Monday, January 26, 2004
Albuquerque's Indie business owners pool resources
By Nancy Salem
Albuquerque Tribune Reporter
Elissa Breitbard says locally owned, independent businesses keep a city vibrant.
"What kind of place do we want to be?" she said. "What makes a city great? It's the local treasures - the Barelas Coffee Houses, the Frontiers. Those unique storefronts define us."
Breitbard of Betty's Bath and Day Spa and other business owners will work to keep those places alive through the new Albuquerque Independent Business Alliance. The goal of the group is to support locally owned businesses through cooperative marketing, networking and branding the "indie" business image.
Breitbard is president of the group. Other founding members are Peri Pakroo, owner of P-brain Media; Sara Berger, an antitrust attorney at Freedman, Boyd, Daniels, Hollander, Goldbert & Cline; Steven Stout, owner of Page One Bookstore; and Amy Turner of Simplified Graphics.
The group hopes to sign 100 members in the next year.
"We started talking about this a year ago after reading about the Boulder Independent Business Alliance," Breitbard said. "That started with an active independent bookstore that was struggling for survival. It struck a chord in me."
Breitbard said it's hard for independent businesses to compete against big chains with hefty resources.
"I think it's an important movement," she said.
The Albuquerque group is affiliated with the American Independent Business Alliance.
"We're not just drifting on our own," Breitbard said. "We're part of a nationwide network of independent business alliances focused on the survival of local businesses and in turn the local community."
Breitbard said locally owned business helps a community culturally, socially and economically. Local businesses keep more money in the community, she said.
"There's a direct economic impact," she said.
The group will offer joint advertising in local media, networking and education seminars on business skills, and a window decal identifying a business as local and independent. The group plans to publish a member business directory.
"We want to help consumers understand the impacts of their spending decisions and encourage them to shop local and independent," Breitbard said. "There aren't many independent bookstores left, or pharmacies or hardware stores or dairies."
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The Albuquerque Independent Business Alliance is at 1835 Candelaria N.W.
The phone number is 400-0816. The Web site is www.keepitquerque.org .
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