#1: Buy local to support yourself

Studies show that when you buy from a locally owned business, rather than a nationally owned business, significantly more of your money is recycled into the community throug purchases from other local businesses, service providers and farms strengthening the economic base of the community.

#2: Keep our community unique

Local businesses showcase the unique personality of our community. One-of-a-kind businesses are an integral part of the distinctive character of our town.

#3: Be friendly to our environment

Locally owned businesses cut down on the impact of transporting goods.  Shopping locally helps the environment as well as your pocketbook.

#4: Local businesses create more jobs

Small local businesses are the largest employer nationally.  Small businesses will be the engine to turn our economy around.

#5: Get better service

Local businesses are often more motivated to keep you coming back.  Employers often have a closer connection with their employees, than a corporate HR department.  These “team players” are interested in ensuring your experience is a good one.

#6: Put your taxes to good use

Small businesses require relatively little infrastructure investment and make more efficient use of public services, compared to nationally owned stores. 

#7: Invest in the community

Local businesses are owned by people who live in this community, who are more invested in the community’s future.

#8: Support community groups

Non-profit organizations receive an average 250% more support from smaller business owners than they do from large businesses.

#9: Competition leads to more choices

A marketplace of tens of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long-term. A multitude of small businesses, each selecting products based not on a national sales plan but on their own interests and the needs of their local customers, guarantees a much broader range of product choices.

#10: Encourage future investment

A growing body of economic research shows that in an increasingly homogenized world, entrepreneurs and skilled workers are more likely to invest and settle in communities that preserve their one-of-a-kind businesses and distinctive character.

Why Locally Owned?

Locally owned businesses help the local economy. Chain stores don’t. A study done in Chicago found:

• For every $100 in consumer spending with a local firm, $68 remained in the Chicago economy vs. $43 for spending at a chain store.
• For every square foot occupied by a local firm, local economic impact was $179 vs. $105 for a chain store.

Locally-owned business owners are our friends and neighbors. They have the same stake in the health and success of the community as we do. They participate in the community, giving far more generously than chain stores to youth groups, non-profits and schools. When times are tough, they don’t fire everyone, close down, and flee to their other stores around the country. They stay, because it’s their home.