Thinking of Locating Your Business Here?

If you visit Shelburne Falls and West County, or even if you simply poke through this Web site, you'll see that people in the Shelburne Falls take an unusual pride in their approach to business and community. For most businesses, the two concepts are inseparable. A healthy community creates a healthy business climate, and a critical mass of civic -minded businesses is crucial to this region. If you're contemplating putting down roots in Shelburne Falls and you are not from the area, here are a few things to keep in mind.

You'll find a community that imposes good taste with peer pressure and common sense as much as with bylaws. We aren't zoned to the hilt like, say, Nantucket, which determines ambience by ordinance. You will, however, find an authentic New England village -- one that escaped the "urban renewal" trend of the '50s and '60s -- with well-preserved historic architecture and a community that is determined to keep it that way. The state and the federal government has returned a good amount of our tax money in the recent past to help us complement that history. Gone are the cobra-head street lights, and in their place you now see lantern-style street poles. The historic iron bridge spanning the Deerfield River has in recent years been reconstructed to meet contemporary standards. When the bridge had to be de-leaded, a local committee successfully lobbied for the authority to determine the color of the new paint. The pale green was selected not to distract from the adjacent Bridge of Flowers. As you envision your business, its promotion, and its signage, we hope you do so in a way that's in harmony with our village and its heritage. Several years ago, the towns of Buckland and Shelburne, in conjunction with the SFABA and the Shelburne Falls Area Partnership, worked on design standards that provide guidance on these issues.

Rents in the village are reasonable by commercial standards, so business owners don't have as much at stake. These rents make it possible for people to open up shop with little investment or retailing experience, and while many with such background have gone on to succeed, others have not. If you are contemplating a business in Shelburne Falls or the area, check out the business technical assistance programs at the Franklin County Community Development Corporation. These classes will get you started on the right foot. The SFABA will be working with the FCCDC to bring these programs to Shelburne and Buckland residents and business owners through a grant program in 2003-04. Check the SFABA Business Bulletin page periodically for more information.

Whether or not you partake in formal training, you will find there's a new and growing expectation of new retail businesses to maintain minimum standards of customer service. Post your hours on your door, and stick to them. Maintain frequent business hours so residents and visitors to town will find a critical mass of businesses open. Peter Curtis, the founder and former CEO of Mole Hollow Candles, one of the architects of this village's renaissance, is fond of saying, "Give your customers more than they expect." The advice is so simple and so effective.

This is a small community, and you'll find communication is key. You will find many of your fellow businesses eager to work with you. Mike McCusker tells the story of the day he opened McCusker's Market in 1979: the meat slicer broke. George Needham, owner of the Shelburne Falls Supermarket, loaned one of his. Take the time to visit with your would-be neighbors. Take note of who is selling what. Lately, businesses like the village's artisans and the region's bed and breakfasts are collaberating on promotions and activities. Such creative cooperation enhances the local economy and reinforces why one gets into business for onesself: it's fun.

Before long, you will find a number of demands on your time, energy, talents, and/or money. With public education and town finances in a state of seige, you will find any number of civic groups seeking support. The business community as a whole is unusually generous in all these respects. The village's success is a reflection of all the energy that is continually invested in its well-being. It is a rare indeed to find shopkeepers who don't participate in some level.

If you are looking at space on the edge of the village, you will find a mix of commercial and residential tenants and owners. Several times in the past few years, residents have feared the encroachment of businesses on their neighborhoods. Again, communication is key. Don't let residents find out from newspapers and permitting authorities that you're planning a commercial use in what once was someone's home. We encourage you to put yourself in neighbors' shoes and make sure your business plan is in harmony with the location and the environment.

Beyond the Shelburne Falls commercial district, home-based businesses are growing in number and in many cases thriving. Local zoning universally permits such enterprises on some level. We encourage anyone -- and especially those moving to the area with this employment model -- to thoroughly research their community's zoning bylaws and to make sure your idyllic place in the country will accommodate your vocational needs.

Since late 2002, affordable commercial high-speed Internet service has become available in the village and within the Buckland/Shelburne cable district through Comcast. This opens up new potential for telecommuting, virtual businesses, and entire segments that rely on Internet access to locate in and around the village. With the exception of parts of Charlemont, which has a small DSL network through Berkshire County Network, wired high-speed Internet solutions are not available.

This is the future of our economy, and the SFABA hopes to be a strong partner in helping businesses locate or relocate to the area. We also are working closely with a local Internet service provider who can provide wireless access and a local consortium (Franklin-Hampshire Connect) looking to close the "digital divide." Charlemont TV provides a satellite system that (beyond a significant up-front cost for the equipment) provides high-speed Internet to outlying areas at a monthly fee that's comparable to cable or DSL. We are happy to help SFABA members find appropriate technology.

Businesses that do a good deal of work by overnight mail might need warning that FedEx service is available here only at Priority rates and delivery takes place in the early to mid afternoons. Express Mail or UPS Red might be more expedient. On the other hand, this is an area where you will get to know your couriers by name (Chip and Dave are our respective UPS and Fedex carriers).

If you are new to freelancing or the area, you'll find your participation in the business community a welcome relief from isolation. The SFABA offers ample ways to network and interact with fellow professionals, but other organizations -- including the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce and the Hidden Tech initiative -- could be appropriate, fulfilling, and profitable affiliations for you.

Finally -- and we hope this goes without saying -- we hope business owners will shop locally. Fill your prescriptions at Baker's Pharmacy and enjoy an ice cream at the soda fountain. Buy your groceries at Keystone Market and McCusker's. We remain a wonderful place to live and work because we are a village that's more than a precious place to visit and coo at. If we lose essential goods and services in this town, we stand to lose the integral core of our village, the very elements that are likely attracting you. We hope you will be a vital part of our village's business community and wish you personal and financial success in your venture.

SFABA members will find business resources in the Members section starting this summer.