It was crazy. When I actually stopped and thought about it, I seriously knew nothing about Lynn.
But, I definitely knew that little rhyme in the title above.
Even crazier, when I searched Google images for a photo of Lynn, Massachusetts for this blog post, the word “sin” was automatically generated as a top 5 keyword. (Check the red arrow in the image above.)
Now that I’ve visited a few times and met some people there, I won’t say the “city of sin” thing to anyone. And when I mention Lynn to others, I cringe if they respond with the saying. I don’t even like writing it as the title of this blog. I just think of how much it would piss me off if it were my city, if it were how outsiders described my community, if it were where my kids went to school… you get the point. I think a big part of why it bothers me so much is because I can’t help but relate it back to a business and how much word-of-mouth matters to a brand.
Anyway, that all-too-well-known saying is really all I knew about Lynn when I was invited for a tour by Jason. He’s the friend-of-a-friend who worked in real estate development for the Congressman who represents Lynn.
My maiden voyage actually started in Salem at Congressman Seth Moulton’s district office. Since I was still convinced that One Mighty Mill would start in Boston, I wasn’t totally sure why I was in Salem with a group of people working in state politics. Regardless, I presented a quick pitch of the business and the impact I believed One Mighty Mill could have on a community.
Everyone was excited — excited in a sincere way that I could tell was real and different. Specifically, the thing I remember most was the visceral excitement of this young guy named Marven. As I left, he pulled me aside and said something like: “If you’re seriously considering Lynn as a place for your business, then I want to show you around personally. It would be really incredible for the city.” It wasn’t so much the exact words that I remember. It was how he said them.
Afterwards, Jason and I toured Lynn and a few vacant buildings. But, my head and heart were still in Boston. So, I spent the entire next week with a real estate broker searching Boston’s neighborhoods. It was unproductive and left me feeling disappointed and frustrated. Maybe my expectations were out of line. I had just assumed that there’d be opportunities in the city’s underserved neighborhoods and that brokers and landlords would be eager to work with One Mighty Mill.
And that’s when I remembered Marven. I wanted to take him up on his offer for a tour. So, I called Jason for Marven’s cell. Literally two minutes later, Jason forwarded me the email below that he had sent to the Congressman’s entire team. It blew me away. It was proof that the need and excitement in Lynn was special.
A few days later, I met Marven. (That’s him in the photo below.) Turns out, he was born and raised in Lynn, lives downtown, and nearly won a city council seat just a few month ago. We walked the streets and I looked with a fresh eye at some of the buildings I had seen on my first tour. I started to see the place and the opportunity a lot differently.
I started to get the feeling that Lynn may be the place we were meant to be.
I got next! 