Keeping the Engine of Small Business Humming

By Nancy Urbschat, TSM Design

In 1982, as an MBA student at The Ohio State University, I read Dr. Michael Porter’s book Competitive Strategies. Fast-forward to the mid-1990s when I attended Porter’s presentation in Springfield, Massachusetts, about the importance and competitive advantages of the inner city. Within a year of the presentation, my former business partner and I moved TSM Design to the heart of downtown on Bridge Street where the company remains today.

As a small business owner, my participation in the Inner City Economic Forum has been personally affirming to me. Intuitively, I knew we made the right decision 14 years ago to move the business out of the suburbs and into the center of the city for more visibility and access to our customer base. But, the Forum confirmed my decision by exposing me to compelling data and narratives about the assets of the inner city.

I have also learned more about what other cities and major corporations are doing to increase the opportunities for small businesses in their local communities. There are large corporations and institutions such as Blue Cross Blue Shield and the University of Virginia that both walk the walk as well as talk the economic-development talk; these companies make a point of doing business with local small businesses.

Armed with verifiable facts, I now feel emboldened to advocate for a more vibrant small business environment in my own city. For instance, I recently submitted an op-ed piece to a regional business publication that cited ICIC’s 10-year study of the fastest-growing inner city businesses. Many of the attributes of these small businesses resonated with me. I, too, pay competitive salaries and offer a generous benefits package, including 100% of my employees’ health insurance. I, too, regularly give back to my community in the form of board service, pro bono work and financial support.

I am now meeting with major companies locally and telling them about their corporate counterparts in other cities who are helping to scale-up capable small business partners. Or, to bolster my case, I quote the University of Virginia purchasing executive who oversees the spending of one-third of the university’s goods and services budget in its home zip code. I have even started asking these large employers to take a look at their own procurement policies. What percentage of purchases are local and/or from capable small business partners? The results are not in yet but, if I were a betting woman, I would say there are ample growth opportunities for small businesses like mine.

Nancy Urbschat owns TSM Design, a marketing communications firm located in Springfield, MA.