Why Shop Local? Local Business Owners Have the Answers.
Each small business owner has a unique story to tell. They may own different types of businesses, they may have decided to open a business at different stages of life, and they may come from different backgrounds, but there is one thing they can all agree on: It is important to support your community in all that you do, and that there are few better ways to do so than to shop locally.
Since Native started publishing this blog highlighting a different local small business each week, I have asked every business owner that I have interviewed why they think it is important that people make an effort to support local businesses, and I have never received exactly the same answer twice. As you can see below, there are countless reasons why shopping local is good for you and good for your community.
“When you shop at a small business, you’re putting your money back into the community. I pay sales taxes back to Rainsville. That may be a small percentage, but it adds up and it makes the city grow.” -Cindy Graben (Gifts From The Heart)
“Our area is a small area, but shopping local, you will not only benefit the economy, but keep that connection with each other, and help keep a small community alive and thriving. You’ll be surprised if you make the commitment to shopping local. You can go into any store and find something you had no idea you could get right here in your backyard.”-Penny Ogle (Penny’s From Heaven Spa)
“It’s not corporations that money spent at a small business is going to, these are families that are raising children in the community and giving back to the community. We give to every school that comes in here, every girl scout troop that comes in here, the Children’s Advocacy Center, we try to help out everybody here locally with donations.” — Tracy Jones (DeKalb Sportsman)
“New types of businesses opening up gives our community a choice, to stay here and spend their money in the Fort Payne area, instead of taking our revenue to Chattanooga, or to Etowah County, or to Georgia. We should look at what people have to travel outside of our area to get and encourage those types of businesses to open up. If we have a wider variety of options, like Greek and Italian food, right here in town, it’s so much more convenient. It saves people travel time and gas money and keeps the money here where we need it to work for us.” -Linda Fontana (Fontana’s)
“We spend our money here and pay taxes to the police force, fire department, and schools. If you shop with a big retailer or online, where is the profit going?” — Peggy Brantley (Brantley’s Western Supply)
“If our little town is going to make it and have the things we need, then we need to support the local people and help our town grow. I like to just deal with the local people if I can — Angela Harper (Nana Poppins)
“If we don’t have that particular item (that a customer is looking for), we know what other stores in town carry, so we’ll send them there. I love that about our little community of businesses. We don’t feel competitive with each other, and we can work together to help customers.” — Vickie Hancock (The Cupboard)
“You’re not just buying something at the store, you’re helping put shoes on Tina’s kid’s feet, helping Ariel’s attend Christian school, and Aletha’s get a college education.” — Rodney Williams (Sylvania Pharmacy)
“Shopping local keeps money in your community. If you want nice things near you, it’s necessary to shop local. If people don’t come to this coffee shop and spend their money, then we can’t stay open. If you want things more convenient, you have to have local. If you want to go to Huntsville anytime you want a good steak, then don’t shop local. If you want to have to go to Chattanooga to get a coffee, then don’t shop local. If you want to have to go get organic food an hour away, then don’t shop local. If you want those things close to you, then shop local. The more you shop local, the more things will come, because the supply will meet the demand. It’s up to the businesses as well to be considerate to their customers. You can’t just throw something up half-heartedly thinking that they can’t get anything else around here. It starts with the business taking a gamble. If you build it they will come. But as a customer if you want it close to you, you want it convenient, and you want it to be really good, we need your support. ” George Hartline (Pine Brothers Coffee Company)
When you shop locally you get great customer service, great deals, and convenience, but you also help make your community bigger and stronger by investing in it. With the holiday shopping season on us, there are few more important times to support your community and local businesses. Why not challenge yourself to buy as many Christmas gifts at locally owned businesses as you can? When friends and family get together and go out to eat, why not try out a mom and pop you’ve never been to instead of going to Ruby Tuesday’s, Cracker Barrel or Santa Fe for the same meal you’ve had countless times. This Christmas Season, why not give your community the gift of shopping local?
You can use the Native Rewards app to support the local small business community. You get great deals and a chance to win money every time you shop with local businesses!
Get it here: http://onelink.to/99h4ts
