Why it's important to shop local and small

Not many realize how important it is to support local, small business. Many think that small businesses are the underdogs compared with the big multimillion dollar brands that saturate the market. Yet supporting local, small business is quite important. Below we go over why it's important to shop locally and small. 

Seven reasons why it's a great idea to shop local & small:

1. Reduce Carbon Footprint: Small businesses tend to shop more locally, which requires less transportation and harms the overall environment less. 

2. Small businesses create jobs: small and local businesses added 1.8 million net new jobs in the USA just in the past year. The USA has 30.7 million small businesses which is 47.3% of the private economy, making them the backbone of our economy. Check out the small business administration for more information on what small businesses are doing for our economy! 

3. Shopping local stimulates the local economy: When you buy from a major chain or corporation, that wealth is distributed away from the local community, but by buying local, you are supporting the local community and making sure that money can go back into your community.

4. Personal connections & better customer service: When you buy from a local store, the customer service is always way better than when buying from large firms. The reason for this is because when you buy from a small, local business, the owner cares deeply about their community and customers, you are not just one more of millions of people; you actually matter. 

5. Increased knowledge and expertise: Shopping at a local small business means you can get an expert opinion about the products that you’re purchasing. Owners must be extremely knowledgable in their industry in order to compete with much larger chains and corporations. You will get the most knowledgeable advice on anything you purchase. Owners will go an extra mile to make sure you are happy and get the best support possible during your purchase. 

6. Support your community's future growth: shopping locally is the best way to give back to your community and show love to your city and help protect the businesses that make our city unique and different from any other city out there. 

7. Unique shopping experience and higher quality: local small businesses  carry inventory that is hard to find in large corporations and chains. This is because they want to be unique from their competitors and bring you high quality items at a better price than larger corporations that have much higher overhead costs and have to charge more and compromise their quality while doing so. 

Choosing to shop small is choosing to invest in your community. Small-scale businesses create communities that are more connected, prosperous and supply higher quality items. When you buy from a small local business, rather than large corporations and chains, a much larger portion of your money is cycled back to your community and local city. You basically help strengthen the base of your whole community's economy and also help support more eco-friendly practices for the Earth and the environment. You can make a difference! Shop small and local!