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General Manager’s Note — November 2007

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Written by Traci Rodriguez Wednesday, 07 November 2007

This weekend, extreme shoppers will be lining up at department stores as early as 5 a.m. and staying until the doors close as late as midnight.

Consumers and store owners are gearing up for the holidays. The season is known for vivid colors of red and green, but for many store owners in the Northwest Austin area, the goal is to keep the red in the holly and out of their balance sheet.

To prepare for the holiday season, we’ve provided a retail guide to help you find local places to shop in the neighborhood. As I began searching for local retailers, I noticed the overwhelming number of empty store fronts. It made me realize that as much as the big box stores have a place in the market, so do the little guys. For most retail shops and businesses, these critical shopping days between Thanksgiving and December 31 determine how the story ends—in the red or in the black. Our story on small business evolved while searching for local businesses in the area.

The city of Austin’s budget is huge, and it’s important to know how it pertains to Northwest Austin. We’ve gone through the budget and found how and where money is allocated to your area. It can be intimidating to understand how it all works, so we’ve broken it down step by step, and I know it was a big help in my understanding of this subject.

This Thanksgiving season reminds us at Community Impact that we are thankful for you, our Northwest Austin readers. I continue to get emails with feedback and suggestions, and I sincerely appreciate your thoughts. To meet our holiday deadline, we are sending our December issue early, so look for that paper the weekend of the 14th.

Traci M. Rodriguez