Thinking Local

Buying from locally owned and independent businesses benefits the local economy

• Locally owned businesses spend their profits locally, purchase more goods from local suppliers, and employ their own office and support staff.
• When more money gets re-circulated in the community, general prosperity as well as tax revenues increase, creating a more vibrant and sustainable economy.
• Locally owned businesses tend to stick around when times get harder. A local owner doesn’t easily pack up and leave town for “better” pastures. This creates more stability in the local economy.
• Because they focus primarily on local markets, locally owned businesses tend to be smaller and place a high premium on being easily accessible by local residents. This cuts down on car travel and promotes sustainable neighborhood economies while at the same time avoids high public expenses for shopping center infrastructure costs.

. . . and the entire community

• Business owners, who live in town, take better care of the environment, participate in public life and local charities.
• A wide variety of locally owned businesses contributes to a stronger local identity and cultural diversity, creating an attractive place to live and visit.
• Strengthening our locally owned business community promotes authentic and meaningful relationships between employees, business owners, customers, suppliers, and neighbors. Chances are, when you buy from a locally owned business, part of your purchase will benefit your neighbors and friends.
  

Locally owned business networks are successful in many other cities, such as Boulder (CO), Fort Collins (CO), Bellingham (WA), Portland (OR), Berkeley (CA), Chicago (IL), Cambridge (MA), and many more.

For more info see Businesss Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE).

SOURCE: Study commissioned by Andersonville Department Corp. partnering with Andersonville Chamber of Commerce; October 2004. Thanks to Local First Campaign of BALLE West Michigan for the use of this graph.