On my way to work I pass by several locally owned businesses. Those businesses are vital to the community, providing jobs, services, donations to local causes and keeping all the money generated local.
We need to support them.
That’s not to see that chains and large corporate businesses don’t have a place, because they do provide goods and services we would not have if they didn’t exist. They draw customers to the community, which has a big economic impact. But when we have a choice, the numbers suggest we, as the old saying goes, shop local.
For every $100 you spend locally, 68 of those dollars go directly back into the community. How? Not just employee salaries, but most local businesses buy local whenever they can. And a stat that really resonates with me is that small businesses donate to local causes 250% more than large, corporate businesses. If you’ve tried to get a sponsorship or marketing dollar from most large companies, you know what I mean.
You can see different stats as you cruise the internet, but the point is local business and buying from local business make us tick.
Next time you go to a local event and see banners recognizing sponsors, pay attention to how many are local businesses. When you go to a school, see who is helping pay for sports programs and band trips. When you go to a community event, pay attention to who is volunteering at the concession stand, taking up tickets or putting up folding chairs.
The evidence is overwhelming that local businesses are vital to a community.
Local doesn’t mean the person who owns the business is your next-door neighbor. I talked to a man recently who is planning to open two businesses in one of the communities we serve. He lives about 100 miles from the community and owns a small chain. He talked to me about supporting school programs and sponsoring community events. To me, that’s local enough.
We seem to be seeing more and more regional business ownership, everything from financial institutions and services to places to eat. To me, the definition of a local business is you can call the owner, manager or marketing person and ask them if they want to support a local cause. That’s local enough for me.
Small Business Saturday is coming up Nov. 25, and the event that started a few years back by American Express and the Small Business Administration is getting more attention and some traction.
I am hoping you pay attention to the importance of buying local. I could throw a lot more numbers at you about the impact of shopping local, how internet shopping has impacted local business and your kids’ and grandkids’ fundraising, but suffice it to say communities that keep local businesses afloat and prospering will stay afloat and prosper themselves.
(Speaking of internet shopping, we all know it has had a negative impact on local businesses. But for those of you driving electric cars and buying most of your groceries and lawn-care products and other things from Amazon that you could buy locally, take note of these additional facts: Shipping produces one billion metric tons of carbon dioxide a year, and businesses with fewer than 500 employees account for 99.7% of all U.S. employers. Yes, I know there are some things you have to buy online.)
We should not just be supporting local businesses; we should be encouraging the creation and development of small businesses. We have organizations doing just that. Even one small local business can have a big impact on the local economy, on your quality of life.
Remember the fact stated earlier in this column that for every $100 you spend locally, 68 of those dollars goes directly back into the community? Well, that translates into more tax dollars to, which means school districts, police forces, fire departments, cities and counties and other entities that depend on tax dollars will have more revenue to provide better services and infrastructure.
In short, in the case of local businesses, it’s a cycle that benefits the community.
There are so many things we can do to help small businesses, chief among them is shopping or using services provided by local businesses. Local government can support local business, too, and organizations such as chambers of commerce can have a big impact.
Forming and shaping the identity and culture of a community, impacting its quality of life and providing the financial lifeblood of that community are among the roles small businesses play. Connections and relationships with fellow small business owners are important also, and when these folks work together great things happen in a community.
