Small Businesses are Waving Arms – For Your Business!
In a difficult economy, local business owners are doing what they can to attract people to their businesses. Putting out sandwich boards, hanging banners, or messages in windows are some of the passive ways that small businesses are attempting to gain the attention of passers-by. As a town, we should be doing what we can to support our local businesses in their efforts to stay afloat. At the same time, we must establish a standard for display that is in keeping with our end goal of improving the aesthetic appeal of our community.
As a beginning, we must review our current business ordinances that affect both current and newcomer businesses and thoughtfully determine what amendments, additions and/or deletions are necessary to achieve a “business-friendly” environment. Hosting a business owners’ forum with town officials and employees would help everyone to gain an understanding of each others’ needs, and bring insight and awareness to both sides, allowing us to create a more thoughtful set of ordinances that will achieve the goals of both the town and the business owners alike. Talk to a business owner in Indian Trail, and you will oftentimes be met with an exasperated sigh. Too many inconsistencies and stringent rules are typically the cause.
As an example, a common theme of complaint from business owners is the sign ordinance. We need to allow our local businesses to convey a “We are open, come on in!” message to drivers-by in order to help them to survive in today’s economy. Ordinances that restrict a business’s “call-to-action” only serve to hurt business overall. To me, it portrays a sense of community when a business is “on the sidewalk,” so to speak, and able to be visually engaging. People respond to an “open-for-business” message. Prohibiting businesses from such activities, especially in this economy, I feel is a disservice to our local business owners, and even to our residents who may want to be engaged in a visually interactive and lively community.
At the same time, in keeping with my platform message of “Town Beautification,” such displays must meet a reasonable, established set of criteria that holds our local businesses to a standard that is in keeping with our end goal of an aesthetically appealing Indian Trail. In addition, I do not agree with the concept of signage that has to look exactly the same for each business in a commercial area. Businesses spend thousands of dollars and lengths of time on creating their branding, and such restrictions are not pro-business.
Our approach to business, especially in this struggling economy, should be “How can we help to ensure this new business succeeds?“ I am confident…there IS a happy medium out there, and I am excited to have a part in finding it, if elected to the Indian Trail Town Council.