Most of these books (except Going Local) can be bought at discounted prices online from major retailers or, better still for those committed to independent bookstores, shop small at Bookshop.org or IndieBound.
(Berrett-Koehler, 2020)
Americans are united on one point: Wall Street can no longer be trusted. Yet most of us invest our money in Fortune 500 companies, transferring our capital far from where we live and work. Fortunately, there is an alternative. Local investing expert Michael Shuman shows how anyone can use two well-established—but rarely used—investment tools to keep their money close and see equal or greater returns while supporting their community and values. Shuman explains the nuts and bolts of Self-Directed IRAs and Solo 401(k)s and provides a detailed road map on how you can become a successful local investor.
Once again Michael Shuman has given us a clear manual for how well-meaning, good people (the 99.99 percent of us) can put their money where their hearts are--in communities where they live, in local businesses, trade, and retail.
Local cheese, local beer--and local investing! This is a valuable guide to taking money out of the few giant banks (which are probably using it to underwrite the fossil fuel industry) and putting it to work close to home!
(Chelsea Green, 2015)
In cities and towns across the nation, economic development is at a crossroads. A growing body of evidence has proven that its current cornerstone–incentives to attract and retain large, globally mobile businesses–is a dead end. Even those programs that focus on local business, through buy-local initiatives, for example, depend on ongoing support from government or philanthropy. The entire practice of economic development has become ineffective and unaffordable and is in need of a makeover.
The Local Economy Solution suggests an alternative approach in which states and cities nurture a new generation of special kinds of businesses that help local businesses grow. These cutting-edge companies, which Shuman calls “pollinator businesses,” are creating jobs and the conditions for future economic growth, and doing so in self-financing ways.
The emerging localization movement owes a huge debt of gratitude to Michael Shuman. A visionary thinker with decades of hard-won, grassroots experience, he offers not only a clear picture of a very different economic landscape but the steps we need to take--as individuals and as communities--to move from here to there.
(Chelsea Green, 2012)
In Local Dollars, Local Sense, local economy pioneer Michael Shuman shows investors, including the nearly 99% who are unaccredited, how to put their money into building local businesses and resilient regional economies-and profit in the process. A revolutionary toolbox for social change, written with compelling personal stories, the book delivers the most thorough overview available of local investment options, explains the obstacles, and profiles investors who have paved the way. Shuman demystifies the growing realm of local investment choices-from institutional lending to investment clubs and networks, local investment funds, community ownership, direct public offerings, local stock exchanges, crowdfunding, and more. He also guides readers through the lucrative opportunities to invest locally in their homes, energy efficiency, and themselves.
This book shares very important information about what we might rightly do with our investment money and gives good reasons why. Shuman has researched the topic well and he explains some complex ideas about our money system in ways most people could understand and, hopefully, inspire them to act in favor of local investing.
(Berrett-Koehler, 2006)
Bigger isn’t always better. Contrary to popular belief, small, locally owned businesses often out-perform their “big box” and Fortune 500 competition–both in outright profitability and the value they bring to consumers, workers, and communities. Unlike mega-stores and multi-national chains like Wal-Mart, these small businesses stimulate the economy by buying supplies and services locally, adapt to (rather than fight against) higher local environmental and labor regulations, and stick around for many years, often many generations.
The Small-Mart Revolution details dozens of specific strategies small and home-based businesses are using to successfully out-compete the world’s largest companies. And it shows how consumers, investors, policymakers, and organizers can revitalize their own communities by supporting local businesses.
The Small-Mart Revolution reveals why supporting small business makes good economic sense and how they offer the only real long- term solution for the health of our neighborhoods and our nation. It will touch your heart, while showing you how to better mind your wallet.
(Routledge, 2000)
National drug chains squeeze local pharmacies out of business, while corporate downsizing ships jobs overseas. All across America, communities large and small are losing control of their economies to outside interests. Going Local shows how some cities and towns are fighting back. Refusing to be overcome by Wal-Marts and layoffs, they are taking over abandoned factories, switching to local produce and manufactured goods, and pushing banks to loan money to local citizens. Shuman details how dozens of communities are recapturing their own economies with these new strategies, investing not in outsiders but in locally owned businesses.
Michael Shuman has written a superb book on how we can begin to realize a sustainable, stable and self-sufficient local economy. While just over 200 pages, this book packs an array of insightful information and reference material. It is a handbook on how to revive what we have in part lost - local power to determine our economic and community destination.
Explore a curated collection of over 100 insightful articles and reports by Michael Shuman, a leading voice in community economics and local investment strategies.
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