Post your website if you feel like it and I’m sure I’ll find something I need 🙂

I feel weird about posting my website, but I truly appreciate the sentiment. My guess is that you have small businesses near you that need your support, not only during this time but in general. Thanks again.

private message us the website.

I live in a small town, without any small business to speak of. A few chain stores moved in and drove them out.

You're fantastic!

where people looking to support businesses that do the right thing could find them.

We're somewhat friendly with a lot of other local business owners, maybe we could band together and make something like that happen in our city?

I wish you the very best. You are making a difficult sacrifice but it is a noble one.

The only positive thing I can say is from my perspective as a consumer, I am finding some things at smaller establishments that are sold out in larger stores.

Again - wishing you positive karma for your selflessness.

Fortunately, my wife and I do almost all the work, and have never had more than a couple of part-time people (at any given moment) who don't depend entirely on a paycheck from us. We're still going to try to offer hours through this, anyway. If doing what we've chosen to do meant causing serious financial distress to workers, it would kill me.

So appreciative of your comment, thanks again.

Use the internet and curbside pickup. Don't know what you are retailing, but at least for grocery stores, it works well.

Perhaps offer delivery too if that's feasible/worthwhile for what you're selling?

I appreciate your well-wishes.

We do some delivery as it is (mostly to institutional customers who either order in bulk or provide a steady stream of business). We talked about making that service available to everyone, but haven't decided yet. It is a good idea, and something we might do.

Thanks again.

community in a very significant way. All the best to you.

I don't know why it makes such a difference to hear things like that, but it does. Thanks very much.

It's not much, but I will buy a few again in a few weeks. I also saw a post on FB suggesting that if you can afford to, if a venue cancels an event that you have tickets to, eat the cost yourself instead of making the theater eat it.

There's a social network site called Nextdoor.com where you enter your address and are connected with your real time community. There are neighbors offering to shop for elderly and at risk people.

I love that you are supporting your community that way! Almost every town has businesses like mine that are just squeaking by under normal conditions. It's thoughtful of you to be going out of your way right now.

It's funny, I know about Nextdoor (we've been named a neighborhood favorite!), but I've never used it or even looked at it. Perhaps I should...

that a lot of these smaller businesses won't survive. Use caution when committing your $$$ for future use. Those gift cards can wind up worthless in a heartbeat. It can help the business in the short run, but the purchaser might lose in the long term.

I've been frequenting these two restaurants for years.

soon and very soon

We talked to a customer (and friend) today who is an MD specializing in infectious diseases, and she said the modeling indicates we're looking at a stretch that won't peak for several weeks yet. Hoping for the best.

A very warm thank you for commenting.

and you're welcome

and since you are one of my favorites ...
"We will" came across my mind and I was bewildered so I thought,
what the hell and so I googled "we will". Google immediately answered, "We will
rock you."

That was what I was thinking about and could not place it, but my
message is about togetherness.

Well, we will do it.

I am foreboding the future because of the seriousness of corona virus.
"But, we will, won't we?"

I do not like to leave home so when I go to the grocery tomorrow I
hope it will be a smooth operation and I will hit the drive-thru on the
way home and get a week supply of beer. That's all for a week.

I am way more calm about this than I thought I'd be.
I'm taking the necessary precautions but I won't be locking myself away from the street.
Enjoy the beer.

I'm trying to be a good citizen, but part of me thinks I'm being a fool and overreacting. Fortunately, I know other people with small shops who have reached the same conclusion, and the mutual support there helps. I also talked with an Md/PhD infectious disease specialist who didn't bat an eyelash when I shared my thoughts about the decision. Plus, your comment (and others) are helping my mood tremendously. Much appreciated.

We have a regular restaurant we eat at.
Not this week.
Probably not for several weeks.
We love the people, the food, the customers, and the craft beers.
But.
We're both 76... vulnerable as hell.
All we can do is hope they can weather the storm.
Like all of us.

I hope you stay healthy and are in a position to get your needs met.

and know that something like this would likely kill our business, but that was back before the internet was around, times were different in many ways.

Best of Luck to you from a former small retailer.

Running a small shop is a crazy lifestyle, isn't it? You get to know a whole lot of different people really well, which is cool.

Thanks again.

I enjoyed it immensely, learned a lot, had a great time, great customers (hobby customers are like family in many ways) until the industry changed and I simply burned out.

But, there is no other place in the world that you can launch balsa airplanes off the front counter on a Friday night with customers and not get in trouble with the boss, because you are the boss.

Balsa airplanes were a childhood staple.

I can imagine that hobby customers would be an interesting group that one could get to know well. My guess is that they would represent a variety of personalities, but probably all be intense and passionate people in their own ways.

the balsa parts before using them so they didn't break as easily......great memories

some geeks, some conservatives (as the hobby was wargaming), but they were all fun. The best part was that when they walked in you knew them as fellow hobbyists and they all wanted to be there.

We referred to the place as a cross between Sears & Cheers (a place to shop and where everyone knew your name).

Who knows who, but who cares, doing your best effort!

GO TEAM, no I in TEAM!

More than slightly annoyed at the T though.

I would never run a business without a rainy day plan, so I never started one.

Saving lives is the idea here, for sure.

My wife and I have been at this for some time, now. Before we got started, we made sure we had enough to: 1. pay off our house, 2. have enough capital not only to get started but to run at a loss for a while, and 3. still have money left over. I guess #3 is our rainy day plan, but too much rain could put us under.

Your comment is greatly appreciated!

I think WAY WAY too many will be in the same boat, and so anticipate some flexibility....

...and great luck to us all, except some very specific evils that should be sent to space as the first deep space force?

changed his website to say by appointment only.

I wish him the best, and hope things turn around.

Everyone could use a little luck - and collectively speaking, we all could these days - so back at you!

We're a sort of specialty store that requires extensive product knowledge. I appreciate your curiosity (and your well wishes!) but I prefer to keep the details private.

If you sell anything I need I will order it from you to support you for doing the right thing. Feel free to PM me if you don't want to share it publicly.

I'm almost certain that if you do need what we offer, there's someone near you that can take care of it. To me, shopping local is a big deal and I'd be happy to know you're doing that.

Thank you very much, though!

This fucker of a virus is coming back next winter, so flatten, protect the vulnerable and wash your hands!!!!!! Good luck PETRUS. Some clever people are saying when this is over people are going to spend more than normal cause they are so relieved...hope those $$$ goes your way.

I don't know if people will be spending more when this is over. People could be in dire straights. They are spending more right now, though. Our business was through the roof in the last few days. I think people are trying to get ahead of their shopping. We figure we probably could have milked that for a few more days, but once we learned it was definitely spreading around us, our conscience wouldn't allow it.

Thanks for your words of support!

be hard

It's a pretty weird time. You are sweet to voice support, thanks again.

doing to the best we can to make it better.. some more than other, of course.

It's a pretty weird time. I can't help but think we'd be in at least a somewhat better position now with almost any other president. Fortunately, my (Democratic!) governor is taking the situation very seriously, and I think I live among people who are likely to rally and come together to help one another. I hope your circumstances are such that you and those you care about will make it through okay.

so that's good start. I have family spread out all over the Mainland, though. One sister and her fam are in Florida so I'm hoping the best for them.. calling tomorrow.

We got a notice from the manager of our Apt complex and they're instituting a no interaction policy.. calling it overly cautious. I'm all for that.

Thank Goodness for the internet!

I'm used to occasional anxiety about one family member or another - a sister lives in a city that's been hit by hurricanes, for example - but it's strange to be worried about everyone all at once for the same reason.

So glad that your apartment manager is on top of it.

I'm grateful for the internet right now, too, for a bunch of reasons, not least of which is all the warmth and generosity on display in this thread.

Hang in there!

and your livelihood!

You, too, hang in there.

Wishing you the best of luck!

And I appreciate that! But I'm going to stick to encouraging everyone to shop local. Lots of people are facing difficult circumstances because of this, it's not just me. Thanks again.

All the best to you two and the store!❤

I hope people see it that way. My wife/partner is pretty sure that things will get worse, and that people will notice and remember that we acted early, and out of concern.

If more businesses did this, I really believe we could lessen the amount of people who are going to end up with this virus.

I honestly think that your customers will appreciate what you are doing. You are thinking of their health, instead of your bank account. I think that will come back to you tenfold down the line.

Wishing you much luck! And thank you for being such a good person to do this.

I think you're right that the more businesses taking steps like these, the better. To a certain extent, I kept hoping there would be some kind of order (or at least a strong suggestion) coming from a public official so I wouldn't have to decide. That might happen yet, I suppose.

I appreciate your well-wishes!

You are considerate of others safety in this dark hour. Most shops would continue operations as normal, but to change your operations to ensure the safety of the public was a hard business sense, but a humanity sense. To capitalize from it, advertise your operations change. Perhaps introducing a safer means of pickup would garner new customers.

We are doing some advertising along those lines. There are a few other businesses in town doing similar things, and I hope others join us.

If I could purchase locally by phone or online and pick up curbside I would much prefer that to Amazon.

I hope some local merchants provide you with those opportunities. It's so important to keep communities vibrant, and circulating money locally as much as you can does much to help.

Along with others in the community trying to get their local merchants to wear masks. She herself was trying to develop homemade n95 masks (she has factories in China and understands that supply chain) and was looking into purchasing the air gaskets (not sure what they are called). It’s not just hospitals we will need to visit, but our merchants too.

I think in the end you'll be fine.

I certainly hope so.

to help small local stores, could regular customers just pay in a store credit now, when we are getting hit so hard, and then get things later when this is over? Each person who wants to do this could have an account, say a coffee shop where you go every day. You give the store 2 weeks of coffee money, and when is is better to go out, you can have 2 weeks of coffee paid off in advance.

I just thought of this, have no idea how to make it work. But if you are a regular and you're going to spend the money anyway, it might help some of your favorite local businesses stay afloat.