Independent We Stand and the Local Business Institute Unite!
I have long supported local business. First in Austin, Texas as co-founder of the Austin Independent Business Alliance (AIBA) and then...
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Latest News
The Importance of Buying Local for Father’s Day: Supporting Dads and Your Community
Father’s Day is just around the corner, and it’s time to celebrate the incredible fathers and father figures in our lives. While...
Read moreSupport for Small Businesses Is at an All-Time High. Let’s Keep it That Way.
Long hailed by elected officials as “the backbone of the American economy,” small businesses are receiving renewed attention in the wake of the...
Read moreIndependent We Stand Celebrates 10 Years of Supporting Small Businesses
January 2021 marks 10 years of Independent We Stand (IWS). This year, the national small business movement celebrates a decade of promoting the...
Read more5 Ways Local Businesses Can Attract Top Employees
When you’re the owner of a local small business, the idea of hiring employees is likely an even mix of excitement and anxiety. The...
Read moreWhy Customers Want to Shop Small Year-Round
The Covid-19 pandemic has transformed the way Americans prepare for everything—from the summer travel season to the back-to-school season and...
Read moreWhy Bank Local?
Community banks are often overlooked in favor of larger national banks, but there are many reasons why people should consider supporting their...
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It’s Shop Local Week!
At the Local Business Institute, we don’t refer to businesses as the classic B to B (Business to Business) or B to C (Business to Consumer). We...
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We Speak Local
I have always sought to live a life of meaning that delivered fulfillment for me and contributions to others. Most often this has been focused...
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10 Tips to Survive a Coming Recession and Other Storms
As local businesses, we’ve learned resilience. In fact, we all probably have a PhD in resilience, at least those of us who survived—make that...
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