnering with Other Businesses
    5. Promoting Local Agriculture: Higgins Restaurant, Portland, Oregon
    6. Building an Inner-City Business: Roxbury Technology Corporation, Boston, Massachusetts
    7. Lessons Learned: Partnering with Other Businesses
11. 5 Creating partnerships with nonprofits
    1. Partnering with Nonprofits: Hanna Andersson, Portland, Oregon
    2. Apply Business Smarts to Your Giving
    3. Balancing Profitability with a Costly Social Mission Program
    4. Best Practices in Partnering with Nonprofits
    5. Adopting a Nonprofit: Wild Planet Toys, San Francisco, California
    6. Creating Horizons for Homeless Children: Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Boston, Massachusetts
    7. Cause-Related Marketing: Tom’s of Maine, Kennebunk, Maine
    8. Lessons Learned: Partnering with Nonprofits
12. 6 Making sustainability your competitive advantage
    1. Partnering with the Environment: Gardener’s Supply, Burlington, Vermont
    2. It’s Not Good Business If It Doesn’t Make Money
    3. Balancing the Need for Marketing Materials with a Concern for Increasing the Waste Stream
    4. Best Practices in Partnering with the Environment
    5. Revitalizing and Preserving an Inner-City Neighborhood: Bazzani Associates, Grand Rapids, Michigan
    6. Producing and Processing Nutritious Food: Seven Stars Yogurt, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania
    7. Lessons Learned: Partnering with the Environment
13. 7 Collaborating with government
    1. Partnering with Government Agencies: The American Reading Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    2. Partner with Those Who Have the Most at Stake
    3. Balancing Passion with Patience
    4. Best Practices in Partnering with Government Agencies
    5. Encouraging Children to Read More: Powell’s Books, Portland, Oregon
    6. Constructing an Environmentally Friendly Building: New Seasons Market, Portland, Oregon
    7. Moving People off Welfare and into Jobs That Pay a Living Wage: Cascade Engineering, Grand Rapids, Michigan
    8. Lessons Learned: Partnering with Government Agencies
14. 8 Building a bridge to the future
    1. Building a Legacy and a Source of Community Pride
    2. Joining Together to Build a Better Community and a Better World
    3. Love
15. Notes
16. Suggested Reading
17. Resources
18. Index
19. About Social Venture Network
20. About the Authors