Feature
November
24
Locals Love You More
by Mary Downer
The holiday season is upon us again, and the challenge of purchasing the perfect gift for our loved ones is at hand. As Christmas lists are begun, don’t forget the best way to shop—local.
According to The 3/50 Project, if half the employed population spent $50 each month at locally owned businesses, more than $42.6 billion would be generated in revenue. Imagine the positive impact if 75 percent of the employed population did that. Of the total revenue, 68 percent spent at an independent, locally owned business is returned to our community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures. If you spend that money at a national chain, only an approximate 13-43 percent returns to the community. Spend that money at an out-of-town website, and not a single cent comes back home.
An independent, locally owned business can loosely, but accurately be defined as a company led by individuals who sleep little, eat on the run, balance checkbooks over the breakfast table, comb through order forms in bed at night, and are capable of sorting invoices, signing paychecks, fielding questions, responding to emails and faxing confirmations while simultaneously explaining to a new employee how to check in UPS deliveries.
These are the people that help to provide the backbone of our community—local commerce. Communities were founded on the idea of barter and trade among their residents. What one person had, he would trade for what he needed. The same concept holds true today. By doing business with local merchants, not only are you often provided with the best customer service around, but you also see these same people in other stores. These are the people that make our communities what they are.
We’re not asking you to totally swear off big boxes, chains and franchises. Our message is one of balance. As members of this community, we simply need to think about where our dollars are best invested, consider the greater amount of revenue local businesses return to the community, then purchase accordingly; otherwise, local economies suffer irreparable harm.
This free community paper is also an example of a local business. The Weekly was founded in 1987. Our employees live here and work here; our children attend school here; we shop here; and we love it here. We feel connected, and we want everyone to feel this way. That’s why we offer the best of our community in each issue. Inside this issue, you’ll find our “Shop Local” paper. This insert contains some amazing local vendors that are waiting, armed with endless product knowledge and some charming smiles, for you to stop by. You may even make a new friend or two. Who can argue with personal service?
We invite you to strengthen our community by shopping locally, being involved and supporting each other. We do.
