Judy Wicks "the Survival Manual"

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University of Pennsylvania’s plans to build a commerical mall on their street.

In 1999, during a severe drought, Wicks began to understand the importance of renewable energy and its impact on global warming. Judy soon made it her responsibility to provide its stakeholder, the environment, with the decision to make the change to renewable energy. White Dog Café became the first business in our state to buy 100 percent renewable energy.

Local Living Economy

In 2001, alarmed by the growing inequality, decline of natural systems, and weakening of our economy, Judy cofounded the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, known as BALLE. A local living economy includes a multitude of locally owned, human-scale businesses committed to the health of their community and their ecosystem (Wicks, 153). She believes when there is a short distance between business decision makers and those affected by her decisions, the business decision maker is more likely to make decisions from the heart. When businesses continue to grow, wealth and power are concentrated. However, by decentralizing into local economies, local food systems, local energy systems and local manufacturing, we create more owners resulting in more freedom and justice.

Although success in business is measured by continued material growth, Wick made a conscious yet successful decision to stay small with White Dog Cafe. She realized that her own happiness was about having authentic and strong relationship with all those involved in her business. She realized the cafe didn’t need to grow and expand to other communities in order to be healthy and lively. All businesses have to grow in some way, so Judy looked for ways to reinvent growth. Rather than starting a cookie cutter chain of White Dog Cafes in other communities, Judy asked herself, “What does my own community need?” She realized that her community didn’t have a retail store that sold locally made products as well as fair trade products. So instead of self-starting another White Dog Cafe Judy started “Black Cat,” a retail store next door, adding to the vitality of the neighborhood and produced an outlet for locally made products.

Wicks believes success in one’s business and personal life could be measured in different ways. Rather than materially, we can grow by increasing our knowledge, expanding our consciousness, developing our creativity, deepening our relationships, building our communities, strengthening our ecosystems, and increasing our overall well-being.

Many individuals picture a good time as spending a lot of money and traveling to faraway places for vacations and exotic locations rather than in our own community. Local Living Economies allow individuals to focus more on their community. Many community celebrations have historically been sponsored by locally owned businesses. She understands building a sustainable and inclusive local economy is not only our responsibility for future generations, but it’s about reconnecting to our place and with each other as we build a community.

I believe Judy’s approach that community self-reliance can reinvent what it is to be an American. Rather than a country of rugged individuals, we can be a country of rugged communities. A local living economy movement is about maximizing relationships, not maximizing profits. In order to bring our world into balance we need to make economic and political decisions from the heart as well as the head in order to build a compassionate and caring economy, world, and society. I find it difficult to focus on local foods, energy, and manufacturing within a community, growing up with family and friends who just want more of the only the best. After reading Good Morning, Beautiful Business, I understand it’s possible, but will take a whole lot of work within each community to agree on moving toward a local living economy.

Works Cited

Wicks, Judy (2013-03-20). Good Morning, Beautiful Business: The Unexpected Journey of an Activist Entrepreneur and Local-Economy Pioneer (Kindle Locations 116-118). Chelsea Green Publishing. Kindle Edition