When you help others you help yourself.

Work with others to improve your community.

DeLand, Florida: Meet John Gregory, his brother, Pete, and the people of this quaint town just northeast or Orlando.  John bought Feasel Paint and Glass from the founder then eventually sold it to his brother, Pete.

Pete Gregory says, "My best friend should be my fellow small business owner. We need to be talking with each other. We have bigger competitors to fight than each other. And by joining forces and joining heads, you know, we can generally come to a better resolve on what we need to do on a more local basis."

Big business homogenizes. Small Business diversifies.  On the Main Street of this town they celebrate the rich variety of one-of-a kind shops owned by locals.  Just on the outskirts of town looms Lowes and Home Depot. How does a family-owned hardware store on Main Street survive? How can they compete?
 
There are no simple answers. Small businesses must develop a many-sided customer relation that competes in value against the volume discounts of the "big box" retailers.

Drop in on Feasel's on Main Street, buy something, and talk with the new folks. Encourage their esprit de corps for the continued Main Street revitalization. Cited by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as a "Great American Main Street" award winner, the people of Feasel Paint & Glass are helping to paint that picture.

These are the folks just at the top of Main Street of this lovely town. It is a quintessential hardware store that serves every one within this fine town -- artists, builders, contractors, interior designers and decorators, restoration experts, and the weekend warriors working on their "honey-do" list.