An Independent Alliance Grows in Corvallis

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In 2001, after hearing that a Borders Books & Music would be moving to Corvallis, Oregon, Jack Wolcott, co-owner of Grass Roots Books & Music, and Bob Baird, owner of The Book Bin, asked the founders of the Boulder Independent Business Alliance (BIBA), Jeff Milchen and Jennifer Rockne (more recently, the founders of the American Independent Business Alliance) to host a Town Hall Meeting regarding the impact of local businesses versus chains.

Milchen and Rockne agreed, but when Milchen saw the large size of the meeting room at the local library, he became concerned. He told Wolcott that a usual best-case turnout for similar meetings he had hosted was 40 or 50 people. The library meeting room could easily hold a hundred. Wolcott said he was counting on more than 50 people.

Still, no one dared to predict the number of people that actually did turn up at the August 2001 meeting -- a standing-room-only crowd of over 125 people (including other local businesses and a city council rep) "all concerned about 'their' bookstore," Wolcott told BTW. "[The Town Hall meeting] was a tribute to how important bookstores are to people in town. It is important for bookstores to know how central they are to people's lives."

The event was the catalyst to creation of the Corvallis Independent Business Alliance (CIBA), noted The Book Bin's Baird. CIBA started with 15 members; today, the alliance boasts 89 independent businesses.

In early 2001, Wolcott said, he heard about Borders impending move to Corvallis a few months before it became public knowledge. He began searching "the Web to see if he could find any help or information on what to expect," he said. "I found a wealth of sources from other bookstores in similar situations and in Boulder, Colorado, in particular." He contacted David Bolduc of the Boulder Book Store, who put him in contact with BIBA founders Milchen and Rockne. (To read a previous article on BIBA, click here).

Wolcott also called Baird, and both contacted the five other Corvallis businesses they felt would be impacted by Borders and "explored a possible legal challenge, but decided to take a more positive, educational approach," Wolcott said. A few months later, they hired Milchen and Rockne to host the Town Hall meeting on how local vitality is affected by national chains.

Wolcott said the turnout for the town hall meeting sent a strong message to bookstores, other businesses, and the city government. Moreover, it proved to him that Corvallis residents would support independent businesses. "Initially, we felt pretty alone," Wolcott said. "At the Town Hall Meeting, to see that response, it was overwhelming…. From that beginning, we knew we had the support and encouragement to form our own Independent Business Alliance."

In fact, if it weren't for the Town Hall meeting, CIBA might never have happened, Baird noted -- following the meeting, two business owners, from Home Grown Gardens and Quicksilver Communications, volunteered to help organize an independent alliance. That was crucial because, for small business owners, there is no surplus on free time.

Prior to formally announcing their existence in 2002, CIBA met every two weeks in 2001 to iron out details, such as forming their leadership (the Board of Directors and naming a President), to form articles, and to file with the state, among other things. "After we filed with the state, we chose 10 businesses to be on the Board of Directors, and we held five spots open for the next year," Wolcott noted. Today, the Board consists of 15 businesses, and members are elected for three-year terms, and the president for a one-year term.

Wolcott noted the importance of the alliance's careful planning, which allowed them to research the issues of a chain's impact on a community, as well as how to broach publicly the subject of Borders.

"It was very tempting to have a bunch of hot heads do big business bashing [at alliance meetings]," said Baird. "But some of the alliance said that's not productive -- they wanted [CIBA] to move in a positive direction, as opposed to negative. We're trying to empower small businesses, as opposed to bashing chains."

For Baird, being a member of independent business alliances offers a number of advantages. "One of the bigger benefits provided … is the chance to network that a Chamber of Commerce wouldn't allow," because they're dominated by chains, he explained. "I've done more networking in the last year than the previous 19."

Said Wolcott, "Because of our positive, educational approach, we are finding a genuine interest from our city government and regular offers to participate in the decision-making process from other business organizations."

Overall, CIBA fits perfectly with how they want to deal with Borders, Wolcott continued. "We were not going to complain or ask for pity," he said. "We chose the high road, brought other independent businesses in with us and presented unified organization with a clear message that the whole community supported…. Today, when a customer turns the subject to Borders, we just turn the subject to how much we appreciate their business and support." -- David Grogan