Why I Hate Big Businesses

And remember the words of the Lord Jesus,

that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Acts 20:35

As I stated in my last post, around this time last year, I decided to take a year off from school. It was also at that time that I changed my major. You see, I started out in business management, but I soon realized that all the business classes are designed to do is to teach you how to take other people’s money; and that’s not what I want to do in life. I would still like to be a part of the business world, but just in a different way. I want to be in the business of supporting my local community; not in the business of making money.

The other night, I watched one of my favorite episodes of The Andy Griffith Show. The episode is titled “The Merchant of Mayberry” and features Bert Miller, a traveling salesman. Bert is what my mother would call “a good ol’ soul” who really was no salesman at all, yet the people of Mayberry loved him. I say Bert wasn’t a true salesman because people actually had to talk him into selling them his merchandise instead of the other way around. My favorite quote from the episode is, “You don’t need all six of them. Why don’t you just take three of them and a tube of glue”? Looking out for the customer, that’s what it’s really about.

Even though I worked for a popular grocery store chain for nearly three years, I really don’t like chain stores and actually try to avoid them as much as possible. I much prefer small businesses that are unique to the local community. First of all, they bring something to that community that no other place in the world has. Secondly, they support the local people. It’s just like the song says, “sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name.” It feels good to walk in and have a familiar face call you by your first name and ask about your family because they know all of them by name, as well.

Big businesses cause us to lose our sense of community, whereas small, locally owned businesses help us to find it again. I will forever be a firm believer in small businesses because that’s where this country began. If you are a business owner, don’t be afraid to remain small. It takes guts to do that. It takes greed to branch out. Quit trying to grow your business and start trying to grow your community and impact the lives of the local people around you.