It’s all Local

I’m constantly surprised by the cool small businesses with a national reach we have locally in Asheville.   Some products I’ve seen mentioned around the internet and until recently didn’t know were here in town.  A few that come to mind are The Modern Baby Co. and Figs and Ginger and Stupid Creatures.

Some things that I knew were in town but are still cool are Doctordirectory.com and Immaculate Baking Co.

There are also a surprising amount of National Non profit organisations that were either founded here or moved their headquarters here.  I can think of The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, The American Chestnut Foundation, The Alliance for American Quilts.

Who else is around here that I’m not thinking of?

GPO Prints Obama

I hate Mission Statements

It almost seems like there’s some law that mission statements have to be lame.  They have to sound the same and feel the same and really throw out a bunch of touchy words that don’t really mean anything. 

 Why did this start?  Should your mission statement be a powerful proclaimation of what you’re trying to do and why people should get involved?  You could easily create “Mission Statement Magnetic Poetry” with the following words:

Under-served

Community

Partnerships

Preservation

Commitment

Assist

Achieve

Supporting

Leadership

Promote

Advocacy

Resolution

Education

Dedicated

Implement

Contribution

Advancement

Development

Encourage

Aid

Emerging

Practices

Enhance

Strengthen

Diversity

Grass roots

Cultural

Empowerment

I could re-arrange any of these words and come up with most Mission statements I’ve ever heard. 

You hear all the time, “Our mission sells itself”.  Which is probably not true.  But one thing is for sure,  your mission statement is probably not saying much to anyone.

Consider a stronger statement that actually captures people’s emotions and willingness to become involved.

USPS

The latest post office changes can make a huge difference in your mail costs.  Stop in to make sure that you’re keeping up!