Cash Mob

Newtown Hardware in Bucks County, PA

Last week I conducted a Small Business Bootcamp with Vocus.  I condensed what is basically 220 pages in my new book The Experience Effect for Small Business and 16 hours of coursework in my class at NYU into a one-hour session.  Whew!

The turnout was amazing.  Record breaking for Vocus, actually.  And the questions were non-stop.  So much so that I am dedicating my blog all week to small business marketing.  I'll answer some of the questions that were left unanswered and hit other topics of interest to small business.

Vocus ran a blog post of mine on Friday if you'd like to see that, and one of the participants wrote her own blog post if you'd like to see that as well.  It was a busy week.

Today, though, I'm going to honor a small business in my little town of Newtown in Bucks County, PA.  I was walking our dog (French Bulldog named Sophie) on Saturday and happened to go by the small little neighborhood hardware store (Newtown Hardware) that has hit upon rough economic times, like many small businesses.  There's been a movement afloat to "Save Newtown Hardware" from the chain stores have been popping up all over the area.

There was a huge crowd in front of the store, something quite unusual.  Much to my delight, it turns out that it was a "cash mob."  Sort of like a flash mob, but with cash in their hands ... cash they planned on spending at this small business right then and there to give it a little boost.  A community of consumers coming together to help out a small, independent, community business.

Quite cool!  I popped in and bought light bulbs with all the cash I hand in my wallet at the moment.

What's your experience?  Jim.

Jim Joseph
President, Cohn & Wolfe North America
Author, The Experience Effect and The Experience Effect for Small Business
Professor, NYU