Modern Day Migration, Millennials, & Why We’re Local Union

Note: this is our attempt to address a bigger economic issue within our country. What we lack in eloquence, we make up for in spirit.

Around 2012 Maggie and Brent ventured on a modern day migration. The migration of the Millennials, as we like to call it, was our generation’s trek across the country towards a better life, higher paying jobs, and most important of all: opportunity.

Alongside many undergraduate Business classmates, we embarked on the pursuit of possibility - leaving our home towns for something more. Maggie packed her bags in Central Florida and headed north, while Brent grabbed his duffle and bid farewell to Lancaster, PA. The destination? 

A city with plenty of job opportunities. A city for Business majors.

It could have been New York, Chicago, Houston, Charlotte, or San Francisco; it really didn’t matter. In the end, we chose Atlanta. Like many others, we said goodbye to our friends and family to build a career working in the Corporate world, in a city where a Business degree was appreciated and rewarded. It was the perfect mix of opportunity, continual job openings, high-profile companies, and endless promotions. 

While southern hospitality and Atlanta’s quirky neighborhoods were a plus, the real draw was Corporations with deep pockets and paychecks available to our generation. 

We witnessed a familiar pattern over the years.

The best business leaders, the Strategists, Consultants, Project Managers, and Innovators - the type of people who’s talents could and should be used to solve our community’s biggest problems (e.g. local commerce, declining rural investment, monopolistic competition, sustainability, corruption, etc.) - these Business Experts were successfully courted and incentivized by their big corporations to remain where they are. 

By combining deep pockets and (hopefully) good intentions, big corporations had created an environment that keeps top talent in the “system” and out of our local communities and commerce. How could an innovative Business Consultant turn down a huge six-figure salary, life in a big city, 401K match, stable benefits, opportunity to grow, and the promise of more? For what? A return to their smaller community, with a steep pay decrease, limited benefits, and little room for job growth.

We, our colleagues, were chained to what is commonly referred to as “Golden Handcuffs.” Benefits too good, so golden, you’d be crazy to say no.

All the while, the Millennial Migration continued on, as our small and middle-sized businesses and communities watch young people leave, access to talent decline, and local investments sputter.

Our society has built a system that is broken, that incentivizes a behavior that may not be for the greater good.

Before we go further, we should preface that we’ve lived both sides of this tale and value both equally. We’ve worked and lived the life in a big corporation. We loved our time there and value every single person who continues that path. We are also passionate and love our time working as entrepreneurs in a smaller community. There is no right or wrong here, nor is there an easy solution to these concerns.

Comparing Big and Small Businesses (and Communities)

Our goal at Local Union is to help small businesses grow, at a comparable rate to large corporations. To get there, we have to understand what large corporations are doing today.

Take this example:

Big corporations spend thousands (sometimes millions) of dollars on research & development and strategic planning so they can continue to exponentially grow their business. They hire huge firms like KPMG, PWC, or McKinsey to bring in Business Experts and Consultants. Corporate offices have entire teams dedicated to “sales development,” rows of cubicles filled with financial analysts, and divisions with names like “corporate strategy” or “innovation.”

Strategy and growth are at the top of mind for big businesses. It works. These companies grow grOW GROW, and at a much faster rate than small businesses (see HRB study here). Large companies have incredible talent, budgets for R&D, and resources available to them 24/7. They have people and processes to solve every issue, grow, and make more money.

But here’s the thing. The people and processes implemented by Consultants, Project Managers, or Strategists aren’t revolutionary. Sure, they are impactful yet their practices can be replicated. Across businesses, across industries, across cities, and more.

The Concerns

Ideally, every small business or community would have talented, qualified Business Experts on hand to help them build sustainable growth. But today, qualified Consultants & Strategists - the people who have experience running profitable teams and companies - aren’t readily available to the small business community.

Why?

First, there is a misconception about cost. Many small business owners believe Business Consulting is too expensive. While some Business Consultants who work for the big firms charge hundreds (or thousands) of dollars per billable hour, that’s not the case for small firms.

Second, and maybe more importantly, there is a lack of qualified experts in smaller communities. After our corporate migration, we began to see and abhor this pattern. How talent, our friends and peers, remained serving big corporations and not their cities or communities. How distracting the promise of a dollar or a promotion was to an entire generation. We watched (and continue to watch) small cities and rural communities get overlooked, underfunded, and underinvested.

Why Local Union Consulting?

We decided in 2020 to bring the knowledge we gained working for big corporations to the communities we love.

We began Local Union so every sized business or community would have access to similar innovation, processes, and solutions Corporate America has access to. Today, our firm may only be two people - two business experts - but our future is to create an ecosystem that incentivizes top talent to reinvest in their communities and ecosystems.

We aim to be affordable for all sized businesses. And we serve to help you grow, so you can build the best future for your family and our communities.