Here’s a rather long video I found via The Organic Consumers Association that raises a provoking point:
With the end of cheap oil will we need to revive the Mom and Pop business?
Not your typical Youtube video, this one plays a bit like a documentary and includes lots of old footage and interesting commentary. The point it brings up though is one that can give an ecopreneur pause. Do you dreams include having one store in a small shopping center?
Probably not
Ecopreneurs tend to dream big dreams. But in this new world of cheap oil, maybe smaller is the new bigger. Adapting to the end of cheap oil may mean, heck already means, that people are spending less time in their cars and staying closer to home to shop.
I’ve seen this in my own life, maybe you have too. Rather than travel to Whole Foods, I often troll the organic aisle at my local grocery stores. I am reluctant to travel to the large city near where I live to attend an event – rather I look for activities closer to home. I skip the trip to a client’s office and teleconference.
I make compromises.
So, does this mean the new normal is not living life in your car, but rather walking and biking to make your daily rounds.
It’s thought provoking. It made me stop and think. Could I as an ecopreneur revise my dreams? Rather than building a massive empire, could I be happy with a smaller dream?
Or are there other opportunities for ecopreneurs? Rather than dreaming of creating a Big Box store in your category does it make sense to consider a 7-11 model? Starbucks and Pizza Fusion have made it work. Can you? Should you?
How would the end of suburbia impact your dream?
