Recap: The 3/50 Project

Merchants and members of local Chambers of Commerce and Business Improvement Districts converged on St.Francis College last night to hear Cinda Baxter, founder of The 3/50 Project, talk about the importance of America's brick & mortar small businesses and give some tips on how to navigate these challenging times in a positive way.

It looked like many members of Brooklyn's small business community walked away feeling excited about making The 3/50 Project part of their local efforts. Watch for the campaign's logo along a business district near you!

A big thanks to the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, the Park Slope Fifth Avenue BID, the Park Slope Chamber of Commerce and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz's Shop Brooklyn for bringing such a great program to the borough!

We managed to capture a few photos in the auditorium's low-light atmosphere without distracting the speakers with our flash. There are a few successful shots on our Flickr page.

Oh, and please, support your local stores, bars and restaurants!

Tonight! The 3/50 Project: Building Business From the Ground Up

Join the Park Slope Fifth Avenue BID, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, the Park Slope Chamber of Commerce and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz's Shop Brooklyn for The 3/50 Project: Building Business From the Ground Up. Come hear
nationally renowned speaker and retail consultant Cinda Baxter, founder of The 3/50 Project, as she talks about how Brooklyn's small business owners can thrive with a little ingenuity, some great marketing, and a real commitment to the community.

7:00 - 9:00 PM
St. Francis College
180 Remsen Street
Brooklyn NY 11201

Tickets are available at ibrooklyn.com

So, why is this event so important? Our local, small businesses are struggling every day in this difficult recession. If you can't make it to the speech, here are some reasons why it is so important to support locally owned small businesses (via Shop Brooklyn and newrules.org):

• Local Character and Prosperity In an increasingly homogenized world, communities that preserve their one-of-a-kind businesses and distinctive character have an economic advantage.


• Community Well-Being Locally owned businesses build strong communities by sustaining vibrant town centers, linking neighbors in a web of economic and social relationships, and contributing to local causes.


• Local Decision-Making Local ownership ensures that important decisions are made locally by people who live in the community and will feel the impacts of those decisions.


• Keeping Dollars in the Local Economy Compared to chain stores, locally owned businesses recycle a much larger share of their revenue back into the local economy, enriching the whole community.


• Job and Wages Locally owned businesses create more jobs locally and, in some sectors, provide better wages and benefits than chains do.


• Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship fuels America's economic innovation and prosperity, and serves as a key means for families to move out of low-wage jobs and into the middle class.


• Public Benefits and Costs Local stores in town centers require comparatively little infrastructure and make more efficient use of public services relative to big box stores and strip shopping malls.


• Environmental Sustainability Local stores help to sustain vibrant, compact, walkable town centers-which in turn are essential to reducing sprawl, automobile use, habitat loss, and air and water pollution.


• Competition A marketplace of tens of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long-term.


• Product Diversity. A multitude of small businesses, each selecting products based not on a national sales plan but on their own interests and the needs of their local customers guarantees a much broader range of product choices.

Tonight at Dancing Under the Stars: L.A. Blacksmith (Jazz, Blues, Pop and R&B)

"For over 35 yrs, I’ve had the pleasure to work with some talented artists in the music business. I’ve toured (sang and played) with Ben E.King, Shirelles, Brass Construction, Crown Heights Affair, Isaac Hayes, Stephanie Mills, Denroy Morgan, Ray Goodman and Brown, Persuaders, Melissa Morgan, Freddie Jackson, G.Q. Skky, and Sam Moore."

- L.A. Blacksmith

Sounds like a hot night out on Fifth!

As always, the festivities will start at 6 with kids programming. Tonight's kid performer will be Gabriel Hays. The adult, dancing portion of the program will begin at 7 and continue till 9.

See you there!

Shop Fifth Avenue, Shop Brooklyn

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz's Shop Brooklyn is in full swing this week. Below is a list of the participating businesses along the Park Slope Fifth Avenue BID. Drop by and see what kind of "Brooklyn Bonus" you can get!

Aunt Suzie's Restaurant
247 5th Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11215
Phone: 718-788-2868

Brooklyn Eye Works
537 5th Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11215
Phone: 718-768-1780

Diana Kane
229-B 5th Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11215
Phone: 718-638-6520

Little Buddy Biscuit Company
635 5th Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11215
Phone: 718-369-6355

Luscious Food
59 5th Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11217
Phone: 718-398-5800

Mulino Ristorante
133 5th Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11217
Phone: 718-398-9001

St. Kilda Jewelry
71 5th Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11230
Phone: 718-398-4459

Zu Zu's Petals
374 5th Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11215
Phone: 718-638-0918

News Round-Up

This Slope Man Wheels and Deals [Brooklyn Paper]

What the World Needs Now is Another Magazine Stand [Effed In Park Slope]

Fornino Restaurant Review [Brooklyn Exposed]

Is Health Dept. Cracking Down on Backyard Bar Smoking? [Gothamist]

Enter to Win a Free Mobile Website! [Mobile Meteor]

Coming Up Next Week

The Park Slope Fifth Avenue BID, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, the Park Slope Chamber of Commerce and Shop Brooklyn (a program of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz) are sponsoring:

The 3/50 Project: Building Business From the Ground Up
on Wednesday, August 18, 2010, from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM

The Program:

Come hear nationally renowned speaker and retail consultant Cinda Baxter, founder of The 3/50 Project, as she talks about how you can help your business with a little ingenuity, some great marketing, and a real commitment to your community.

Relying on the simple premise, "Pick 3. Spend 50. Save your local economy," The 3/50 Project exploded onto the national stage as a way to help brick and mortar businesses reclaim consumer dollars in a positive, effective manner. Learn about The 3/50 Project, what it means today, and how you can use it and other shop local campaigns to strengthen your own business.

Refreshments will be served.

We understand that tickets are FREE for BID/Chamber members and Shop Brooklyn participants but you need to register online at ibrooklyn.com or email Lori Raphael, Director, Real Estate & Development, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce (lraphael@brooklynchamber.com)in order to register. All others, you can purchase your tickets ($25) at ibrooklyn.com.

See you there!

Toys "R" Us Pops Up On Fifth?

Brownstoner is reporting that toy giant Toys "R" Us is planning to set up a number of temporary "pop up" shops in smaller spaces along Brooklyn's commercial strips, during the holiday season. A sign has already been spotted on Fifth Avenue and 11th Street at the "Jeans Express" space.

So, Fifth Avenue, is this good for the neighborhood? Bad? Will you shop there this holiday season? And, most importantly, what effect do you think this pop up shop will have on Fifth Avenue's Needgaard toy space, which was recently set up above the pharmacy? Is this really "shopping local"?

Let us know what you think!

Photo via Brownstoner