When it is time to make a major purchase or call a repairman to come to your home, your have multiple options. While you have the choice of a chain store or a national corporation, you should consider giving your business to a local company. Here are a few reasons why you should buy locally. 

Returning Money Back To the Community

When you purchase from a local company, the money stays within that area. Instead of a majority of it going to a headquarter office in another state, it goes to pay for employees who live in your city. That business will most likely purchase their necessities from another local organization and so on. Any portion that the owner pays themselves also goes to pay for things that their family needs within your town like their children’s activities.

Local Workforce

A business in your community will hire their employees from your town. There is little necessity to transfer labor from outside the city limits. When you hire pool builders in Mobile to fix your equipment in Alabama, those doing the service are the same people that you see shopping at the grocery store. This again keeps the dollars you spend within your town instead of sending them out of state. 

A Taste of Your Town

Companies in your town will collaborate with each other to offer their products in each location. A baker will sell their bread to a local restaurant to be served with the meals that are ordered. The economic development group of the municipality might have programs to encourage partnerships like this and can advise pairings of businesses. This builds a personality within your town that reflects the region of the country you are located in, giving visitors who might stop by an intimate experience to the area. They will take away a positive memory to your community.

Better For the Environment

Typically big box stores are built on the edge of the city, requiring you to drive to it. Small business flock together in a particular area, usually in the downtown district. This means you can park then walk wherever you’d wish to go. The extra pedestrian traffic cuts down on the pollution that comes from automobiles since they will sit instead of being driven. Shopping at retailers like these also provides you with extra exercise as you browse from one shop to the other.

Easier On Municipal Infrastructure

When a nationwide retailer prepares to build, the property might have to be rezoned, streets closed down, and other issues will occur that can be difficult of your city planning committee. A small business owner will most likely take a spot that is already up for lease, filing a vacant storefront. This benefits the community since the property will make additional income from the space as a new business is started. The only paperwork the local company might need from the government would be building permits for any remodeling that needs to be done. Also, large chain stores might demand tax breaks over several years to move there. The little shop moving into the empty space for lease will do so without asking for help saving the city money in the long run.

Getting Involved

The people who volunteer for community events or for board positions on the Chamber of Commerce are more likely to be from local businesses instead of national retailers. They also donate to youth teams, high school programs, and other not for profit organizations in your area. Small businesses owners are proud to be part of the area where they started their company. They want to give back to the town that supports them. This sense of pride gives visitors to these celebrations a chance to experience the uniqueness of your hometown. 

A Sense Of Family

Small businesses get to know their customers and their needs. The employees make note of their client’s names and greet them when they come through the door. They talk about their families and their current interests. They can recommend a product to them when it arrives and tie it to something they previously bought. In some cases, they socialize outside the store. They will stock the products of another small business in the area so both of them can grow while they strengthen their professional relationships. Supporting your local small business benefits your town by keeping your money within your community. It also shows both those who live there as well as the people visiting the unique soul that is your hometown.