Here’s what I mean. Can you imagine someone using a telegraph to sale products? A receiver on the other end transcribing a note that the local pub had pints for half off? Of course note this would take too much time and effort on both parts (the sender and receiver). But as mediums have become more accessible to more people and less labor intensive to operate more people are able to engage. Telemarketing is still the backbone of corporations the world over but the phone was also not invented for business purposes.

You see the medium is still the message and where the phone is still one and one two way communication and the radio and television or one to many one way communication the new mediums are one to many, many to many and always two way.

This is what makes it the gift and the curse that it is to most small businesses. There are some businesses that are made for more interaction with clients. Consulting firms of all kinds should be encouraging questions via twitter and Facebook so that they can forward answers and therefor their expertise on to others. However if you own a high volume retail establishment like a coffee shop replying to all of your customers or even having a free intern to do so might only cause frustration as there is not genuine need (although there maybe be a want) for the coffee experience to linger beyond the last sip. It’s great to get kudos or complaints of how to make your coffee and the experience of being in an establishment but this service is already being performed by the droves of review sites that are in existence.

So what does this mean to you? Be genuine. start conversations and be social when you feel there is a genuine need to be. Talking and engaging because you can can be just as deadly as ignoring your consumer base all together. To help you get some idea of the the good what mediums are working well Mashable has made this info graphic that will should encourage you to figure out if you want to engage, how and then choose a medium that fits your needs. That same way you would with deciding between TV, radio, telemarketing and bill boards.

Independents are what you should be looking at for inspiration not corporations. But don’t just take my word for it. The New Rules Project have researched exactly how good independents have been doing and are sharing the results with you in the “Localism Index”. Localism has been on the rise in America in all categories, take a look at why below.

Number of new independent bookstores that have opened since 2005: 437

Increase since 2002 in the number of small specialty food stores: 1,414

Increase since 2002 in the number of small farms: 111,839

Number of farmers markets active in 2010: 6,132

Percentage of active farmers markets started since 2000: 53

Average percentage of shoppers at a large supermarket who have a conversation with another customer: 9

Average percentage of shoppers at a farmers market who have a conversation with another customer: 63

Percentage of bank assets held by small and mid-sized community banks: 22

Percentage of small business loans made by small and mid-sized community banks: 54

Growth in deposits at small banks and credit unions since 2008: $77 billion

Number of chain pharmacy locations that opened in 2009: 177

Number of independent pharmacy locations that opened in 2009: 474

Number of Independent Business Alliances and Local First groups in 2005: 30

Number of Independent Business Alliances and Local First groups in 2010: 143

Percentage change in 2010 sales for independent businesses in cities without a Buy Local First initiative: 2.1

Percentage change in 2010 sales for independent businesses in cities with a Buy Local First initiative: 5.6

Increase since 2002 in the number of Starbucks company stores: 3,297

Increase since 2002 in the number of independent coffee shops: 4,923

Average portion of $100 spent at a Target store that stays in the local economy: $16

Average portion of $100 spent at independent retailers that stays in the local economy: $32

Average amount of local wages paid for every $100 spent at a full-service chain restaurant: $18.68

Average amount of local wages paid for every $100 spent at a full-service locally owned restaurant: $28.46

Minimum amount having a grocery store, bookstore, coffee shop and restaurant within half a mile of a house increases its value: $21,000

* Sources: American Booksellers Association; U.S. Economic Census; United States Department of Agriculture, National Directory of Farmers Markets; Robert Sommer, John Herrick, and Ted R. Sommer, “The Behavioural Ecology of Supermarkets and Farmers’ Markets,” Journal of Environmental Psychology, 1981; Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; National Credit Union Administration; National Association of Chain Drugstores, 2010-11 Chain Pharmacy Industry Profile; American Independent Business Alliance; Business Alliance for Local Living Economies; Institute for Local Self-Reliance, 2011 Independent Business Survey; Starbucks annual reports; U.S. Economic Census; Civic Economics, Thinking Outside the Box, September 2009; Civic Economics, Local Works! Examining the Impact of Local Business on the West Michigan Economy, Sept. 2008; CEOs for Cities, Walking the Walk, August 2009.

Some new friends of ours nolabels.org are giving the message we love and feel is definately worth your ear. We’ve been partnering with people like CUIP and Independentvoice.org for a while and we’re happy to say soon we’ll be adding another partner to that list. Check out No Labels…sign the petition and stay tuned for the launch in a couple of days.

If you’re in the Sacramento Area do yourself a favor and make sure you sign up for this boot camp. You’ll be glad that you did. For more information just search health balance 3 on facebook.

There’s alot going on in the world of art these days. Some have called it a renaissance, while others simply say it’s a reaction to all the corporate bull that we get pushed. While we’ve cover fine art, street art, multimedia, design, archeticture and everything in between, we’ve been hard pressed to find a florist who considers them self to be more artist then business person or at the very list equal parts of both. Aili Ice is such a person, make sure you check her out whenever you get a chance.

Though not a member of the tribe, one of the things I always coveted about the lives of my Hebraic friends was High Holy Days. I still do, I may convert one day. Until then, it occurred to me recently that the next month here in San Francisco is a kind of High Holy Days for fans of locally produced Independent Art.

It all kicks off on September 26th with the Expo for Independent Arts, a day-long showcase of community resources for independent artists and musicians. If you’re involved with any phase of producing or encouraging independent art, there’s liable to be something for you there. And this year it’s in the Music Concourse in Golden Gate Park, which should be especially nifty.

The next weekend, on October 4th, Scary Cow, a local independent film co-op, is screening films from their ninth round at the Victoria Theatre. Scary Cow provides aspiring local filmmakers an opportunity to pool their resources with others and learn the craft of making movies by, well, actually making movies, and has been responsible for producing over 100 short films in the past year alone. The screening will give you a chance to see what people can make on their own, and find out how you can get involved.

A few days after that, San Francisco hosts Litquake from October 9-17. This nine-day long celebration of literature features a host of local writers reading at venues all around town. There are also literary-themed music and film events. Whatever your chosen art form is, inspiration will abound.

Finally, on consectuive weekends from October 3rd through November 1st you can experience Open Studios. Artists in a cross-section of neighborhoods around the city open up their (you guessed it) studios and display their wares. It’s both a great chance to support local artists financially, and a fascinating opportunity to literally enter their creative spaces.

Nobody will get to miss school or work for this series of “holidays”, but we truly are blessed to live in an area where independent artists have so many opportunities to make and share their art. Let’s spend the next month celebrating!

Be sure to check out Independent Artists’ Week Sunday September 6th – September 12th. You know that the Independent Lifestyle Magazine is going to be there with our partners in full force so make sure you roll through as well. In the mean time….read up on the events founders.

Where are you from?
Melonie: We are from Memphis TN

Where do you look for inspiration?
Melonie: We look to artists, youth and the desire for expansion.

Where is your favorite spot on earth?
Melonie: San Francisco *Mithcell’s Ice Cream (haha);
Melorra: My room so I can stare at my papasan but I can’t sit in it b/c it puts me to sleep and I have too much work to do!

Where is the best place to start?
Melonie: The best place to start is right where you are! Don’t think about what you don’t have, who you dont know. Start now! Start immediately. Even if that means writing down your goals and setting a plan.

How did you start?
Melonie: We started out working with film festivals. *first one- Urbanworld Film Festival in New York, NY; next- SF Black Film Festival (San Fran).

How did you decide on this path/thing?
Melonie: We saw a need. 1. A need for ego free collaboration and creation of opportunities. 2. A need for an official celebration of Independent Artists of all genres and mediums.

How many times have you wanted to quit?
Melonie: Probably twice… where you have one of those “really bad business moments” those suck and it just makes you want to say “fudge it” but since that is not an option (this is our destiny and passion) we could never quit…

How do you pay your bills?
Melonie: We work with non-profits and are contracted to program events or programs that incorporate the artists we work with.

How do you become legendary?
Melonie: Still on the path to that. I’ll let you know when we “arrive” which I hear you never “arrive”.

What makes you good?
Melonie: Continual work, never feeling like you know everything, always seeking to be better, and always asking questions.

What is your end goal?
Melonie: Have indie be the “mainstream” sort of… Self sufficiency for most artists,
Melorra: And when Martians on the moon have IAW – we will feel complete.

What is your style?
Ego free!
What is your formula?
Ego free!

Who influences you?
Father, mother, aunts…

Who is on your team?
Melonie & Melorra: Malcolm Garvey, DJ Delrokz, Mandeep Sethi, segue, and a host of friends that just call out the blue to say “hey I will work the door for you or what day do you need me to help”… but so many to name and when you name people you forget someone. So let’s stop there.

Why are you independent?
Because we have to be!

Why do you do what you do?
Social butterflies should use their powers for good!

Why should we care?
Melonie: Because everyone knows an artist and if you want to stop loaning them money, you better care enough to jump on the movement to get them self sufficient and successful!
Melorra: I think you should care because you already do. I’m a firm believer that MOST people can appreciate good art. It’s everywhere! We strive to keep GOOD art alive, self expression alive, with no boundaries, no color lines, no gender lines, no sexuality lines, lines are meant to be crossed in the arts. We cross them every day! You do too… sometimes you just don’t know it.

Why don’t most people make it?
Melonie: They don’t try long enough. When the “glory” doesn’t come in the form they expect, they quit. You MUST keep pushing, you must realize the hallmarks in your path and keep going.

If you haven’t seen the movie Beer Wars yet, you’re going to be excited to here about the screenings we have scheduled soon in San Francisco and Sacramento (information TBA). But until then you’re going to need something to hold you over and we say why not let it be beer. If you’re thinking we would suggest some tasteless beer that identifies themself more by brand then fine tasting brews you’d be wrong there, indies do it right…..great branding AND a great product.

The Stone Brewery knows what you like and to prove it they started making their Verticle Epic Ale brew series in on 2.2.02, we think they tell it best.

(from The Stone brew blog)

When I hear the term “epic,” I think of things like Beowulf and Jan Crouch’s hairdo. However, the term isn’t solely reserved for grandiose tales of heroism and towering pink wigs. It can apply to finely crafted beer too, as we’ve proven year after year with our Belgian-inspired Stone Vertical Epic Ale series. Beginning with the first release in 02.02.02, our Stone Vertical Epic Ale series is an eleven-year series with a new edition released one year, one month, and one day after the previous, culminating in a truly Epic vertical tasting on 12.12.12.

The last few Stone Vertical Epic Ales have been lighter in color, but this year’s Ale is a sinfully dark Belgian Porter, and instead of using American hops like last year, we’re using two European hop strains: Perle and Magnum. Staying true to the series, this year’s batch also comes packed with some unique, mouth-watering ingredients. If you follow us on Twitter, you already know what some of them are.

Here’s what they twitted – Four delicious facts about Stone 09.09.09 Vertical Epic Ale 1)Tangerine Peel 2)Vanilla Beans 3)Chocolate Malt 4)French Oak. More facts soon!
We can’t wait!

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(Thank indies Elliott for the information and Mylan for passing along! )