presidents desk

From the President’s Desk (May 2024)

“Why Don’t We Have a ______________?”

presidents desk

Driving my kids to school this morning, they asked a question that the Chamber gets many times a week in our community. “Why don’t we have a Krispy Kreme?”
There are simple answers to this question, but my kids have never been much for simple answers so they got a lesson on entrepreneurship and the difference between chains, franchises, and independently owned businesses. The simple answer was that someone not from Morristown owns the franchise and they have likely never visited Morristown or there would be one here. In our line of work, we find ourselves short of entrepreneurs as we have many franchises approach us looking for owner/operators. This is tough, because many of these stores and restaurants are ones that locals ask for daily, but without local entrepreneurs to own these businesses, they will never exist in our community. We often find ourselves working with larger chains that are also locally adored, but going bankrupt in more developed markets.

We often joke that we operate 10 years in the past but you can really see it when you see Facebook comments about what people want to see in the community. I have a strong aversion to Facebook as I’m kind of the opinion that 8-5 is generally working hours, and if you have time to be posting comments on Facebook at that time, you may not be the most productive person, but to each their own.

Speaking of social media, we would love to hear your opinion on the Chamber’s social media presence. Lauren, who most of you have met by now, is spending a little more time working at it and we hope that you are getting the information needed in many ways now!