Its New Years and time to make resolutions, I’ve decided on one resolution that I think everyone should join with me in adopting. My resolution is to buy locally, and to buy from local independent merchants whenever possible. There are several reasons for this decision on my part, I’ve been a small business owner myself, and I know how important every customer is to the small business’s survival. Many small businesses are shoestring operations trying to extract a living for the owner and his family, they aren’t getting rich, and they’re just surviving. Another reason is that small business people have a passion for what they do, go to any local restaurant and eat a meal, the flavors are better, the food is more authentic. These folks opened a restaurant because they love to cook, they didn’t do a demographic study or have tastings to decide what’s going on the menu, they just did it. I’ve become very disappointed with the loss of local white tablecloth restaurants. Yes, Outback is dependable, but they just don’t have any soul to the food. I remember when there were great local dinner houses, where you could get a great meal, and meet the guy who designed and cooked it.
Yes, if you know exactly what you’re doing and what you need , one of the big box hardware stores is the cheapest place to buy what I need, but, I rarely know what I’m doing, something around the house has broken, I take the piece, and head to the store , hoping to find a replacement. I tend to go to the local hardware store where somebody knows what I’ve got in my hand, and how to reinstall it and make the piece whole again. It ends up being cheaper in the long run, because I don’t have to keep buying things until I get the right part. The local merchants also have the unusual parts that Hoffman or whoever chose to put in to the houses that they built in this area. The big boxes don’t know or care about the unusual; they make money by buying the biggest quantity at the lowest price.
I would even love to see the local butcher come back, they knew what a side of beef was, and where every cut came from, you went in and told them what you wanted to do, and they would give you the right cut for the job. The guys in today’s meat department only know how to open a box, and stack trays of meat in the counter. I love the local produce stands where I can pick and choose what I want, even go out in the field and pick what I want, that’s great.
If we all shopped and supported these local small business people, we would keep the community vibrant and growing, we would have choices and we would increase local tax revenues. There is a place for the mass merchant or the chain restaurant, I realize that, but I think we sometimes get lazy and lose our sense of adventure and settle for what they have to offer rather than going out and trying new things, and making friends with our neighbors.
GOOD LUCK
I agree, people should prioritize the local market. The thing is, there's not enough support and protection for small businesses, that's why they end up drowning in the market. Only a select few do survive, thrive and even expand by opening up new branches.
Posted by: Chris Ricci | August 22, 2011 at 01:09 PM