Austin and Portland lay claim to the slogan of keeping it weird. Every town, no matter what the size has a personality and a claim to fame. You might be the Garlic Capital of the World or the “City of Paved Streets” but one of the things that makes your community so unique are the businesses that call it home.
Without unique businesses your community’s culture will suffer and without support the current businesses will close and new entrepreneurs and artisans will look elsewhere to open their shops.
Ways to Support Local Businesses
Shop at Your Farmer’s Market
Food will be fresh, growers are nearby, and advice is abundant. They can tell you how to grow it, harvest it, and the best way to eat it.
Borrow from the Hometown Bank
When you’re shopping rates, don’t forget about shopping your borrowing needs at the local bank. Often they’re more flexible than national offices. Plus local banks support local business and much of the lending for new local business comes from them. Patronizing a local bank is an investment in the community just as shopping local is.
Take Your Time
Shopping in your hometown can be an enjoyable stroll down Main Street, ducking in and out of the stores that flavor your community. They each offer something unique. Look at the shopping trip as a trip and slow down and enjoy the atmosphere and tastes.
Teach Them Young
Often our pursuit for an item is a sprint to get it the quickest and the cheapest and we forget the importance of where we’re choosing to do our shopping. But just as you would hope to instill a pride in your children about their hometown, explain to them the importance of supporting those who make your community what it is. Share the story of local with them from a very young age and you’ll raise adults who value helping their neighbors.
Supporting local is environmentally savvy, keeps more money in your community, and often provides a much more enjoyable shopping experience, but there’s another reason to shop local. If you love what makes your community unique, shopping local is one way to ensure it retains its individuality.
