-Isms

I’m guilty ... and I imagine you are, too.

I’m guilty of spending dollars outside the community, sharing my wealth with box stores and high-dollar chains, instead of investing in mom and pop establishments.

Granted, I don’t do it all the time, but if I happen to be in Norfolk or Lincoln, I’ll stop and pick up items I may need soon.

I’ve written it before, but it bears repeating. Spending locally makes dollars and sense. (Yes, that’s a play on words.)

Let’s use my shopping example mentioned above. Let’s figure I spend $50 on groceries (or fuel or gift items or pet food). And, let’s assume there are 150 households in the community. If each household spends $50 outside of local businesses one time, that’s an economic loss of $7,500.

Let that soak in.

$7,500.

What if that happens one time a month? That’s $90,000 annually that leaves the community and benefits a larger town with an even larger population base.

Do they visit Clearwater or Ewing or Orchard or Page and Royal and re-invest those dollars here?

Highly unlikely.

This past year, the pandemic has taught us all about the importance of supporting local. Show me a small business that hasn’t experienced economic woes of some extent during the past 11 months. I’m certain most small business owners have faced a few harsh realities, taken a long look at the bottom line and discovered new revenue streams to keep the dream alive.

A few weeks ago, a local family ran an ad in this paper, encouraging people to shop at home. Let’s take a look at what we have in the Summerland-area communities: grocery and hardware stores, restaurants, bars, convenience stores, a commercial printer and newspapers, mechanics, feed stores, irrigation sales, funeral directors, ag-related businesses, insurance agencies, accountants, hairdressers, barbers, a bakery, trucking firms and banks.

We have unique businesses that draw people to the area, like the sidebar in Clearwater, Orchard Fudge and Candy Kitchen and Grove Lake Bait Shop, to name a few.

Shopping local, supporting local has so many advantages.

It builds our economy. Studies show that for every dollar spent in a local business, half of that dollar returns to the local economy. And, local spending creates twice as many jobs than if you spend that hard-earned cash at a chain store.

Shopping locally forms a close-knit community. By visiting and shopping at local businesses, we see fellow community members. It’s an opportunity to connect with neighbors. Heck, sometimes I feel like I see our neighbors more at area businesses than I do at our homes. Crazy, right?

Small businesses tend to offer better customer service. My experience has been that local owners and operators go out of their way to fill requests and tailor services to meet customer needs.

It’s a win-win for residents and business owners, as well as for the local economy.

We all have a decision to make when it comes to making purchases. We can choose to buy local and keep our communities invested in the future.

Or, we can shop elsewhere and take a long deep look at our spending habits when our smalltown Main streets and values disappear.

Put your $ where your heart is.

Join me in supporting local loyalty.

Shop local, spend local, eat local, enjoy local.