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We publish The Main Street Journal, a hub for local investing news and events, to expand the audience, reach, and power of the emerging local investment movement in the United States. Shifting even a small fraction of the tens of trillions Americans have invested in Wall Street to local businesses, projects, and people on Main

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Main Street store fronts along 4-lane street on a clear day with no cars visible

The Rural Renaissance

If you believe the portrait of rural America depicted in the Netflix film Hillbilly Elegy, you might conclude that its residents are hopelessly impoverished, addicted, and depressed. That’s also the view of Eduardo Porter in “The Hard Truth of Trying to ‘Save’ Rural America,”  whose much-discussed piece in the New York Times argues that the

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Six Guidelines for Business-Investor Conversations

Six Guidelines for Business-Investor Conversations By Jenny Kassan and Michael Shuman What kinds of conversations can a business owner have with potential investors without breaking the law? Over the past year many local investment advocates and practitioners have sought our advice in answering these questions, and this blog attempts to provide some answers. The law

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Sofusion Cafe - an example of a Maryland Neighborhood Exchange Success Story

Every Community Needs a Neighborhood Exchange

Every Community Needs a Neighborhood Exchange Three years ago, the Maryland Neighborhood Exchange was just a dream. We envisioned creating a website listing great local investment opportunities in Baltimore and mobilizing residents to invest in them. Here’s what’s happened since: The Exchange has helped 44 Baltimore businesses successfully raise $3.3 million from nearly 6,000 investors.

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12 Reasons the Glass is 1% Full

Let’s stipulate upfront that there’s nothing to celebrate about a pandemic.  The damage COVID-19 is wreaking—in terms of deaths, sickness, business closures, unemployment, and misery—is incalculable.  But this crisis is changing the world in subtle ways that may ultimately improve our lives.  So…in the spirit of Winston Churchill, who once implored not to let a

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The Little Baltimore District That Could

Every community in America is struggling to recover from a year of COVID-19 shutdowns and could benefit from a surge in local investing.  Yet only a handful of communities are prepared to embrace this strategy.  An inspiring example is Market Center in Baltimore.  I’m now working with the Market Center Merchants Association to embark on

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My Latest Book

“As so many Americans feel powerless to confront a financial system designed to serve the few, Shuman offers us real choices: tools that align our lives with our values. That’s power. I love this highly readable, timely, surprising book.” 
–Frances Moore Lappé, author of Daring Democracy and Diet for a Small Planet 

**40% quantity discount available from Berrett-Koehler on orders of 10 or more

Calendar of Events

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Michael H Shuman