Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Mathews Local government bad for business?

Home of The Little Marketing Department at
36 Court Street, Mathews
I live and own my business in Mathews County.  Not exactly a metropolis, but at this point of my life it is a quality of life thing, and I have some clients outside of the area - with e-mail, phones, and my convertible I can do business anywhere on the East Coast.

I love it here, it is a little bit of country and a little bit of Rock-n-Roll.  Its the best place on earth!

In Mathews County we are so blessed to have so many generous philanthropists of both money and time that we have such a beautiful community with low tax rates.

When people in Mathews see something that needs fixin' they call their friends, and get it done.  No whining.  No complaining.  No bragging.  Just feeling good about doing something good for the place you call home.  This is a great way of life, that is lost on most of today's society.  I love the role I get to play in our community.

Historic Mathews Courthouse, home to the
"Court Green" where Mathews Market Days takes place and
will celebrate 40 Years in September
.
Twice a year we have two huge events that bring people from outside Mathews to Mathews to shop, check out our beautiful waterways, and see the wonderful community our volunteers have made possible.  These events are Mathews Market Days and the Tour De Chesapeake.  Both are wonderful events organized by volunteer committees.

Just to let you know how amazing we are, Mathews was selected as the Fifth Coolest Town in America by Budget Travel this year.

For years Mathews County, approved by the Board of Supervisors (our local governing board - you may have a City or Town Council) has paid for the insurance for these huge events.

This is my dog Libby at one of our
beautiful beaches in Mathews.
From a business owners perspective, these events bring business to Mathews County, and visitors spend lots of money eating, drinking, shopping in our unique shops and art galleries and staying at our awesome cottages and B&B's - one Mathews B&B, The Inn at Tabbs Creek, was even selected as one of Virginia's top three B&B's by Virginia Living Magazine.

As a citizen it is nice to have the increased sales, with sales tax collected, but no strain on long term county services.

It is a win win.

This is the second year that the volunteer chairmen of these committees had to practically beg for the County to provide insurance for these events.

THIS BOTHERS ME!

Mathews has minimal governmental services.
No chamber of commerce.
No Economic Development Department.
So everything that happens is through the Board of Supervisors, individual business owners, and the volunteers mentioned above who give so much of their time and treasure.

Let's think what would happen if Mathews Market Days and the Tour De Chesapeake organizers come to the conclusion that it is not worth the time and effort to raise the funds for the insurance, and decide that this is all a headache they'd rather not have.

What happens to these enormous events?  We don't have a Parks & Rec department to take over...  Who will organize these events?

Will the Board of Supervisors reimburse local businesses for the revenues lost?  Will they purchase the wares from local artists?  Will they tell the volunteer civic organizations who use these events to raise money for scholarships, or other needs in the County, that they are not able to raise this money unless they pay more?

Two Events, over four days of an entire year, and the Board of Supervisors balk over insurance policies?

Local governing boards need to look at the big picture for these events, and support volunteers in anyway they can.  Public service is about making certain the needs of the locality are met.  And yes, large festivals are needed to bring people to small localities that are pretty darn cool like Mathews.

This is my personal, local tale, but does your local government step on its own feet making you feel like you need to work harder to keep your business where you live?

As a business owner you have to be willing to fight for what is right to create an environment that will allow you to stay in business and make a profit.

Until next time!

Kindest Regards,
Jen Little
@littlejenlittle (tweet, tweet)
write me any time:
Jen@thelittlemarketingdepartment.com


Saturday, August 24, 2013

Welcome

Welcome to The Little Marketing Department Blog...  I'm Jen Little, owner and founder this marketing, advertising and business development firm.  

I hope through this site we can share ideas, and brainstorm on making our businesses and non-profits better.

In the mean time be sure to like The Little Marketing Department on facebook and check out The Little Marketing Department on the web to learn more.

Cheers!
Jen Little
Your Marketing Director