Which three local businesses would you miss if they closed their doors? Maybe it's that deli on the corner where you grab the best sandwiches. Perhaps it's the video store down the street where the clerk stashes the latest release be- hind the counter so it will still be there when you stop after work late on Friday night. Is it the florist who already seems to know exactly what your wife will love for her birthday—and is good enough to give you a reminder call so you never forget the date? Small business (defined as having 500 or fewer employees) is the lifeblood of the American economy, accounting for an astounding 99.7 percent of all employer firms, according to a 2007 study by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Yet locally owned independent businesses are under far more pressure than ever. Trying economic times that have consumers closing their wallets, the credit crunch, and shoppers searching for perceived bargains at large chain stores have taken a severe toll, while buyouts of corporations that are "too big to fail" largely don't benefit the little guys. It was that combination of factors that was weighting heavily on Cinda Baxter, a Minneapolis-based retail consultant, early in 2009.

Baxter's idea was simple: if half of the employed U.S. population chose three locally owned independent businesses they would hate to lose, and then spent a combined total of $50 a month with them, it would have a major impact—generating an estimated $42.6 billion of revenue annually. What Baxter couldn't have envisioned was how quickly what she dubbed The 3/50 Project would take off. What caused the groundswell? Perhaps it's the straightforward way Baxter presents the facts: For every $100 spent in locally owned stores, $68 remains in the local economy. In contrast, only $43 of every $100 remains local when spent in national chains, and little or no local revenue results from online purchases.

Another difference is that The 3/50 Project takes a realistic approach. "We're the only buy local movement that doesn't ask consumers to stop going to big boxes. I understand that while you can find many things in a local business, there are some items that people will continue to go to big boxes for. We just ask them to balance their spending a little better; that all or nothing mentality is what got us into this mess in the first place," she states. What is essential to helping small business is gaining and maintaining local support. "The 3/50 Project is definitely having an impact," Baxter says.

Thanks to The 3/50 Project, many local business owners may be sleeping a bit more soundly as well.