The New Economy Summit

You may have seen me mention recently that I'm giving a workshop about crowdfunding tonight at the South Side Innovation Center. I do tend to go on about such things. It's just an exciting topic. Crowdfunding is one of many things about the new economy that I get excited about. 

Crowdfunding is a simple idea to help people achieve their goals by sharing with them what you can. Having the crowd help you fund your goal. The idea of sharing like this plays a powerful role in the new economy. Sharing funds. Sharing ideas. Sharing resources. And sharing knowledge and insight. For me and a lot of other people, it started with sharing food. 

In communities, the new economy begins with the organizations that share. Organizations like Syracuse First (and the 80 other BALLE Local First campaigns across the country). Folks like the SSIC, Small Business Development Center, The Tech Garden, and Northside Up.  Its about shared use offices, studios, and kitchens. Using crowdfunding and microgrants to launch and grow businesses, get public art produced, and empower communities to find ways to feed themselves.

It's about trade that is fair, and based on direct relationships. It's cooperatively owned businesses and credit unions. It's about celebrating our history, while reimagining our future. 

For more and more people the the new economy is about food banks and community gardens.

It's also about farmers markets, community supported agriculture programs, food hubs, and permaculture. Farm to restaurant, farm to school, and farm to hospital. Pop-up dinners and pop-up markets. I like to think it's about Small Potatoes. 

And it's about sharing all these things with your friends and families. Neighbors and colleagues. And over the next week you'll have two great chances to do just that. 

On May 22 Syracuse First is hosting The New Economy sponsored by AmeriCU (my credit union for nearly 20 years, in case you were wondering), in order to "bring together a group of current and future community and business leaders, Local First advocates, and well-known economic development experts to develop solutions for a stronger local economy." Well that sounds like just the sort thing you want to do. Plus Judy Wicks is going to be there, which, you might not know yet, is reason enough to go. 

I'll be there leading a break out session about entrepreneurship with Mitch Patterson and Seth Mulligan from CenterSate CEO, where I'll be talking about the role of foodpreneurship in long term economic stability and community cultural change. 

FOR TICKETS TO THE NEW ECONOMY SUMMIT CLICK HERE. 

Your other chance is TODAY at my crowdfunding workshop, which you can register for here. 

We Want The Funk

I travel, what I would consider, a lot for work. Usually I’d say I get to travel for work. I like to get miles and miles and miles and miles. Just give me some SPACE! I list travel as a perk of the job. But the dudes in local funk & hip hop band Sophistafunk gobble up some miles, to the tune of almost 100,000 miles a year. Which means two things. 

They are working really hard for the opportunity to fill rooms with beats in order to make you, and every single person around you, shake their respective aaaaaasssssssssss (which they absolutely will do.) It means lots of long days after late nights and lots of sitting in a van, which ain’t so great on your body. 

Managing a life from the road can be tough too. Despite all that, when they play, the only people in the room smiling more than those folks attached to those shaking asses, is the dudes in Sophistafunk.

The other thing is that they are burning some gaaaaaaassss to move that ass. But what’s a band to do? Teleportation appears to still be years away. Some of you might say, you’ve gotta walk. But your ass is California. And your ass is in Maine. And your ass is in Virginia. And between here and there, there is countless asses achin’ for a shakin’. So you take a ride. And if you’re Sophistafunk, you convert the van to run on grease. 

Sophistafunk has been getting some serious love these days, including a great interview with the Village Voice. Unfortunately, mechanics rarely ever expect love as payment for converting your van to biodiesel. So to come up with the loot, they're running a crowdfunding campaign on IndieGoGo. But they're not  just stopping at converting the van. They're also looking to raise funds to put out a new album and go on tour in the UK. 

They've got some great perks like your own Sophistafunk concert or going on tour with band. Can't swing the big ticket items, how about just pre-buying their new album for $10? $25 will getcha the vinyl. My personal favorite is the Coupon book for 10 orders of chicken & waffles at Funk 'n Waffles. You get 10 amazing local, organic meals, and they get some grease to run the van. It's like crowdsourcing fuel. 

So if you've got a minut, check out their campaign, and to learn more about crowdfunding, check out our workshop this Wednesday, May 15th, at the South Side Innovation Center. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact Person: Martin Butts

315.345.8122

marty@iamsmallpotatoes.com

Small Potatoes To Host Workshop on Crowdfunding

Syracuse, NY May 3, 2013 

As banks have tightened the strings on loans, more and more entrepreneurs are looking for alternatives to fund their business start-ups or expansion. Increasingly, they are turning to crowdfunding sites like IndieGoGo and Kickstarter, where they are able to collect small contributions from family, friends, and strangers in exchange for “perks”. In 2012, businesses and individuals successfully crowdfunded $2.7 Billion, and that number is expected to grow to over $5 Billon for 2013. 

Crowdfunding is now part of the White House’s Start-Up America initiative and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Inc. Magazine. Done right it not only provides entrepreneurs with funding, but activates their personal network as brand ambassadors. 

Participants in this program will learn how to practically manage and promote an online crowdfunding campaign. We’'ll discuss platforms, developing a promotional plan, building a team, and other aspects of running a successful campaign.

Martin Butts & Small Potatoes, recent winners of a Slow Food CNY Snail of Approval ran a successful crowdfund campaign in 2011.  

EVENT DETAILS:

May 15, 2013

6:00-9:00pm at the South Side Innovation Center 

                      2610 South Salina Street

                      Syracuse, NY 13205

Cost is $20 per person. 

The workshop begins at 6, and will be followed by a mixer where attendees will be able to meet and talk with local people who have crowdfunded business start-ups and expansions, public art projects, and other ventures.

You can register for this workshop using Eventbrite: http://crowdfundworkshopsyracuse.eventbrite.com/ or email marty@iamsmallpotatoes.com and write WORKSHOP as the subject for more information.

This workshop is being run with the help of Syracuse First as well as the South Side Innovation Center. 

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The SouthSide Innovation Center is a project of the Syracuse University's Whitman School of Management. They provide services and facilities to current and emerging entrepreneurs. SSIC’s mission is to increase the strength and size of the area economy by helping a diverse group of emerging and mature businesses reach their potential size and profitability.

Syracuse First is a not for profit network of locally owned, independent  businesses and organizations dedicated to building a sustainable community by encouraging citizens to "Think Local First".

Taking it Slow

Thank you so much to Slow Food CNY for dropping a Snail of Approval on Small Potatoes. It's a great honor, and I can't begin to say how much it means to me. Especially to be recognized with the all other deserving businesses that are being awarded Snails today.

Since I started Small Potatoes in 2009, Slow Food CNY has been an eager and committed partner on some of my favorite projects. If it was ambitious, impactful, and on a short (most would use the word "unrealistic") deadline, I've known I could count on SFCNY to jump in with both feet to make it happen despite any obstacles.

I've always said that the success of Small Potatoes is judged by the success of the businesses and projects I work with. Without many of the people gathering in the room today to share food and celebrate some of our region's most committed advocates and foodpreneurs, there simply wouldn't be Small Potatoes. Any recognition of my work as Small Potatoes is recognition of the diverse, thriving, and rapidly growing food culture here in Central New York. What happens in our region is as cutting edge and forward thinking as anywhere I've been. I'm proud to be a small part of it.

A heartfelt thank you to each of you, and a sincere apology that I am unable to attend the event and receive my snail along with the other honorees. I'm grateful everyday to be in a position to do work that I love with people I care about. I'm so glad to hear other people appreciate that work too. Thanks again.

A Day in the Life of a Locally Spent Dollar

Unless you've been under a rock somewhere, you've probably heard us, and many of our cohorts, preaching the power of buying local. A 10% shift gets increases in tax income for the region, creates new jobs, not to mention gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. I've been walking this talk for a while now, but sometimes I'm still struck at the power of single transactions. Let me take you on a trip with a local dollar. 

Earlier in the month (Buy Local Month here in CNY), I picked up a check for services I provided to Om Boys. I delivered this check to Breakher Designs, my partner on the Om Boys project. Kimberly at Breakher in turn cut me a check for my percentage of the project payment. I in turn cut a check back to Breakher for design services provided to me. Then I took a wander over to Recess Coffee to write them a check for an order placed for the Binghamton Food Conspiracy Buying Club. While I was there I took an order (and collected a payment) for Better Brittle, and placed an order for coffee for Funk 'n Waffles (which also placed an order for Better Brittle). From there, I headed over the Empire Brewing Company for a pint. 

By my count thats 8 local businesses  sharing the dollars generated by buying juice at a local joint. And thats just the travels that dollar makes as passing through Small Potatoes. That's not taking into account the other local service providers used by Om Boys, Recess, Empire, etc. to get their product out into the world. 

Everywhere that dollar travelled, it deposited a few cents into each of these locally owned businesses, which they in turn spent at other local businesses. And it's just that simple. When you spend money in businesses based in your community, the money stays in your community. 

This transaction started with a consumer buying a juice at Om Boys. What happens, say, if that consumer had bought a Naked brand juice at Wegmans. By all accounts, Wegmans is a model company. They take care of their employees, source local food, promote organic, and contribute to many organizations working to improve our community. Wegmans would keep some of those $$'s in the community. But, they'd also pay a significant % of the sale price (in the neighborhood of 60%) to a distibutor outside of our community, who would then in turn pay Naked, which is owned by Pepsi. 

How does Pepsi spend their money? Part goes towards the CEO's bonus, which was $2.5 million in 2011. Part of it also goes towards fighting against labeling genetically modified foods. In short, the money leaves the community, contributes to wealthy people getting wealthier, and funds activities most people wouldn't knowingly contribute to. 

But this isn't a story about what happens when money leaves our community. It's a story about what happens when money stays in our community. It's a story of economic empowerment and independence from corporate interests. Today is the kickoff of the annual Great American Shopping Spree, with Black Friday serving as the starting gun. But for those of us working hard to improve our communities, it marks an opportunity to put our money where our mouth is. To reclaim our dollars for our community. Black Friday got you down? Give Plaid Friday a try, and see what it can do for you. 

ABC's of Starting a Food Product Business November 12

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact Person: Martin Butts

315.345.8122

marty@iamsmallpotatoes.com

Small Potatoes To Host Workshop on How To Start a Food Product Business

Syracuse, NY October 30, 2012 

Do your friends and family tell you they’ve never tasted cookies as good as yours? Do your neighbors come knocking on your door asking you about your secret family recipe? Ever go to the farmers market and think to yourself, “I wonder if I could sell my homemade spice rub here?”

Martin Butts & Small Potatoes, recently featured in the Post Standard’s BizX Magazine, know what it takes to help you turn that home recipe into a successful business, and we’re hosting a series of workshops to teach you everything you need to know.  The first workshop in the series is “The ABC’s of Starting a Food Product Business”. This workshop will cover commercialization, pricing, production, packing, labeling, and other aspects of a food product.

November 12, 2012

6:30-8:00pm at Funk 'n Waffles 

                      727 South Crouse Ave, Suite #8

                       Syracuse, NY 13210

Cost is $30 per person, $20 for Syracuse First members & clients of the SBDC, SSIC, or WBC.

Workshop begins at 6:30, but attendees are encouraged to come early and enjoy Funk 'n Waffles espresso bar and all day breakfast menu. Everyone who pre-registers will receive a copy of the SBDC guidebook Recipe For Success, as well as a free beverage & a 15% discount on food.

Subsuquent workshops will including Breaking In and Breaking Out: Selling Your Food Product in December, and Running a Farmers Market Stand to Generate Sales and Build Buzz in January. Both dates and locations to be determined.

You can register for this workshop using Eventbrite: http://abcsworkshop.eventbrite.com/ or email marty@iamsmallpotatoes.com and write WORKSHOP as the subject for more information.

This workshop is sponsored by Syracuse First and the Onondaga Small Business Development Center. Funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Contact Martin Butts to make arrangements.

Services are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis.

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Small Potatoes is a boutique consulting, marketing, and advocacy firm that specializes in working small scale and start-up food businesses. 

Instagram Contest!!!!

Hey all you food lovin' phoneography buffs! We're having our first ever Instagram contest! It's simple. Just take a picture of you and something Small Potatoes, and use the hashtag #iamsmallpotatoes. What do we mean by something Small Potatoes? How bout a picture of your morning latte at Recess Coffee? Or having lunch at Lost & Fondue? Or how about snacking on some macrons from the Sweet Praxis on your break while wearing your i am small potatoes tee? That's worth bonus points. The pic with the most likes on Instagram wins. 3 bonus likes if there's more than one Tater in there. 

So what qualifies? I'll tell you by way of they're hashtags or usernames.

@recesscoffee

#betterbrittle

#divinebrine

#thesweetpraxis

#OmBoys

#lofo (that's lost & fondue)

#funknwaffles 

#smallpotatoes

There's also bonus points for sporting a #syracuse first tee in the pic.

So any pic of those products/places, you eating or at those products/places, rocking their gear, or showing them love in any which way. Buy #betterbrittle at @recesscoffee, you get 3 extra likes. Wearing a Small Potatoes tee in the gets 3 more on top of that. Most likes including bonus likes wins!! Still don't get it, check out our Instagram feed for a sample pic. You can find us at @SmallPotatoes42.

Wins what? Tickets for 2 to see Richard Horan, author of Harvest: One Man's Journey to Discover America's Family Farms at the Auburn Public Theater this Thursday, October 18th.  Following his lecture there will be a book signing and reception featuring fondue from.... you guessed it, Lost & Fondue. Not to mention, the winner will also receive a special surprise gift of Small Potatoes goodies. So, whatya waiting for? Get posting!!