Katherine Raz
@therealkatraz.bsky.social
I own a flower shop in Tacoma called Fernseed. Opening in Centralia, Wa. in 2026. I also write a Substack called Storefront Revolt, exploring the practical economics of running an independent retail business. storefrontrevolt.substack.com
I've been writing about businesses getting access to capital to buy their buildings for 18+ months now. I started by connecting the economic stability of owning the real estate to success in small biz, then *how banks lend* to why it's harder for business owners to get loans to buy their buildings.
November 10, 2025 at 5:49 PM
I've been writing about businesses getting access to capital to buy their buildings for 18+ months now. I started by connecting the economic stability of owning the real estate to success in small biz, then *how banks lend* to why it's harder for business owners to get loans to buy their buildings.
Reposted by Katherine Raz
There is no excuse for giving in to a bad deal —
especially after voters turned out in record numbers last week to elect Democrats on the promise that they would stand up and fight for working families.
especially after voters turned out in record numbers last week to elect Democrats on the promise that they would stand up and fight for working families.
November 10, 2025 at 4:06 AM
There is no excuse for giving in to a bad deal —
especially after voters turned out in record numbers last week to elect Democrats on the promise that they would stand up and fight for working families.
especially after voters turned out in record numbers last week to elect Democrats on the promise that they would stand up and fight for working families.
Reposted by Katherine Raz
This is not what they actually say. This is what they used to say, in the long ago before times when Shaheen learned to do politics. There is no kumbaya median voter anymore. The question you get knocking doors is not "why can't you all just work together?" it's "why didn't / will you fight harder?
Shaheen: "When I talk to my constituents in New Hampshire, you know what they say to me? They say, 'Why can't you all just work together to address the problems that are facing this country?'"
November 10, 2025 at 3:15 AM
This is not what they actually say. This is what they used to say, in the long ago before times when Shaheen learned to do politics. There is no kumbaya median voter anymore. The question you get knocking doors is not "why can't you all just work together?" it's "why didn't / will you fight harder?
Rather, "AI is an easy excuse to trim a workforce and blame inevitability, not our desire for more profit during a downturn."
AI is reshaping retail downsizing and restructuring
Across all industries, AI was the second-most-cited factor by executives for layoffs this month, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
www.modernretail.co
November 10, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Rather, "AI is an easy excuse to trim a workforce and blame inevitability, not our desire for more profit during a downturn."
I finished this last week. Apologies in advance for talking about the smelter plume a lot for the next 6 months. I blame the arsenic in my soil.
Katherine's review of Murderland
3/5: Maybe the book’s title gives enough away, “Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers” has nothing to do with lead, arsenic, cadmium, or poorly designed bridges. I gave the first half of t...
www.goodreads.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:04 PM
I finished this last week. Apologies in advance for talking about the smelter plume a lot for the next 6 months. I blame the arsenic in my soil.
Lot of good stuff in this interview if you ever wondered why there aren’t local stock markets. (TIL there used to be.)
The Plumbing of Local Finance
My first writings on local finance, such as my 2007 Schumacher Lecture, were about the need for local stock exchanges.
open.substack.com
November 8, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Lot of good stuff in this interview if you ever wondered why there aren’t local stock markets. (TIL there used to be.)
Wins.
The Re-Shellacking
By: Main Street Alliance
open.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:21 AM
Wins.
Reposted by Katherine Raz
Its Mamdani coverage makes clear that the NYTimes has fully embraced an editorial strategy of parodying itself. Absurd newspaper. Obscene—and massively harmful—that it has the influence that it does.
November 6, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Its Mamdani coverage makes clear that the NYTimes has fully embraced an editorial strategy of parodying itself. Absurd newspaper. Obscene—and massively harmful—that it has the influence that it does.
Reposted by Katherine Raz
Then make it easier for people to open restaurants.
Pierce County joined others agencies concerned about a rise in unpermitted roadside stands, which they warn can increase risks of foodborne illness.
Surge in unpermitted street-food vendors has WA health departments on edge
Pierce County joined others agencies concerned about a rise in unpermitted roadside stands, which they warn can increase risks of foodborne illness.
bit.ly
November 3, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Then make it easier for people to open restaurants.
Reposted by Katherine Raz
someone invited people magazine to the kitchen and they brought their own knives
November 2, 2025 at 6:00 PM
someone invited people magazine to the kitchen and they brought their own knives
I love this place.
“We always say one more year!” The owners reflect on 15 years serving greater Tacoma, including a segment on the Food Network.
TV fame didn’t change Lakewood’s German-Polish staple or its ‘hangover soup’
“We always say one more year!” The owners reflect on 15 years serving greater Tacoma, including a segment on the Food Network.
bit.ly
November 3, 2025 at 12:44 PM
I love this place.
This is why the Goldman Sachs #10000SmallBusinesses Summit felt so gross and out of touch to me. Celebrating growth and wins—such a disconnect from working people’s experience of the economy right now. #neveragain #10ksb
It’s getting harder to find a job and easier to lose one. 💼
And yet, even as corporate America rains pink slips on its workforces, stocks keep hitting record highs.
And yet, even as corporate America rains pink slips on its workforces, stocks keep hitting record highs.
The job market is getting worse. So why are stocks booming?
The paradox at the heart of today’s economy.
www.vox.com
November 3, 2025 at 12:21 PM
This is why the Goldman Sachs #10000SmallBusinesses Summit felt so gross and out of touch to me. Celebrating growth and wins—such a disconnect from working people’s experience of the economy right now. #neveragain #10ksb
Hey turns out immigrants were still building America until 3 weeks ago. I feel for these businesses—they’re not the problem.
Some Chicago Businesses Feeling the Impact of Trump’s Immigration Blitz
www.nytimes.com
October 23, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Hey turns out immigrants were still building America until 3 weeks ago. I feel for these businesses—they’re not the problem.
In other words why was AI going to save humanity but now is just integrating with Canva.
Drifting Toward the Status Quo — what works
Why do ambitious and unconventional missions so often erode into something more like the status quo?
whatworks.fyi
October 23, 2025 at 3:58 PM
In other words why was AI going to save humanity but now is just integrating with Canva.
I'll be fine walking through the barren wasteland of whatever is left so long as I have a way of listening to Boards of Canada's Geogaddi as a soundtrack.
October 20, 2025 at 7:22 PM
I'll be fine walking through the barren wasteland of whatever is left so long as I have a way of listening to Boards of Canada's Geogaddi as a soundtrack.
This was the post that started my Substack. I wrote it in the Atlanta airport. It's a rant about how everything you see in "independent" boutiques is made in the same places, but also why, as small retailers, sourcing locally is a challenge. This was in 2022, before Trump's tariffs.
Scenes from a trade show
Or, on the horror of realizing we're participating in a global race to the bottom
storefrontrevolt.substack.com
October 17, 2025 at 2:51 AM
This was the post that started my Substack. I wrote it in the Atlanta airport. It's a rant about how everything you see in "independent" boutiques is made in the same places, but also why, as small retailers, sourcing locally is a challenge. This was in 2022, before Trump's tariffs.
VIRTUAL BRIEFING: Why do mega retailers like Walmart, Amazon, and dollar chains get better deals from suppliers than independent businesses do? They use anticompetitive tactics, undercutting local retailers on price. RSVP for Oct 28th: www.smallbusinessrising.net
Small Business Rising
Small Business Rising is a coalition of independent businesses and entrepreneurs who are standing up for a level playing field. We’re urging elected leaders and regulators to break the power of monopo...
www.smallbusinessrising.net
October 17, 2025 at 2:25 AM
VIRTUAL BRIEFING: Why do mega retailers like Walmart, Amazon, and dollar chains get better deals from suppliers than independent businesses do? They use anticompetitive tactics, undercutting local retailers on price. RSVP for Oct 28th: www.smallbusinessrising.net
Maybe irrelevant by now though… Trump just fired everyone.
POLITICO Pro: White House eliminates entire Community Development Financial Institutions Fund staff
The fund had been under intense scrutiny by the Trump administration, which had proposed eliminating the program in its latest budget proposal.
subscriber.politicopro.com
October 16, 2025 at 1:21 AM
Maybe irrelevant by now though… Trump just fired everyone.
The more you know! 💫 “When a CDFI receives capital from a bank, it must abide by that bank’s set rates and terms for investing the money into a community—the same communities these banks have historically failed to invest in.”
CDFIs Shouldn't Act Like Banks, But Too Often Do
When receiving bank funding, CDFIs often limit their investments in accordance with bank restrictions. How can reforms to the Community Reinvestment Act help center the needs of underserved communitie...
shelterforce.org
October 16, 2025 at 12:55 AM
The more you know! 💫 “When a CDFI receives capital from a bank, it must abide by that bank’s set rates and terms for investing the money into a community—the same communities these banks have historically failed to invest in.”
Also the Main Street America survey is back. Really important data collection that people like me rely on—this is one of the only surveys that talks to small businesses of our size specifically!
Fall 2025 Small Business Survey
This survey collects feedback from small business owners to help inform Main Street America programming.
nationalmainstreet.qualtrics.com
October 14, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Also the Main Street America survey is back. Really important data collection that people like me rely on—this is one of the only surveys that talks to small businesses of our size specifically!
Fed survey for 2025 is out. Probably fill it out if you own a small business and want to talk about financing gaps.
Federal Reserve Small Business Credit Survey
Federal Reserve Small Business Credit Survey
fedreserveboard.gov1.qualtrics.com
October 14, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Fed survey for 2025 is out. Probably fill it out if you own a small business and want to talk about financing gaps.
Here are my slides from the PLACES Conference this week in Gig Harbor, WA. You can download them directly from this post! Also has a link to my 45-min virtual presentation, available to paid subscribers.
[SLIDES] Championing Owner Occupied Storefronts
Download the slides from my PLACES Conference presentation—and share them!
open.substack.com
October 10, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Here are my slides from the PLACES Conference this week in Gig Harbor, WA. You can download them directly from this post! Also has a link to my 45-min virtual presentation, available to paid subscribers.
Part of the reason I struggle working retail in my shop now is that I have no idea what to say when a customer compliments how nice the whole district looks these days. 🙄 IT’S A TRAP!!!!
October 6, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Part of the reason I struggle working retail in my shop now is that I have no idea what to say when a customer compliments how nice the whole district looks these days. 🙄 IT’S A TRAP!!!!
They mention “pricey commercial lease” a couple times here but the focus on why breweries are shutting down is more “consumer appetite,” not because that’s what the data shows but probably because that was a more fun story for the reporter. But PRICEY COMMERCIAL LEASES. Always a factor…
Craft Breweries Struggle as Sales and Appetites Wane
www.nytimes.com
October 6, 2025 at 6:12 AM
They mention “pricey commercial lease” a couple times here but the focus on why breweries are shutting down is more “consumer appetite,” not because that’s what the data shows but probably because that was a more fun story for the reporter. But PRICEY COMMERCIAL LEASES. Always a factor…