Can you believe it's right around the corner?

Valentine's, that is. Wow! Before I know it spring will be here and and the nursery will be rockin' . If you are looking for an easy (and local) Valentine for that special someone....let us take of it for you at Creekside Nuseries. Maybe you want to do a little more? Well, why don't you add a meal from here. Does your furry friend need a treat for the special day as well? Look no further.

Wow! Don't you feel good? You've got your shopping done and you never had to leave your neighborhood! Encourage your friends to do business in Rocky Hill, too. 

If you don't live or shop here...you will.

Missy

A New Era?

So, does everyone feel different after the inauguration of Obama? It seems everyone was waiting with baited breath for what would happen next. The stock market didn't like his speech very much. After watching tv for the past few months, I think there are people out there who really thought all of their problems were going to vanish into the wind. Have you seen this? Is that what we are turning into? I hope not. I hope people aren't going to sit around on their couch and wait for that Obama check to show up in the mail. Does Rocky Hill really suffer from this attitude? I haven't really seen it much. 

I want to think that I can go out there and work hard and treat my customers right and be successful. I know that there is never a guarantee, but I must say that I believe in a free enterprise system. I believe you control your own destiny. Can the market correct itself without help from the government? I don't know. I would like to think so. If the government DOES try to correct this, will it then tell me what to do with all of my money? Or, will it take my money and give it to someone it considers worthy? Will it tell me what I can or cannot sell in my store? I think these are all things that people need to consider when thinking about all of this "change" that they want. What do you REALLY want to change about this country, but more importantly, what do you want to keep the same?

The Lipstick Indicator

I found a very interesting article in one of my trade magazines for the garden-center industry this week. It describes what is known as the "lipstick indicator". The cosmetics industry reports that during times of economic instability, lipstick sales go up. Now, why is this? Well, think about it....OK, did you think about it? 

It's a lot easier to buy a $10 tube of lipstick when times are tough than to buy a $500 outfit. A tube of lipstick is instant gratification. I don't know about you, but I would say that close to 100% of the time when I buy a new lipstick, I put it on as soon as I get in the car. As long as the color is good, I feel better immediately. (Guys, just take my word for it. Or maybe ask your wife, girlfriend, or friend, or get real crazy and just trust me on this one.)

So in these tough times those of us who are retailers need to be looking at what this article dubbed, "affordable indulgences". Look for items that are going to make your customer feel better right then, for little $. Who doesn't want that, really?

Now, I know a lot of folks in Rocky Hill/Northshore are realtors, and I don't know how you guys can go about using this exercise. I will tell you this...if you find some $25 houses you are going to make a lot of people happy. (Marty, if you find any of those, call us and I'll owe you a beer. ha ha) 

If you don't live or shop here...you will.

**If you would like to read this entire article it is from Garden Chic magazine and entitled, "Inspired Retail" by John Stanley. My apologises to Garden Chic for not citing everything correctly, but I do love your magazine and wanted to share your thoughts with others. Please forgive me!

Getting back in the groove

Can you believe the holidays are over? This is the time of year when retailers take a deep breath and sit back (but just for a few minutes) and then they are OFF again. It's the time to sit down and really plan things out for the upcoming year. Many of my friends accross the country just got home from Atlanta where they shopped for the items customers will be buying next Christmas! Yeah, I know....but it's the nature of the beast. You have to stay one step ahead. It's one of the things that's the hardest to get used to for me. You are always in another season in your head. 

But what about Rocky Hill & Northshore? Looks like we are all staying busy! If you drive around here, you don't see the "For Rent" signs up in vacant store windows that you are seeing in other places around the city, state, or even country. We seem to be pretty lucky. I hope it stays that way. Please remember to Shop Local. So much depends on it. 

I'm going to start spotlighting the businesses in Rocky Hill & Northshore Drive once a week. So, check back often. You may learn something you didn't know. If you know of, or own, a business you would like for me to spotlight, please send me an email, or comment on the blog and I will get them on here!!

Remember...If you don't live or shop here...you will.

Missy

Why Shop Local...

Sometimes it seems so easy to drop in at the local "Big-Box"* retailer and pick up whatever you want or need, but do you really think about what you are doing to your local economy? More importantly, do your customers think about what they are doing to their community. (I think most of of ARE thinking about what you are doing locally. I mean, you're here, right?!?)

Here are some things that we need to think about...and more importantly, things we need to get our customers and clients to think about:

•Shopping local affects you more than shopping global. Come on, think about it. Your neighbor owns a small lunch counter, but you drive through the McBurger Palace everyday. Your neighbor can't pay his bills and his yard starts to look shabby because he has had to layoff all of his workers and doesn't have time to take care of his house because he is working all the time. Your property value starts to fall... Then your neighbor's house goes into foreclosure because you are still stuffing your face from McBurger Palace. Now your neighbor's house is sitting empty and a band of gypsies has moved in. Your property value has gone down, again... Now, had you NOT gone to McBurger Palace every day....well, your property value would be just fine.

•Shopping local is more fun. Honestly, do I really need to explain this to anyone? Challenge your customers/clients/guests to spend one week simply shopping local. I can 100% guarantee they will enjoy themselves more. This one is really a no brainer...

•Does it really cost more $ to shop locally? I mean, really? In most cases, you drive further, spend more time, often buy things other than what you need.  Isn't your time worth something? Mine is. 

The next time you are faced with obstacles for shopping local, really think about it and I bet you can come up with a good argument.

Suggestions? 

* no offense to the Big Boxes.

What it’s about, what I’m about

"Another blog?" 

"Why do I want to read that?" 

"What's this all about?" 

Well, here you go...

My name is Melissa Langley and my husband and I run a business on Northshore Drive in Knoxville, Tennessee, or to be more specific, Rocky Hill. Rocky Hill is a wonderfully diverse community in west Knoxville. There is everything here, from old-timers who remember when moonshine was run in the densely wooded hills along the river to new transplants from far away countries like Poland and Germany. Look around long enough and you can find just about anyone living in Rocky Hill and along Northshore Drive. But there is one thing we all have in common...we LOVE it here!

But I suppose that doesn't really tell you what this blog is about, does it? Well, since we own a business in this community and know so many others who have businesses as well, I wanted to create a place where business-owners could connect. So many communities now have their own "shop local" campaigns going on. Why can't we do that? We have everything we could want right here, but in these tough economic times, we need to make sure as many dollars as possible stay at home!

So, I am inviting all of Rocky Hill and Northshore to join me. In fact, I am inviting everyone to join me here. If you don't live or shop here...you will soon!

Missy Langley

Creekside Nurseries and Hardscapes

8718 South Northshore Drive