Without a doubt, the best way to kill small business and kick the family-run bakeries and local artisan shops into oblivion would be to install a couple of large-scale supermarkets in the neighborhood.
As soon as this happens, there’s immediately a disconnect between the local people and the sort of products they buy, which can further stifle the impetus for the local businesses to even try to compete.
That said, if you’re a person with an entrepreneurial spirit running a small business and providing the people of your community with high-quality goods and services, you can rest assured that you will not only be able to expand your business but also garner quite a lot of reputation and respect from the people around you.
In this article, we’re going to talk about the ‘buy local’ movement and how it can do wonders for your local community, as well as for the local business in question. As you will see, buying local is not only about blindly following a certain small shop, but also encouraging healthy competition within the community and bringing people closer together.
Right then folks, without further ado, here’s the deal.
What is the ‘Buy Local’ Movement?
As its name suggests, the 'buy local' movement represents a movement that encourages people from a certain community to purchase locally-produced ware rather than doing their shopping at large-scale shopping malls and supermarkets.
The idea behind this initiative isn't anything new. It's a well-known strategy of many countries to protect their local produce (apples, for example) and manufacturers, by prohibiting importing foreign ware at the time of the year when the product in question can be grown locally. (This only goes for fruits, vegetables, and other plants, of course.)
The same principle works for a variety of other products and services. If it can be made locally, the ‘buy local' movement has the goal of protecting it, because if local products and services are sold well locally, that community can grow and develop further.
Encouraging Small Business
As you may have already anticipated, buying local goods and services helps small local businesses.
The thing is that each sale these businesses make will mean that the money they’ve made will be reinvested into the business and in the local community, so buying at a certain store makes sense for both the customer and the seller.
For example, if you were to buy that same product or service from one of the supermarkets that are a part of a large chain of supermarkets, you can rest assured that money will go to the owner and that it will be redistributed who knows where.
So, if you're a small business owner yourself, or you have someone who owns a small business, or you'd just like to see your community grow, buying locally would certainly be one of the measures to undertake to help the local small business.
Refined Products and Services
Mass-produced products are often lacking in quality and are made with quantity over quality sort of mindset. (We all know the horror of opening a bag of crisps only to find that it’s 76% air and then there are something like 7 crisps in there hidden in the bottom of the bag.)
With locally-made products and services, the manufacturers often go out of their way to make sure that what they’re offering is top quality stuff, so buying locally will also probably mean you’ll be getting products and services of higher quality than if you were to rely on the mass-produced ware.
Indeed, small businesses such as your local bakeries, butcher’s shops, and car services centers such as the Epping Auto Service, all have the capability of providing the same (if not better) products or services as the large companies and big selling chains.
What's more, buying local products and services also means you can ask the artisans to customize what they're selling so that the stuff suits your tastes and needs. For example, you can always ask your local butcher to add some special ingredients you like into your sausages, or for your shoemaker to fix your shoes so that they look a certain way after he or she's finished with them.
All in all, the ‘buy local movement’ is slowly but surely becoming an unstoppable wave of community development and small business encouragement that is going to gain momentum it seems as it goes forth.
The bottom line, buying locally does not only make sense in the sense of supporting local businesses, but also because of the quality of the products and services you’re getting. Add to that the fact that buying locally brings communities closer together and you can see why more and more people are joining this movement.
Written by Zac Walker
About the Author
Zac Walker is a teacher, an interior design enthusiast and a part-time writer.
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