Shopping Local is Supporting the People Who We Do Life With
– By #MillerSD
I was visiting with a business owner last week about how business is going. He couldn’t say enough about how awesome our community support is. He went on and on about how wonderful our community is supporting local business but we need to continue to educate on what shopping local really is and what it means for our community. He said that people need to remember that shopping local is about supporting the people who we do life with. His words really stuck with me.
Every time you make a purchase, you have a choice: You can give your hard-earned money to huge corporations, chain restaurants and online retailers. Or, you can support the independent businesses right here in Hand County, funding jobs and making a big impact on the local economy. It really is up to you.
Shopping local means supporting our Hand County businesses right here in the community where we work and play. It means doing your part in spending your hard-earned money right here with the people we do life with. These are the people that you go to church with, the people that you send your kids to school with, the people that you volunteer on boards with, and the people that support you when times get tough. These businesses do so much more than provide goods and services for our community. These businesses care about you and your family. These businesses care about the causes and non-profits in our community.
Local businesses aren’t just “in” our community—they ARE our community. Those storefronts on Main Street give our community its unique character, making it a place where you love to live and others love to visit. They also play a huge role in the local economy, employing your neighbors, sourcing products and services from other local businesses and recirculating the money you spend within the town.
Studies have shown that communities that support local businesses foster an environment that’s characterized by unique, one-of-a-kind business that often provides communities with economic advantage and a unique value plan. Local ownership also means that community members take part in making important decisions that will affect the community. They’re more likely to take into consideration how business and investment decisions will impact the entire community as opposed to solely focus on business profitability. Additionally, buying locally means that you are supporting local entrepreneurs and innovation.
Spending locally is a great way to contribute to a friendly and long-term business environment and it can be one of the key engines of community economic success. Successful businesses greatly influence an area’s quality of life; if there’s more business, there’s more revenue, and there are more job opportunities; all of which contribute to better quality of life for us all.
Money earned in Hand County is best spent in Hand County. When dollars are spent locally, they can in turn be re-spent locally, raising the overall level of economic activity, paying more salaries, and building the local tax base. Remember to shop local and support the people that we get to do life with in the greatest community in South Dakota.
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