The Hickory Algorithm
The aftermath of snow in our quiet town: Have we learned nothing from COVID and the impact that snow closures have on our small businesses?
After the ice rain.
After the multiple inches of snow on top of that ice rain.
At what moment did you think,
“I wonder how our small business owners are doing in our quiet town of Hickory, North Carolina?”
Snow, everywhere snow
Last time, I experience snow in our quiet town, it laid on the ground for about three hours and then the sun came out and in a blink of an eye it was gone.
This time it wasn’t.
Our town came to a halt.
We enjoyed time with our families, hot chocolates, doom scrolling, board games and walking around our neighborhoods seeing snow men, kids sliding down their yards, dogs having the time of their lives, heck - someone even made a functioning igloo in their front yard in my neighborhood.
Our quiet town was shut down for nearly two weeks. Small businesses didn’t open and the kids were off of school.
My professional background was working in a grocery store for over 20 years in Pittsburgh, PA. I would joke about how we should take our advertising dollars and just pay off a weather man. Talk about ROI!
⬆️ I talked with my Denny’s buddy - COACH MIKE about this exact thing - Click Above for our episode. Please, disregard the eldest Goldby Child making soup behind me. ⬆️
The problem is, if you're not a grocery store, amazon, or have any kind of delivery service you have to shut down.
Rent still needs paid.
Telling your employees that they aren’t going to have work isn’t something a small business owner wants to do either.
They still have bills to pay and while the snow maybe fun for the time being. Two weeks is a long time when you're a small business owner.
A long time.
The Margins
Grocery stores make about 25+% on their products. So when a snow scare or in our case a snow storm comes around, their business can increase by 60%. If a normal sales day is 40 thousand dollars, now increase that by 60%!
Yeah! Thats some money!
How much more were your purchases at the grocery store leading up to a snow storm?
Substantial right?
When was the last time you spent that much money in a small business that wasn’t a franchise?
The small businesses around our town are making higher margins than a grocery store but by no stretch of the imagination are they getting that high of a ring like a full shopping cart before a snow storm.
They can’t make money being closed, regardless of margins.
First thing that comes to mind
I can’t help but think of the great coffee and specialty drink shops we have around downtown like:
Tasteful Beans
Happy Sips
The Chapter House
Chai Kona
The places we go almost every day to get a drink and possibly have appointments.
These places become second nature.
We learn the employees names, have a laugh, and over time the places we visit become part of our day to day algorithms.
Did we stop drinking coffee because we were snowed in?
Nope, we started making our own coffee at home and guess what?
Much cheaper.
Over those cold snowy two weeks maybe you thought about not drinking so much coffee at your favorite coffee shop while being snowed in? It’ll save you money right?
What effect does that have on these small businesses?
Yes, they were closed but, maybe a few people convinced themselves they didn’t want to spend that money anymore?
Chai Kona, just opened, how much has the snow causing closure set them back?
These are the questions, as a community, we have to ask ourselves if we truly value our small businesses.
Covid was 6 years ago
You don’t forget that madness right?
People tend to look back at that time and say “that was wild.”
I look back and think of all the businesses I had to watch close and never - ever reopen.
Man, I remember a restaurant owner delivering chicken sandwiches every night around our neighborhood at the beginning of the pandemic trying to keep his place open, pay his people, and trying to find a way to keep his #forloveofthegame open.
He couldn’t.
We watch as small businesses on the Hickory Bubble announce they are closing. We watch and comment as we are in ‘shock’ that these type of places we love close.
They close and never reopen.
Am I being a little radical?
Maybe.
But, I would rather speak up then watch something I care about slowly fade away.
Such a downer, Chris - geeeez
Yeah, it was only two weeks. Completely different, covid vs 2 weeks of being snowed in.
All I’m saying is, if you're going out tonight with your main squeeze, or going out this weekend for Valentine’s day.
Grab a coffee at your favorite small business drink spot. Coffee or otherwise.
Buy some flowers at the farmer’s market.
Stop in to your favorite small business.
Walk in and just say hi to places in Downtown like Far out Records, Carolina Crafted, Lilly Thomas, and any other small business you have patronized in our quiet town.
Ask them how business is going. Even if you don’t buy anything these small business owners want to know that people are back, not coming back - are back.
Let’s avoid our favorite small business giving us closing updates on the Hickory Bubble?
For the love of the game baby.
Connecting you to the algorithm of Hickory, North Carolina.
Chris Goldby is a writer and multimedia storyteller based in Hickory, North Carolina. He owns The Hickory Algorithm a hyper focused lens on Hickory, NC and is a contributing writer and Head of Documentary/Docu-series with Akula Literary Partners.