Local business owners account for the bulk of the tax revenue that fuels any city. Our sheer numbers dictate our economic impact. Independent businesses employ the people, pay the taxes and create most of the growth that keeps our economies healthy. According to the Census Bureau, small businesses with fewer than 20 employees account for 81% of total growth in all businesses.
While these businesses contribute most of the tax revenue, an even greater impact exists in the recirculation of dollars spent at locally-owned businesses. A landmark study conducted by Civic Economics found that more than three times the dollars stay in our community from money spent at a locally-owned business rather than a chain store. Specifically, spending $100 at a locally-owned store puts $45 recirculating in our local economy whereas only $13 of $100 spent at a chain store stays in the local economy. These facts have now been confirmed through studies in large and small communities all across the nation.
While a healthy local economy will include a mixture of local and non-local retail, services, manufacturing and industry, it is the local business that contributes most to our sustainability. The recirculation of money through the local economy results in more profits staying local, increased use of local goods and services, and a larger contribution to local charities. A stronger local business community makes us more self-reliant.
But local business is more than an economic powerhouse. It is the manifestation of our drive to create. It is the direct response of neighbors to the needs of other neighbors. It is the storefront of our hopes and dreams as individuals and as a community. Entrepreneurs embrace their talents with a passion that feeds both their endeavors and our culture. From the unique shops to the artists and musicians (independent businesses one and all) to the entrepreneurial spirit that exudes the attitude that anything can be done—local business makes it happen every day.
Locally-owned businesses nourish the heart and soul of any community. They are, in fact, what gives a community its unique character and identity. It is perhaps this reflection that gives our communities their vast and varied local business pool. This is what brings tourists and newcomers year after year. It is also what communities value—that uniqueness that stakes a claim and says we are unlike anywhere else.
When considering each community’s rich history and community assets, invariably the names of unique, locally-owned businesses, present and departed, roll off the tongues of engaged citizens—those local businesses that have helped define who we are as a community and as a culture. In many ways and many places, our citizens have shown how they value local business.
What to do
We ask of ourselves that we become better businesses. We are part of the fabric of neighborhoods and should embrace them to the fullest extent. Be good neighbors and the community will reward us with not only their patronage, but also their loyalty. Treat our customers and staff like the valued friends that they are. Dazzle them, delight them and impress them with innovation, quality and uniqueness.
Push to excel in your business, not despite the fact that you are a local business but because you are a local business. Be proud that you are independent and acknowledge the contribution that you make to your community. Recognize that you are part of the unique community of local businesses that sustains your economy and celebrates your culture. In your own business, seek to find and buy the goods and services you need from other locally-owned businesses by thinking local first.
We ask of our communities that they continue to support locally-owned businesses. These businesses are your neighbors, friends and colleagues who seek to offer you the goods and services you need and want.
We ask that you consider the local alternative in every purchasing decision you make. Shifting just 10 percent of your shopping from chain stores to locally-owned businesses has a huge impact. When reading the headlines about local government attracting big business with incentives and tax breaks to obtain 500 new jobs, consider the larger impact your purchasing choices could have. Begin by shifting your thinking, then take action to move your purchasing and your banking to local first.
We ask of local governments that they take a leadership role in nurturing and valuing local businesses as a resource of our communities and to refocus economic development policies to benefit and support locally-owned businesses. We have long operated on the theory that big business was king and the small, local businesses lived or died of their own accord. Local economic policies have focused on the kings of commerce. However, economic studies have shown that this is not a kingdom at all, but a democracy of large and small, local and national businesses. Indeed, the kings of commerce are few and the local merchants of the kingdom are many. It is time to realign economic policies to benefit and grow the real economic strength of our base—the local businesses.
Let’s all Live Local and thrive!
