Originally published in the Monadnock Shopper News (MBL Media Sponsor)
What’s the opposite of a Boycott? A Cash Mob! Instead of keeping your dollars away from a business — because you disagree with its practices or values — Cash Mobs encourage you to turn your dollars towards a locally owned business. How Cash Mobs work is simple: With $10 – 20 in hand, members of a community come together to shop at a locally owned business on a specific day, supporting that store and that local economy.
With the recent announcement of two retail stores closing in Jaffrey, Monadnock Buy Local leapt at the chance to use a Cash Mob to attract more dollars to this town. We organized our first ever Cash Mob at MindFull Books & Ephemera, one of the businesses set to close its doors in the New Year. On that same day in Jaffrey, Caroline Hollister organized a Cash Mob at Coll’s Farm & Deli and we synergized our efforts to get the word out.
I know I shouldn’t admit favorites, but MindFull Books & Ephemera is one of my favorite businesses. In addition to selling used books and unique antiques, this store serves as a true community hub by offering consignment space for local vendors and meeting space for local efforts. It also holds over 200 music, poetry and metaphysical events annually. Owners John Sepe and Martha Dawson are very active Monadnock Buy Local Members, spreading the word about our efforts by visiting each neighboring independent business and posting events on their very active Facebook Pages (like their “Jaffrey is Cool” page). John and Martha always offer a big welcome whenever I visit their place. All of this made us want to give John and Martha a visible wave of community support in the form of a Cash Mob.
“The Cash Mob was very helpful to us as we close our shop and transition towards a new direction,” said John. “The real important aspect of Cash Mobs, in my opinion, is to continue creating awareness in the community that we can all make a difference. We have to remain aware of just how important it is in these economic times to support as many of our local businesses as we can.”
While we had somber reasons for choosing MindFull Books for a Cash Mob, the event was a celebration. A three-day Music Gala at MindFull bookended the Cash Mob and motivated some of us to stay overnight in Jaffrey. “We really enjoyed making a day out of the cash mob celebration,” said Missy Blanchard, owner of MB Massage Studio. “I enjoyed visiting the two mob sites — but even beyond that it was a treat to check out the neighboring businesses. Jaffrey has a great little thrift shop that my husband was able to find a couple pieces from and then we even stayed the night at the Monadnock Inn, which was fun.”
While Cash Mobs bring in more sales to a business for one day, it can also attract new customers to a store even after the event. Once you experience a store you may keep coming back – and people who miss the Cash Mob itself may stop in at a later time to see how the event went. “It was so inspiring to see how people in our community came out to show support for the businesses–and business owners–we care about,” said community member Jaime Contois.
Also, as an added bonus, new relationships can form between community members during Cash Mobs. Cash Mob organizers often ask participants to meet up at a specific business to share a drink or meal after the mob, giving mobbers a chance to meet and discuss future efforts.
What’s next for Cash Mobs in our region? Area business owners are curious about this tool and we hope some will agree to become the focus of future Cash Mobs. “When we went to Peterborough in the afternoon, many of the local business owners knew about the Cash Mob and asked us how it was going,” said Bonnie Hudspeth, Monadnock Buy Local Steering Committee Member. “They were very excited about it, and hoping that a good number of people showed up to support the two businesses. It was really moving to see how much they cared about the well-being of fellow business owners in the region.”
So here’s what’s next: We need you to nominate a locally owned business for us to Cash Mob by contacting monadnockbuylocal@gmail.com. Feel free to share why you think this business would make a great Cash Mob site. After collecting your suggestions, we will put your nominations to a vote – stay updated at http://monadnocklocal.org/cashmobs. For now, updates on our Cash Mobs will happen online, but we do hope in the future to have the time and funds to promote them through our local papers and radio stations.
Let’s not wait for our shops to announce that they’re closing to have a Cash Mob, let’s show them our support now!
Monadnock Buy Local 