Author: Michael Shuman

I rarely blog about politics because I’m mindful that you, my readers, represent myriad political views. But this election is so important, so critical to the survival of America’s democracy, so decisive to preserve the freedoms we take for granted, that I’m suspending this practice today. What follows is a

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

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

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

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

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

Last week, I offered 18 of 27 New Year’s Resolutions on how you can create a vibrant local investment ecosystem. You and your neighbors can use your savings to boost your community’s economy and speed its recovery from COVID-19. I suggested ways to get your local businesses “investment ready,” to

Happy New Year!  If you are unsure how to fix your community after a year of COVID shutdowns, bankruptcies, deaths, and despair, I’d like to offer 27 resolutions.  The focus of all 27 is how to jump-start your economy by mobilizing local capital for local businesses, projects, and people, in

If you’ve read my blogs over the past year, you understand why local investment is an essential tool for revitalizing your community.  It also can improve your own bottom line, as well as your family’s and friends’ bottom lines.  Now I want to show you how you can become an

Please, no! Not another economic development study on how to expand the local clusters!  Haven’t we learned anything about the fragility of global dependencies from this pandemic? Last week, I spent several hours reading two recent economic-development studies done for Ulster County, New York. One was entitled “Food and Agriculture