SEED Ventures (SEED) is growing local entrepreneurs for financial, social, and environmental success.  SEED, a new Oberlin Project initiative, is a pop-up marketplace and incubator aimed at developing sustainable business models, increasing foot-traffic and business activity in Lorain County, and promoting economic growth through innovation.  SEED works with local entrepreneurs who are in the early stages of development, targeting those entrepreneurs with a prototype with sales up to $10,000 in annual revenue.

In Oberlin, sustainability is more than a buzzword, it is a tool that drives innovation???that transforms community by changing behavior and promoting sustainable economic development. Sustainable economic development generates economic wealth that is based on the triple bottom line, balancing impact and opportunity to people, profit and planet.  Market solutions are generated that produce improved economic opportunity (reduces the growing income disparity between the rich and the poor), accounts for impact to the environment and value of ecosystem services in financial accounting, and finally and most familiar, creates flows of dollars at the local, regional and global scales.  As you know, Oberlin isn???t afraid of doing something a little different.

The Oberlin Project is challenging individuals in and outside of Oberlin to use the triple bottom line to generate solutions that change the way we create, deploy and do business.  Oberlin is home to a wealth of human resources representative of many demographics including age, experience, socioeconomic status, race and educational attainment.  This diversity is key to the wealth of ideas generated in our community.  Of course, not all of these ideas are market ready, or even market worthy, but they do represent the seeds of economic development to be further evaluated and supported by technical service agents in Oberlin and northeast Ohio.  

The current Feve location has been a local landmark for so long that it slipped my mind that Matt and Jason???s first location was across the street from Oberlin City Hall.  The Feve began as a coffee shop and has evolved into ???the place to go??? by many locals and others who know about Oberlin.

Living in a college town offer residents the opportunity to be a connoisseur of pizza.  I believe that small and locally owned pizza places have a better taste than their chain-owned competitors. In fact, Magpie???s my pie Tex-Mex pizza is what my taste buds crave on a regular basis.  It is my favorite specialty pizza (just ask the servers there, I don???t even have to tell them my order because when I show up they know what I want as soon as they see me walk in - LOL!)

Magpie Pizza is located in the East College Street Complex at 65 East College Street.  Jim and Rachael Strader, residents of LaGrange, are the owners of Magpie Pizza.  Rachel and Jim opened up Magpie Pizza because they liked the sustainable building complex and are encouraged by the resident???s desire for local foods.  In addition, they have a family history of relatives that are restaurant owners.  One family member owns a restaurant in Lorain County and another family member owns a restaurant in New York. Magpie Pizza offers specialty pizzas, salad, and sandwiches.  Prices range from $4.50 for in individual sized pizza to $18 for a large pizza.

Eating ice cream at Cowhaus Creamery is like the taste of beautiful art in your mouth.  Eating at this local creamery is a great experience any time of year because the menu is constantly changing.  Cowhaus Creamery Artisan Ice Cream located at 55 East College Street, Suite 4 in downtown Oberlin, next to Slow Train Caf??.

The owner of Cowhaus Creamery is Joe Bomback and he is an Oberlin College Alumni from Lorain County. He and his wife Debbie (who is from Shaker Heights) love Oberlin and it was their goal to be involved in the community and so they decided to open up Cowhaus Creamery. 

Linda Arbogast interviewed Rethink Your Ride business sponsor Chris Robinson, owner of Swerve.  Swerve is a local bike shop and has prices that range from $1 to over $7,000.  Chris said that Oberlin has had a history of having more bikes than cars and upon noticing that a bike shop was missing from this equation, it was an easy decision to start a bike shop business.

Oberlin has many people who enjoy biking around town, it is also a town located along the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.%20Find%20them%20on%20Facebook:%20%20http:/www.facebook.com/pages/Swerve-Bike-Shop/281943428491842?ref=ts%20%20">North Coast Island Trail  and downtown.  In addition, Oberlin serves as a spur Route along the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.%20Find%20them%20on%20Facebook:%20%20http:/www.facebook.com/pages/Swerve-Bike-Shop/281943428491842?ref=ts%20%20">Backroads to Beaches trail.  Last but not least, Oberlin is also a hub along the Underground Railroad ride for bicyclists traveling to Canada by way of Detroit.  For more information on the alternative route visit: http://www.adventuretravelnews.com/new-cycling-route-brings-underground-railroad-alive.

Oberlin Community Services Executive Director Linda Arbogast interviewed Chris Heinebrodt and Amanda Heinebrodt about their local business called Simply Elegant Candle & Gift.  Their store is located at 29 South Main Street, Oberlin (former location of Infinite Monkey.) Chris Heinebrodt is the owner and President and his wife Amanda is the Vice President of this Oberlin business.

Chris and his wife Amanda consider their store a boutique of candles and gifts.  Their store items price range from 99 cents to $120.  The reason Chris and Amanda opened up a store in Oberlin is because they grew up in Lorain County.  After college they moved to Oberlin because they loved the downtown.  They waited for a spot to open up downtown and then the perfect spot became available.

I was walking toward Ben Franklin and noticed that I was 20 minutes late according to the downtown clock as a result of another interview.  I underestimated the enthusiasm of business owners to want to talk to me about their business. I quickly rushed in to Ben Franklin and asked for Krista who was already standing there appearing to be a bit out of breath herself.  She said she had also rushed thinking that she was late for her appointment with me.  This is the camaraderie that takes place in Oberlin when a person spends time shopping in downtown and involved with community events.

Krista told me that each Ben Franklin store is independently owned so the setup and displays are different.  There are some Ben Franklin stores that have turned into a craft store so many younger people are surprised to learn that the Ben Franklin in Oberlin is a variety store filled with books (new & used), office supplies, health & beauty items, household goods, fabric, custom framing, fair trade gift items, snacks,  and candy.  Krista says that her store is ever evolving to adapt to the needs of her customers, which is the reason people should visit often.

It was a rainy and somewhat cold Friday morning as I waited outside the door for Liz Burgess to open the door to begin our interview.  As any normal business owner is, she approached the door looking as though she had something on her mind but as soon as she saw my face she began to smile.  She quickly started her computer and turned on music on low as it to set the atmosphere for the day before we sat down in front of the glass case that she recycled from possibly another store that operated in Oberlin.

Liz Burgess is the Owner/Manager of the Ginko Gallery & Studio.  Ginko Gallery & Studio specializes in art made by individual from smaller studios.    Most of the art are considered contemporary crafts with an emphasis at times on local resources, which may be wood, glass, trash metals, etc.  None of the artists are from big companies or studios.  Ginko Gallery also has artist studios and has a large variety of art supplies. The items in her store range from 50 cents to $2,500.  For the most part the artists try to keep some items at $20 or under, keeping in mind that people desiring to find affordable gifts.

We realize that our town is in its own little bubble, don???t we?

It???s like we have our own ecosystem; a way of life that differs greatly from surrounding communities. Oberlin is certainly not perfect. But, it does have advantages. For example, I like living in a town that is trying to be ???local.??? In general, there???s a real effort to shop and support our own community. I used to run in the mornings (before P! 90! X!, that is. More on that later.) On trash day, I saw way more Lorenzo's pizza boxes than others. Of course, it's no surprise. It's good pizza. (Full disclosure: my son works there. I???m disclosing this fact so that you???ll tip Jake when he hands you the next pizza box.)

After being in Oberlin for a full school year now, I???ve been fascinated by the local businesses and restaurants in town. All offer many goods and services at reasonable prices and still do very well, despite a Wal-Mart and several fast food restaurants located less than two miles away from downtown Oberlin. Sometimes, however, I wonder why I don???t just go down to Wal-Mart for convenience or their ???low low prices.??? And now, after listening to Michael Shuman???s passionate elegy for local investment, I no longer have that question to answer. And if I were a business owner, I???d listen up too. On April 10th, Michael Shuman, economist and prize-winning author, spoke at Oberlin College with the purpose of debunking myths about investing in your local community and promoting ways that Oberlin can get in on the action of supporting local business.

These myths actually seem credible at first glance. For example, one popular myth is that local businesses are not as profitable as their larger counterparts. As Shuman stated, ???If it were true that local, small businesses were less competitive. . .then we would have seen a dramatic drop in the small business economy.??? In fact, there has been no drop in the economy of home-based and local business compared to larger corporations. As Peter Buffett writes in the introduction to Shuman???s latest book, locally owned businesses have ???maintained their share of the US GDP since 1990???. Another myth is that local businesses lack a competitive edge, which, again, is false. This can easily be seen with a concern for everyone: oil prices. Rising oil prices means that local production of oil for consumption in the immediate area will become more competitive as foreign imports become more expensive. Shuman argues similar consequences with durable products as well. And one just has to walk down Main Street of Oberlin to see local competitiveness in action.