The Totally Locally book “The Economics of Being Nice” has launched! It’s been a labour of love, but well worth it to see the reaction it’s getting. The book has lots of stories from towns that have managed to change their High Streets for themselves (no funding, no government backing – just collaboration & not waiting for someone else to do it) including Burntisland, Bedford, Leek, Teddington and of course Calderdale where it all started.
The book has taken quite a while to write because we wrote it ourselves… edited, designed, proofed, rewrote and proofed again (too many times to mention!) and finally self-published it. Writing isn’t easy but we did decide to jump in at the deep-end and cover all these parts of the process ourselves. We also had it printed locally here in Yorkshire by our local printer on recycled paper. It was fascinating to watch the whole printing and binding process in person.
As well as telling the Totally Locally story, it’s a guide to running our Town Kit and shares the ideas and methods of running a successful independent high street campaign based on our working with small towns over a decade across the UK and further afield. It also shares mistakes we made, so you don’t have to make them yourself!
The book also includes the now-massive Fiver Fest which, every time it happens, sees over 100 towns collaborating to drive footfall, say thank you to local customers and build community amongst businesses.
We hope you like it, and we’re happy for you to buy a copy and pass it on as much as you like. It’s not about making loads of money, it’s just sharing what we hope can help others to start and run a successful campaign for free in their town.
Contributions in the book include Incredible Edible C.I.C., Dan Thompson, The Booksellers Association, Emma Corfield-Walters, Very Tipico (Portugal) & Just A Card.
If you want to buy a copy, it’s available here in our online shop and also with some splendid notebook bundles. We hope to also distribute to independent bookshops soon and all proceeds from sales go to help run the Totally Locally campaign.
Our book is not available on Amazon – for obvious reasons!
If you have bought a copy we would love to hear your feedback – you can leave a review on the book product page itself, email us, tag us on social media or post this below.
Here is a little taste of what people are saying about our book:
I have been working in town centre regen and economic development for over 20 years and think this is simply one of the best “how to” guides I have ever seen. It’s accessible to anyone, hugely motivational and brilliantly presented. Love the case studies. Love the practical wisdom. Love the tool kit of tried and tested ideas. You can tell that Chris is passionate about the subject but doesn’t pull punches about how difficult it is, in some cases, to change the status quo, and facilitate real collaboration. Can’t recommend this book highly enough.
Dale Thomson, Neighbourhood Workspace Ltd
The wisdom condensed into the book is what underpins groups like ours in Axminster as we do our best to deliver a vital message: ‘if you love where you live it’s survival is in your hands’. The whole essence of Totally Locally right across the UK and beyond is quite simply ‘do it’! Volunteer input is what makes it work. The ideas and marketing materials endlessly made available to us in Axminster are all shared for free. Great work Chris and team!
Barrie Davies, Totally Locally Axminster
I’m loving the new Totally Locally book by Chris Sands (& friends) and highly recommended any small business owner to read it. Remember, having a successful business is not just about YOU, everything works SO much better if you work collaboratively with your fellow town small independents…..and that’s a FACT. Totally Locally Claycross small businesses don’t see each other as competition, we help and support each other and even have little get togethers. It’s not rocket science….just work together and be nice
Gail, CupAndSaucerTeas
What a great read and blue print for our towns #TheEconomicsOfBeingNice from Chris Sands and the Totally Locally gang. (Love the take on Calderdale’s weather!)
Holly Lynch, MP
It’s such a brilliant book. I sat down with the intention of reading it for an hour but read it in one go, I couldn’t put it down. It has such a feel good factor about it and inspires people to be kind. It just makes sense to work together.
Rachel Oates, Community Foundation for Calderdale
There are initiatives that have worked in our town and many that haven’t. But nothing as unifying as the ideas presented in this book, which is inspirational and will provide exactly the support we need to make our town as busy as it can be. We already have a champion (who also bought the book) and will keep the momentum going until we are a true Totally Locally town!
Didy Ward, Bungay
Really recommend this book by Chris Sands on behalf of Totally Locally It’s a really excellent handbook for those passionate about community-led regeneration, especially in the context of High Streets.
Jonathan Phipps, Leek
If you’re interested in town centres, local shops, community and believe in kindness and care, this is the economics textbook you need to buy.
Dan Thompson, Empty Shops Network
