The Long Run - A Song For Independents

Did you do it for love?
Did you do it for money?
Did you do it for spite?
Did you think you had to, honey?
Who is gonna make it?
We'll find out in the long run
I know we can take it
if our love is a strong one
Well, we're scared, but we ain't shakin'
Kinda bent, but we ain't breakin'
in the long run
Ooh, I want to tell you, it's a long run
---- Glenn Lewis Frey, Don Felder, Timothy B. Schmit, Don Henley




Throughout the five plus years of this blog's lifespan, faithful followers will know that we like using snippets of songs as they relate to whatever subject is being discussed here.  Most harken back to how we're feeling as individual store owners, and some touch upon the collective experience, but all are pointed, and poignant.  Perhaps the affinity for song lyrics comes from our late Boomer status, or just our love of music, who knows?  Sometimes you just can't say it any better than what's already been written.

July 1st obviously kicks off the month, and the celebration of our nation's independence on July 4th.  But we see that you might've noticed the difference in spelling of the word "independence" in this post's title.  We all know the definition of  "Independence".  "Independents" refers to us independent business owners - those of us who are making it on our own, without a corporation, a franchise or a co-op to help.  July 1st signifies the kick off of Independents Week, when we celebrate all our local, independent businesses and the people who operate them.

It takes a lot of perseverance and guts to run an independent business, especially these days.  The words in the Eagles' song we used were not written about owning your own business, but we think this verse echoes the mindset of many of us.  Did we do it for love?  Did we do it for money?  Did we do it for spite or did we think we had to, honey?  Some of us fit neatly into one of those categories, some of us don't, and some of us have a bit of all in our makeup. The one thing we have in common, however, is our will to survive in the long run.  Long live our independents!

We'll be back next week, friends.  Until then, have a great week, enjoy your 4th Of July holiday, and we thank you for shopping local!

Lori and Scott