Lots of business writers talk about how the 21st century will belong to right-brained individuals. Businesses that leverage creativity in order to make (notice I didn't say "mass produce") interesting things that appeal to people will win out.

The argument is simple: left-brained, logical processing is too easy to automate by using computers. In a global economy, trying to make stuff cheaper by creating a more efficient assembly line won't work because you can just outsource the whole process.

There are lots of alternatives to trying to be the cheapest supplier of commodity goods. Target offers a good shopping experience through creative merchandising that doesn't break people's banks. Anthropologie takes this idea even further, by finding even more interesting and unique items to stock.

But turning away from the larger companies, I'm really excited to see what kinds of businesses emerge from the latest economic downturn. I'm less and less interested in seeing what kind of stuff they have at the large chain stores and more interested in the merchandising and shopping experience offered by local merchants who aren't trying to compete on price. Someone wrote a whole book about 25 of the more interesting independent retailers in the United States.

If you're a small retail merchant and you can't compete on price, your best option is to become an artist.