Shop Local. We hear it over and over. We see the signs encouraging us to shop local. We hear the ads point us to shop local. But why is local so important?
It can seem easy for us at the Chamber of Commerce, to say “shop local”. But the reason we say it isn’t because we are trying to improve our own business. It’s because when you shop locally, you are making an impact.
Think about this. Let’s say you go Mulhollands Grocery Store for produce and maybe something to grill for dinner. You spend $50. That $50 then goes to pay a wage to Tom’s workers who also live in the area. Those employees then decide to take some of their wages and go out for ice cream at Sugar Makery and then for a drink at Parea or maybe they need their car fixed at Barrett Auto. All local businesses. Those businesses then use that money from that employee to pay their employees, who then go out and spend their dollars. It becomes this cycle. But it goes deeper than that for these businesses.
For many, being a small business owner has been their dream. Adding their unique business to our county was a choice they made. When we choose to shop local and stay local, we are saying to these businesses, “thank you, and we believe in you.” So this August, look around our county and see what businesses exist that you may have never heard of or used. Stop in there and see what they have to offer and how you can support them. Together we can remind these businesses, who took a chance on us, that they are what make our community thrive and that we are here to support them.
There are also some amazing opportunities this month in our community. So come on out and join us.
August 4th 5:00pm -8:00pm Cultivate Community- the Glenwood Town Square
August 11th 5:30pm – Business and Brew at JWREN
August 26th 9:30am – Business and Brews at Family Connections
September 2nd 5:30pm – Business and Brews a Ribbon Cutting for Tina Bakehouse LLC at Maple Edge Farms
September 9th at 5:30pm- Betterment Banquet at the Fountains Ballroom