If we’re depending more and more on a small business ecosystem, and we have to think of local economies less like machines and more like parkland, then one of the things that we have to start thinking about is how to facilitate the businesses that support a small business ecosystem, like this example from Detroit:

Detroit business launched to help market emerging companies: http://t.co/HMeoSsJNfX

This is also a great example of one of the elements necessary in what I’m starting to call a tactical economy, which currently looks like it will be a topic of an upcoming book. One of the elements that a tactical economy probably needs is access to support services.  Years ago, I had a discussion with a local music supporter about building a local music industry — one of the things he said that I have never forgotten was that a healthy local music scene needed much more than just bands and bars — it needed booking agents, marketing and advertising help, people who can repair equipment, sign and banner-makers, so on and so on.  It’s a prime example of how even big successes don’t exist in a void.  Maybe our job is to help the void get filled in.